What's the REAL difference between an Ivy and any other decent private university

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. A lifetime of not having to prove how smart you are...especially important for women.

2. Some organizations only higher Ivies (especially in high-level finance and top law firms)

3. You never have to apologize for where you went.
(For example...why would you go to Bates and pay private tuition when a great state university would be cheaper/better).

4. If you have to ask...

I don't think even the whitest of white shoe firms cares THAT much about where you did your undergraduate if you went to a top-ranked law school. You are right that there are firms that recruit exclusively from the top 5 or so law schools, but if you do well at Stanford or Yale Law, it's not going to matter that you got your undergraduate degree at Oberlin instead of Brown.

This. Law school and class rank are all that matter.

My Ivy degrees (2) allow me to comment with complete smugness on many DCUM threads!!

And realize generalizations are generally ridiculous sounding. All the Ivys provide opportunities for their students - major research institutions, all the amenities you think you should expect at a college (some have majors or tracks within that mimic SLAC like experiences, some other areas/classes might have 500 kids like a big state school), a certain reputation and cache in certain circles (not in others - and there are some friend cliques that solidify forever), some fields and employers where the degree counts more than others. That said, from my freshman hallway (having been on the recent facebook reunion page) - there's a yoga teacher, a top firm lawyer, a major CEO, a stay at home mom, non profit execs, middling managers, etc.
Overall, lots and lots of options and opportunities for experiences and classes etc while you are there with many of the top profs in the world. Can give you boosts to reach for the stars in a particular way of elitist culture... but certainly not a uniform thing.

And, there's still the DCUM thing

Va Tech Grad here...feeling inferior...Then I look at my paycheck, and realize I have a job I love that they pay me well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. A lifetime of not having to prove how smart you are...especially important for women.

2. Some organizations only hire Ivies (especially in high-level finance and top law firms)

3. You never have to apologize for where you went.
(For example...why would you go to Bates and pay private tuition when a great state university would be cheaper/better).

4. If you have to ask...

What about those who choose to not study law or go into finance ? What is the benefit to them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. A lifetime of not having to prove how smart you are...especially important for women.

2. Some organizations only hire Ivies (especially in high-level finance and top law firms)

3. You never have to apologize for where you went.
(For example...why would you go to Bates and pay private tuition when a great state university would be cheaper/better).

4. If you have to ask...

What about those who choose to not study law or go into finance ? What is the benefit to them?


Honestly if you don't keep your grades up to benefit from OCR or grad school placement, there's very little benefit to an Ivy degree other than the excellent education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. A lifetime of not having to prove how smart you are...especially important for women.

2. Some organizations only hire Ivies (especially in high-level finance and top law firms)

3. You never have to apologize for where you went.
(For example...why would you go to Bates and pay private tuition when a great state university would be cheaper/better).

4. If you have to ask...

What about those who choose to not study law or go into finance ? What is the benefit to them?

Honestly if you don't keep your grades up to benefit from OCR or grad school placement, there's very little benefit to an Ivy degree other than the excellent education.

And also the fact that for lower earnings brackets, an Ivy may be cheaper than in-state options.

[Anonymous]

I know a few super smart and successful state school and non elite private alums who chased scholarships and they always jokingly reference the elite colleges they turned down. It's sort of cringy that they still feel slightly insecure about their choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a few super smart and successful state school and non elite private alums who chased scholarships and they always jokingly reference the elite colleges they turned down. It's sort of cringy that they still feel slightly insecure about their choice.

Agreed! It's like they feel like they sold out...

[Anonymous]

In no order:

1. Ability to get any job you want, no matter your GPA.
2. Grad school placement.
3. Dating prospects & social circle.
4. Pushed to your limits in a most competitive environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In no order:

1. Ability to get any job you want, no matter your GPA.
2. Grad school placement.
3. Dating prospects & social circle.
4. Pushed to your limits in a most competitive environment.

Said someone who didn't go to an ivy........but perhaps their child did

[Anonymous]

you really need to have a multi page thread about this? connections, duh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. A lifetime of not having to prove how smart you are...especially important for women.

2. Some organizations only hire Ivies (especially in high-level finance and top law firms)

3. You never have to apologize for where you went.
(For example...why would you go to Bates and pay private tuition when a great state university would be cheaper/better).

4. If you have to ask...

What about those who choose to not study law or go into finance ? What is the benefit to them?

Honestly if you don't keep your grades up to benefit from OCR or grad school placement, there's very little benefit to an Ivy degree other than the excellent education.

And also the fact that for lower earnings brackets, an Ivy may be cheaper than in-state options.

+1

The Ivys are very generous with need-based aid. An Ivy was my DC's cheapest college option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. A lifetime of not having to prove how smart you are...especially important for women.

2. Some organizations only hire Ivies (especially in high-level finance and top law firms)

3. You never have to apologize for where you went.
(For example...why would you go to Bates and pay private tuition when a great state university would be cheaper/better).

4. If you have to ask...

What about those who choose to not study law or go into finance ? What is the benefit to them?

Honestly if you don't keep your grades up to benefit from OCR or grad school placement, there's very little benefit to an Ivy degree other than the excellent education.

And also the fact that for lower earnings brackets, an Ivy may be cheaper than in-state options.

+1

The Ivys are very generous with need-based aid. An Ivy was my DC's cheapest college option.

I was in the 'donut hole' - where had to pay full freight based on HHI but not in the 1% - so it hurt/was a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Ivies and. Other schools with big endowments provide money for internships and research grants for undergrad.y freshman son had two such offers for the summer. We could not afford for him to take an unpaid internship so getting housing and a stipend really helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. A lifetime of not having to prove how smart you are...especially important for women.

2. Some organizations only higher Ivies (especially in high-level finance and top law firms)

3. You never have to apologize for where you went.
(For example...why would you go to Bates and pay private tuition when a great state university would be cheaper/better).

4. If you have to ask...

I don't think even the whitest of white shoe firms cares THAT much about where you did your undergraduate if you went to a top-ranked law school. You are right that there are firms that recruit exclusively from the top 5 or so law schools, but if you do well at Stanford or Yale Law, it's not going to matter that you got your undergraduate degree at Oberlin instead of Brown.

This. Law school and class rank are all that matter.

My Ivy degrees (2) allow me to comment with complete smugness on many DCUM threads!!

And realize generalizations are generally ridiculous sounding. All the Ivys provide opportunities for their students - major research institutions, all the amenities you think you should expect at a college (some have majors or tracks within that mimic SLAC like experiences, some other areas/classes might have 500 kids like a big state school), a certain reputation and cache in certain circles (not in others - and there are some friend cliques that solidify forever), some fields and employers where the degree counts more than others. That said, from my freshman hallway (having been on the recent facebook reunion page) - there's a yoga teacher, a top firm lawyer, a major CEO, a stay at home mom, non profit execs, middling managers, etc.
Overall, lots and lots of options and opportunities for experiences and classes etc while you are there with many of the top profs in the world. Can give you boosts to reach for the stars in a particular way of elitist culture... but certainly not a uniform thing.

And, there's still the DCUM thing

Va Tech Grad here...feeling inferior...Then I look at my paycheck, and realize I have a job I love that they pay me well.

Gotta love engineering types - focus on wat matters and not all the rest.

All these crazy braggy people make me throw up my ivy degree. In my office, all of us have PhDs from top schools. Some of us went to elite undergrad institutions. Some of us went to whatever they could afford.

[Anonymous]

I never understood why someone would pay an ungodly amount of money to go to an "elite" to get the same degree I could get at my local college. Once we got our degrees, we were all equal, right?

Fast forward a few years, I did some cool things, and I find myself in Silicon Valley working on cutting-edge tech. Stanford is just across the street. When I first got here, I still didn't understand why kids were silly enough to pay to go to one of these fancy schools. Now I do. When a kid gets into Stanford or Harvard, they are plugged into a network of power that they will have for the rest of their lives. Getting a job will always be easier. Starting your dream company with millions in the bank on day one becomes possible. Moving up the chain at the local monoliths becomes a heck of a lot easier when you can rub shoulders with the higher ups at local Ivy League networking events.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never understood why someone would pay an ungodly amount of money to go to an "elite" to get the same degree I could get at my local college. Once we got our degrees, we were all equal, right?

Fast forward a few years, I did some cool things, and I find myself in Silicon Valley working on cutting-edge tech. Stanford is just across the street. When I first got here, I still didn't understand why kids were silly enough to pay to go to one of these fancy schools. Now I do. When a kid gets into Stanford or Harvard, they are plugged into a network of power that they will have for the rest of their lives. Getting a job will always be easier. Starting your dream company with millions in the bank on day one becomes possible. Moving up the chain at the local monoliths becomes a heck of a lot easier when you can rub shoulders with the higher ups at local Ivy League networking events.

Ivies and Stanford offer unbeaten need-based aid. You'd be surprised at how little many pay. Might be less than a state school, depending on income bracket.