Ivies vs State schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA is ivy in others eyes, even though may not be in tier 1.

It is not. Ivy League means being a member of the athletic conference. Lots of very good schools are not Ivies! But a school cannot just become an Ivy by being high-quality. That's not what it means.

The Ivy League is an agreement to hold athletes to the same academic standards as other students, only give need-based aid, and certain procedural rules. The idea is to get away from the athletic spending arms race that sucks up so much of a university's money and focus. And a school can be a good school without adhering to these rules or participating in the conference, but it cannot be an Ivy.

[Anonymous]

The Ivy League is a weak sports conference and nothing more. It’s not 1950. There are lots of schools that are their academic equivalent and more in 2026, particularly for undergrad.

Plus, given the costs - $100,000 per year - there are gazillions of top MC and UMC students making different choices even when they get into one of Ivies. Especially for top state schools like UVA, Michigan, Berkeley, Georgia Tech and so on.

[Anonymous]

OP was obviously referring to ivy caliber schools, and was not expecting a lecture of what Ivy League is.

[Anonymous]

Ivies are for rich nepos and URM first gens (so rich nepos feel like they are "helping" the underclass).

State schools are for everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP was obviously referring to ivy caliber schools, and was not expecting a lecture of what Ivy League is.

Op looks like a dimwit bot who expects other people to do research for him.

[Anonymous]

That “employer/employee” bit in the original question is trash. Good lord.

[Anonymous]

Are you the TJ parent by any chance? What if your child is missing out on something by attending UVA because of their Ivy rejections? They should just make the best of the situation, even if that’s true. I’m going to be brutally honest here: If $$$ is not a concern, then most indeed would pick an Ivy over UVA. Then what??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child will be going to UVA. Got rejected from Ivies. What are we missing by not going to Ivies for pre-med. Outside of pre-med, do Ivies and other top schools create employers and other schools create employees

You’re missing a bigger tuition bill. Congrats.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]The Ivy League is a weak sports conference and nothing more. It’s not 1950. There are lots of schools that are their academic equivalent and more in 2026, particularly for undergrad.

Plus, given the costs - $100,000 per year - there are gazillions of top MC and UMC students making different choices even when they get into one of Ivies. Especially for top state schools like UVA, Michigan, Berkeley, Georgia Tech and so on.

Right! It's an agreement to be worse at sports, together.

I went to an Ivy and I think college sports are dumb and annoying, so I was loving it. Very happy to have strong academics without the money pit of sports.

There are lots of good schools. But if you're not in the Ivy League you're not an Ivy. People can make up other imaginary Ivy lists, but that's just silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child will be going to UVA. Got rejected from Ivies. What are we missing by not going to Ivies for pre-med. Outside of pre-med, do Ivies and other top schools create employers and other schools create employees

Your kid got into not only one of the top publics in the country, but one of the top schools overall. So take pride in that. The important thing is that they know that opportunity is what you make it, no matter what college you're at. And they've got plenty of it at UVA if they take advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Ivy League is a weak sports conference and nothing more. It’s not 1950. There are lots of schools that are their academic equivalent and more in 2026, particularly for undergrad.

Plus, given the costs - $100,000 per year - there are gazillions of top MC and UMC students making different choices even when they get into one of Ivies. Especially for top state schools like UVA, Michigan, Berkeley, Georgia Tech and so on.

Think of it like this. The Ivy League is an agreement not to let sports dominate the culture and the budget and the priorities of the school as much as happens at some other schools. It's not an agreement to meet certain academic standards, or to be a "good school" by some external criteria, or an attempt to be good at sports. If one of the schools was mismanaged and became way worse in every way, it would still be an Ivy as long as it's a participating member of the conference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You won't have grade inflation plus the automatic imprimatur that you are highly intelligent and motivated.

UVA has had significant grade inflation, just like the Ivies. It just doesn't have average grades quite as high as the others (except Cornell).

UVA will probably convey that you are pretty smart, but not the Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Wharton "imprimatur" as you say. But your kid should just get on with it. You aren't defined by college.

[Anonymous]

Putting down Ivy League schools doesn't make state schools better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is ivy in others eyes, even though may not be in tier 1.

1. The Ivy League is an athletic conference, nothing more.
2. The top SLACs are better at undergraduate education than any Ivy for most subjects.
3. UVA is a top school but none of the Public schools are the equal to any of the top schools in either of the above categories.
4. You can get to any medical school from any of the above by working hard and taking advantage of what they offer.

Focus in where your kid is, not where they aren't. If they do the work they will be fine.

I'm sorry, what categories are you referring to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child will be going to UVA. Got rejected from Ivies. What are we missing by not going to Ivies for pre-med. Outside of pre-med, do Ivies and other top schools create employers and other schools create employees

lol total troll post