I worked as hard as I could. I was never going to get into an Ivy. School was very, very hard for me. It wasn't about trying harder.

I chose a SLAC but turned down an Ivy, then did Ivy for grad school.

Honestly it is more about your drive and people skills than anything that means success. I have met plenty of Ivy people who did very little after graduation.

Have never met an ivy grad that impressed me professionally or personally.

Love seeing the adults still sweating their 16 year old goals.

Look at people who are happy or successful the bounding ain’t there

Passed on Cornell for flagship, thankfully. Went to top 5 law. Probably would not have gotten in if I went to Cornell.

I went to a top 3 LAC. I don’t regret it, but it sucks to think I would have gotten into Harvard with my stats in the 90s. Even worse, my kid is doing better than I was in the early 2000s admission cycle, but looking at admissions trends now I’m not sure he will even get into a halfway state school like UM or expensive meh private with régional recognition like Northwestern when it’s time for him to apply.

I was accepted into an Ivy and I chose to attend UVA. My parents did not want to pay the Ivy tuition; they could pay cash for UVA. No regrets.

Stanford instead. Certainly no regrets. And the kids chose Rice and Vanderbilt over Ivies. Also no regrets.

When you drill down into what's the best fit, the Ivy League is merely an old sports league.

I was not good enough for Ivy but worked with coworkers who attended Ivy. They were no better than State U grads TBH.

another slac followed by ivy for grad/professional school. loved it.

SLAC then Ivy for grad is the way to go, like some of the examples here.

I went to a SLAC and then an Ivy for law school. I loved my college years and would not change a thing if I had to do it over. I actually got my first law job connection through my undergrad alumni network.

I was accepted at an Ivy, and I chose a SLAC. Not even one of the “fancy” SLACs.

Shocking to people on here, I know, but it was a good choice for me and I’m happy with my education.

Hopkins is incredibly selective. It's in the Ivy+ group, and I'm sure when you attended, it was proportionally as selective (proportionally in the sense that acceptance rates of all colleges have gone down in recent decades).

High school grad from 85. No chance in the world I’d have gotten in! (Went to Hopkins.) went to Ivy for grad school. Don’t think it has mattered either way. Just more debt.

Do you think it's affected your career or is any difference negligible?