I guess things have changed. 20 years ago I would have said that Cornell, Penn, and Columbia were on the bottom - based on how competitive admissions was (or wasn't) back then.

Dartmouth wasn't much ahead, but Brown was pretty competitive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh wait, when did Columbia get hot?

Maybe when they won a football game?

My kid is very smart, but I doubt he's driven enough to get into an Ivy. On the other hand, if he did, I am having trouble imagining the circumstances under which I'd recommend Columbia over Brown.

Brown for art (exchange with RISD) and lack of core requirements. Columbia for music (exchange with Julliard) or engineering, or if he loves the idea of being required to read Plato and Dante.

HYP are HYP.... I've never seen a formal definition of "top ivy" although Cornell gets mocked all the time.

Anonymous wrote:Oh wait, when did Columbia get hot?

Maybe when they won a football game?

My kid is very smart, but I doubt he's driven enough to get into an Ivy. On the other hand, if he did, I am having trouble imagining the circumstances under which I'd recommend Columbia over Brown.

Anonymous wrote:Oh wait, when did Columbia get hot?

Hotter than Brown and even Princeton in terms of the acceptance ratio (ie, Columbia accepts a smaller %). But that's this year and it could all change next year. More important, it's all relative, because they're all really good and they're all hard to get into.

Anonymous wrote:The "top" Ivies are HYP, and I would say if there are a "bottom three" they would be Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown.

By the way, the "big three" are NCS/STA, Sidwell, and whatever school your child gets into/attends.

OP here, So, Columbia and Penn are the "middle Ivies" or the "Swing Ivies?" Surely they deserve a name too!

The "top" Ivies are HYP, and I would say if there are a "bottom three" they would be Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown.

By the way, the "big three" are NCS/STA, Sidwell, and whatever school your child gets into/attends.

Anonymous wrote:Oh wait, when did Columbia get hot?

The posters didn't know Columbia is an Ivy.

This is a really silly thread

Is that what people really mean when they say "I have a degree from a TOP IVY"? They mean HYP?

Oh wait, when did Columbia get hot?

Cornell. That's the only one that "doesn't really count."

Bottom Ivies are the Ivies that aren't Harvard or Yale or Princeton.

Cornell, which I love and think is a great school, is often the butt of jokes because it has a higher acceptance rate than the others.

Brown is hot these days. But not as hot as HYP or Columbia. Does being in the "bottom 4" of the 8 Ivy colleges make it a "bottom" ivy? I couldn't say.

Bottom line, all the ivies are really hard to get into. I don't know anyone who is embarrassed about Cornell or Penn (full disclosure, Penn is my alma mater).

I often read here that someone's children got into a "top Ivy". Is there a list somewhere of which Ivies are top? Or is it like the Big 3, which seem to be Sidwell, GDS, and whatever school the poster's kids go to?

When people say "I want my kid to go to a TOP IVY" do they mean "Dear God, not Brown, and if they have to go to Penn please make it Wharton?"