Anonymous wrote:I was just talking with DH about our D’s decision to ED to a SLAC rather than apply to DH’s alma mater ivy and other T10’s, which she was competitive for but didn’t feel drawn to. My take was, “Cool that she had the self-possession to look beyond prestige and make a choice based on other things she values.” His take, while fully supporting our D’s choice, was that the lifetime of doors that spring open once you have that ivy on your resume is a perk that’s well worth a less-than-ideal undergrad experience. He didn’t love his four years of undergrad, but says he would do it again in a heartbeat knowing the advantages his choice has since conferred. Hard to sell this viewpoint to a teenager though, so we’re now team LAC all the way.

I'm assuming that it is a top SLAC. If so, she'll be just fine as they open any door that an Ivy opens.

Anonymous wrote:some Ivys are not "better" than other T20. My kid would choose Duke over just about any other Ivy except HYP and maybe Penn. Full merit at schools like Vandy, Rice, WashU etc. would make it a tough decision, but really depends on which Ivy. HYP or non-HYP.

This HYP foolishness reminds me of the WASP foolishness in the elite SLAC side of the road. Neither group is any better than their peers except for Princeton's stronger commitment to undergraduate education. The top schools are ranked based on their endowments not their quality because the endowment impacts the algorithm.

There are kids at Harvard in remedial math and writing. No thanks. My poor grandpop would be devasted.

It’s really just Princeton these days and Stanford and mit are likely better schools.

some Ivys are not "better" than other T20. My kid would choose Duke over just about any other Ivy except HYP and maybe Penn. Full merit at schools like Vandy, Rice, WashU etc. would make it a tough decision, but really depends on which Ivy. HYP or non-HYP.

STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS!

I was just talking with DH about our D’s decision to ED to a SLAC rather than apply to DH’s alma mater ivy and other T10’s, which she was competitive for but didn’t feel drawn to. My take was, “Cool that she had the self-possession to look beyond prestige and make a choice based on other things she values.” His take, while fully supporting our D’s choice, was that the lifetime of doors that spring open once you have that ivy on your resume is a perk that’s well worth a less-than-ideal undergrad experience. He didn’t love his four years of undergrad, but says he would do it again in a heartbeat knowing the advantages his choice has since conferred. Hard to sell this viewpoint to a teenager though, so we’re now team LAC all the way.

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Anonymous wrote:Northwestern is ranked higher than several Ivies - Dartmouth, Columbia, Cornell. But push comes to shove, I think most students would choose the Ivy.

I understand Columbia over Northwestern but nobody is picking Cornell or Dartmouth over it - only the people desperate to say they go to “an Ivy.”

Those who prefer to be in NYC, yes to Columbia. But Northwestern is the clear choice vs. Brown, Dartmouth and Cornell.

Yes, maybe to those of you writing from your house in Loudoun County. But try to realize that there is an entire class of people out there that don't make admissions decisions based on the latest iteration of US News.

I live in Manhattan, sent both my kids to “elite” prep schools, and would pick Chicago & Northwestern over Cornell, Dartmouth, and Chicago over Brown. This isn’t because of whatever list USNWR has created, and it’s weird you assume people from the suburbs default to USNWR while people in cities think Ivies reign supreme. Many of my kids’ friends picked USNWR T10s over Ivies; the Ivy label of the so-called “lower Ivies” doesn’t hold up against those schools in a head-to-head.

This is such a stupid comment. Cornell runs circles around Chicago and NW (and other Ivies) in engineering, computer science, architecture, and other majors (not to mention the many Cornell majors that arent even available at these other schools).

Many posters look down on Cornell contract colleges.

CALS: Ranked #1 in the nation for agricultural sciences.
ILR: Frequently ranked as the top school for industrial and labor relations.
Human Ecology: Recognized as #1 in its field.
Hotel School: Ranked #1 in the nation.

The previous poster was speaking form the perspective of a Manhattan prep school parent. This is not the target demographic for agriculture science, labor relations or hotel management majors.

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Anonymous wrote:Northwestern is ranked higher than several Ivies - Dartmouth, Columbia, Cornell. But push comes to shove, I think most students would choose the Ivy.

I understand Columbia over Northwestern but nobody is picking Cornell or Dartmouth over it - only the people desperate to say they go to “an Ivy.”

Those who prefer to be in NYC, yes to Columbia. But Northwestern is the clear choice vs. Brown, Dartmouth and Cornell.

Yes, maybe to those of you writing from your house in Loudoun County. But try to realize that there is an entire class of people out there that don't make admissions decisions based on the latest iteration of US News.

I live in Manhattan, sent both my kids to “elite” prep schools, and would pick Chicago & Northwestern over Cornell, Dartmouth, and Chicago over Brown. This isn’t because of whatever list USNWR has created, and it’s weird you assume people from the suburbs default to USNWR while people in cities think Ivies reign supreme. Many of my kids’ friends picked USNWR T10s over Ivies; the Ivy label of the so-called “lower Ivies” doesn’t hold up against those schools in a head-to-head.

This is such a stupid comment. Cornell runs circles around Chicago and NW (and other Ivies) in engineering, computer science, architecture, and other majors (not to mention the many Cornell majors that arent even available at these other schools).

Another poster from Manhattan. That’s not stupid at all in NYC where there has always been a bias against Cornell, rightly or wrongly. Locally, Cornell is known as Stuyvesant, Bronx Sci and Brooklyn Tech 2.0; if you are not familiar, these are massive public schools where kids are accustomed to large class sizes, using sharp elbows to get into the courses they want, surviving by cheating, etc. The rampant cheating has been well-documented in local newspapers for years esp for Stuy. Of course many students are brilliant kids but they bring their grindy culture to Cornell; literally over 100 kids matriculate from just these 3 high schools to Cornell every year. Private school families in NYC rarely choose Cornell over T20/top LACs partly b/c of this and also b/c many have better options.

Anonymous wrote:My kid picked UVA over an Ivy.

Ivies have weird vibes these days. My older child is at one. They are often an exceedingly random mix of kids---super academic grinders, underprepared FGLI kids from middle America, ultra wealthy who stick to themselves. It's a odd mix.

Agree - DC is a freshman/first year at an Ivy and his is 100 percent true!

Anonymous wrote:Finances? I think it makes sense to enroll in a good flagship over an Ivy. But if the non-ivy is WashU, Emory, etc, it better be a compelling reason.

Why? If it's a great fit for their kid, and that's where the kid actually wants to be, why not let them choose it?

A kid with those options will do well anywhere.

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Anonymous wrote:My child is turning down an ivy. She attended the admitted students day and decided that her type of crowd was not at the ivy.

Prestige is only so important when you are miserable.

Which "ivy"? The admitted students day for ivies are all in April, how could she already attended?

Have they even had any yet? My kids two Ivy choices are later this month.

No lol

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Anonymous wrote:My child is turning down an ivy. She attended the admitted students day and decided that her type of crowd was not at the ivy.

Prestige is only so important when you are miserable.

Which "ivy"? The admitted students day for ivies are all in April, how could she already attended?

Exactly

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Anonymous wrote:My child is turning down an ivy. She attended the admitted students day and decided that her type of crowd was not at the ivy.

Prestige is only so important when you are miserable.

Which "ivy"? The admitted students day for ivies are all in April, how could she already attended?

Have they even had any yet? My kids two Ivy choices are later this month.

Anonymous wrote:My child is turning down an ivy. She attended the admitted students day and decided that her type of crowd was not at the ivy.

Prestige is only so important when you are miserable.

Which "ivy"? The admitted students day for ivies are all in April, how could she already attended?