Ivy League Colleges: For what purpose?

[Not not Mattaru]

Edit: Like I would be more impressed by someone who went to Georgetown for International Relations than I ever would for someone who went to any of these Ivy League schools for IR.

I don't know if I would be impressed more...rather thought they made a better choice. For IR being in DC is just a better deal all around.

The Johns Hopkins SAIS people always seemed more intense to me though.

[Ruiner]

Also, I'm curious: what do people consider "public Ivys" and "tier 1" schools? Off the top of my head, I would say MIT, Stanford, UVA, UNC, Georgetown, Duke, a few of the UCs, Chicago, Hopkins, etc. Probably missing a bunch. There really are a lot when you think about it.

[Meat]

Community college -> 4 year college of your choice.

I am a junir @ UCONN, after going to my local community college, I will graduate when I am 22, and owe 15k. You ivy leagurs can pay your 200k+ debt, while I live happy with my 50k-75k a year salary, that goes into my pocket.

Edit: related though. Ivy league is for the prestige and networking like everyone is saying. If you work hard enough, and have enough drive, no matter what college you go to you will be successful.

what? lol

I graduated to a new ivy (nyu) for undergrad and went to an ivy(columbia) for my mba, never finished . and i paid 0, zilch, nada, squat, nothing.

This probably sums up why people go to an ivy league school, some people are happy making 50-75k and some people aren't. Going to an ivy\new ivy gives you a leg up.

[Meat]

Also, I'm curious: what do people consider "public Ivys" and "tier 1" schools? Off the top of my head, I would say MIT, Stanford, UVA, UNC, Georgetown, Duke, a few of the UCs, Chicago, Hopkins, etc. Probably missing a bunch. There really are a lot when you think about it.

http://americancolleges.suite101.com...d-universities

[Not not Mattaru]

Also, I'm curious: what do people consider "public Ivys" and "tier 1" schools? Off the top of my head, I would say MIT, Stanford, UVA, UNC, Georgetown, Duke, a few of the UCs, Chicago, Hopkins, etc. Probably missing a bunch. There really are a lot when you think about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Ivy

I went to one of these Public Ivies, I think its a slight stretch though.

[Omnipotent]

Sorry about the $$$ missinformation. That's just a sterotype I need to drop, I think ivy I think $$$$$$$$$$$$. Editting because it was a stupid comment.

[Omnipotent]

So much misinformation and ignorance in this post.

Fixed, but I think ignorance might have been a harsh word. I am definitely not ignorant, I wouldn't have apoligized if I was.

[Ruiner]

Fixed, but I think ignorance might have been a harsh word. I am definitely not ignorant, I wouldn't have apoligized if I was.

I didn't call you ignorant, I called the contents of that post ignorant. Which it was.

[Mayareira]

So that you can troll like a champ like Naygor did back then.

[Antithesis]

I'll be honest, sometimes when I think about all these kids that end up going to these prestigious colleges I get a bit jealous. I won't lie, I use to get extremely jealous before about these kids going to ridiculous colleges and always came up with an excuse as to why I was happy with where I was going and why the kids that were going were silly. Now, at this point in my life I am actually happy that I've been taking my time and figuring out what I want to do with my life. Am I still jealous at these people? A little, yes but I know that they went there because they wanted to and had the grades to do it.

Sometimes I feel inferior when I talk to someone or know someone from a prestigious college because I feel like somehow, they are better than me and they've had these opportunities to explore the nation / world. Much of that hatred has died out and I understand why plenty of people would want to go to it. I guess I am just not one of those people that prefer going to an Ivy League. I'm pretty chill right now finished up my A.A and getting ready for Bachelors. I honestly think I just need to get the bloody hell out of Miami seeing as how in the 20 years I have lived here, I have never gone out of the state and the farthest North I have been to is Orlando and back. Yep, never been anywhere else.

I appreciate the response guys. It's been great seeing what everyone has had to say about this and once again, I thank you all.

[Zoolander]

I don't know if I would be impressed more...rather thought they made a better choice. For IR being in DC is just a better deal all around.

The Johns Hopkins SAIS people always seemed more intense to me though.

Yea "impressed" perhaps not being the best choice of words. John Hopkins would be a close second for sure. Can't really beat being right there in DC or, to a lesser extent, NYC. American University would be like my best case scenario I think, no way I get into the above two.

I'd be happy to get into U of Denver though lol, currently working some contacts I have within the department there. Shit is tough though, I imagine I'll have to take some time between ugrad and grad school for work experience. We'll see though!

@ Anti: shit dude, you definitely need to go somewhere. It doesn't have to take a lot of money, although obviously some amount of money will be required. I used sometimes feel embarrassed about going the AA route, but honestly it doesn't matter at all. The first two years are all so similar no matter where you go.

Oh and going off what someone else said, the best two professors and mentors I've ever had were both at Santa Fe CC up in Gainesville (of course they were previously UF professors that hated the system there, but still). The worst professor I ever had at SFCC was still never as bad as the worst prof I've had at USF (fuckkkkk you Mr. Hechiche)

[Not not Mattaru]

American University would be like my best case scenario I think, no way I get into the above two.

I'd be happy to get into U of Denver though lol, currently working some contacts I have within the department there. Shit is tough though, I imagine I'll have to take some time between ugrad and grad school for work experience. We'll see though!

Yeah, AU is one of the two school I have thought about for my MA if I go IR route. Mainly because of their program with Ritsumeikan.

DU is a good school, I never really considered it since graduating though. Since I am from outside Denver I visited DU for undergrad stuff, but at that time I really did not care haha. I know someone who is at DU now, went to Georgetown - maybe she is smart, but I could honestly never take her seriously.

[Antithesis]

@ Anti: shit dude, you definitely need to go somewhere. It doesn't have to take a lot of money, although obviously some amount of money will be required. I used sometimes feel embarrassed about going the AA route, but honestly it doesn't matter at all. The first two years are all so similar no matter where you go.

Part of the problem is that my mother seems to have "letting go" issues (I'm the youngest.) I've been working at the family business developing the website and helping them with their technical problems (Quickbooks and Computer help.) If I'm going to get out of here, I pretty much have to break all ties with this job which I hope I can by the end of the year. My sister just turned 24 and is finally moving out which really doesn't help me and my parents will just use her as an example of why I don't "need to move out."

[Boyiee]

My lawyer told me when I first met him that one of his partners went to this amazing law school etc etc spent all this money and he's been paying it back for years, while he went to a cheap one after a few years at community college. He then told me none of his clients, nor judges have ever really cared about the difference in their educations, they both make the same money, win/lose the same amount of cases, and it doesn't affect them at all now.

It helps for some jobs, it helps for some resume's, it is a good conversation piece, and some places help prepare you better. In the end though it probably won't matter for most situations and people.

[Meresgi]

Ivy League colleges in my opinion are just shit. Sure graduating with a 4.0 from Princeton means you're pretty damn smart...but if you were smarter you would have saved some of that money and went to a cheaper school, gotten a 4.0 there and probably learned the same material. The only difference though I can see is that Ivy League's are for networking. They house most of the prestigious and pompous people with family ties to old money so you get to know people who know people who know people and can drop names.


@Anti. Like Zoo said, get out and explore a little. Even if you go to a college a state over or just a little north in Florida. From what I have heard, Florida's education system sucks anyways. If your mom is having momma bird syndrome just sit her down and explain to her you need to live life and have experience...even if that experience bites you in the fucking ass hard (God knows i've been through that shit moving out my first time)...unless of course the rest of your siblings have all moved out, become drug addicts and died due to overdose and gang violence...then yeah she might be worried for a reason

[Holly Short]

Part of the problem is that my mother seems to have "letting go" issues (I'm the youngest.) I've been working at the family business developing the website and helping them with their technical problems (Quickbooks and Computer help.) If I'm going to get out of here, I pretty much have to break all ties with this job which I hope I can by the end of the year. My sister just turned 24 and is finally moving out which really doesn't help me and my parents will just use her as an example of why I don't "need to move out."

You said you were Latino earlier I think?

Is that just a cultural thing?

White parents want you the fuck out the moment you hit 18, but for sure the moment you're done with HS. Well, most of them, anyway.

[Zetanio]

Ivy League colleges in my opinion are just shit. Sure graduating with a 4.0 from Princeton means you're pretty damn smart...but if you were smarter you would have saved some of that money and went to a cheaper school, gotten a 4.0 there and probably learned the same material. The only difference though I can see is that Ivy League's are for networking. They house most of the prestigious and pompous people with family ties to old money so you get to know people who know people who know people and can drop names.

Did you miss the part where we explained that going to these schools is actually affordable (or in some cases free) for people with lower incomes?

[Meresgi]

Did you miss the part where we explained that going to these schools is actually affordable (or in some cases free) for people with lower incomes?

Do they provide everything or is it just admission? If it's everything then awesome, if not then that's still a good chunk of change for books and housing but not too bad I guess. I know my cousin came out of Cornell with a lot of money owed. My aunt was paying out of pocket for a lot of the shit as a single mother who worked as a RN at a local hospital in an area where average income is probably 12k/yr. She makes I would guess 30k/yr maybe.

[Not not Mattaru]

Do they provide everything or is it just admission? If it's everything then awesome, if not then that's still a good chunk of change for books and housing but not too bad I guess. I know my cousin came out of Cornell with a lot of money owed. My aunt was paying out of pocket for a lot of the shit as a single mother who worked as a RN at a local hospital in an area where average income is probably 12k/yr. She makes I would guess 30k/yr maybe.

I don't know if it is everything, and I am not sure which schools do it. But I remember hearing a couple years ago that Harvard got some big endowment which basically meant no one had to pay tuition (or at least a ton of people). Even if it doesn't count all expenses it is much better than most universities in that regard.

[Ruiner]

Do they provide everything or is it just admission? If it's everything then awesome, if not then that's still a good chunk of change for books and housing but not too bad I guess.

A good chunk of change meaning, still less money than most other colleges for a VASTLY superior education.

We understand the the material learned at other institutions is not going to differ that greatly from the Ivy League, but that doesn't really matter to the rest of the world. Whether it should or shouldn't is irrelevant; the fact is that having an Ivy League education gets you further in the world.