What makes Ivy League schools better?

Why are Ivy league schools superior to other universities? Are non Ivy league schools holding back on knowledge that can only be obtained at Harvard or Yale?

I don't think so, I think it's just an uppity title for them to feel superior about since not everyone can get into them like they can other places.

I have always thought the biggest difference is that when one is attending an Ivy, his peers at school are mostly all intelligent, motivated and wanting to get the most out of their undergrad degree. That setting provides a better learning environment. Also, an Ivy has more money to spend, it looks better on a resume, and the contacts made are superior to those made at a state school.

I remember when I was researching which college to attend and Evergreen State University was listed as "The only ivy league school in Washington"...

Pretty much everyone I knew was aware that if you go to Evergreen, you're going to be smoking a LOT of pot and going to a lot of parties. Of course, that's from an 18 yo's perspective, if I went to Evergreen NOW I'm sure that's not what I would be thinking...

I was really shocked to read that description though, because of it's reputation as a party school for hippies and the children of hippies.

That is ballsy marketing to call a non-Ivy an Ivy.

RedBedroom wrote:That is ballsy marketing to call a non-Ivy an Ivy.

I know, it was in a newspaper write up about it too. Maybe it is Ivy league, who knows. What is the requirement to be called that?

There are only 8 Ivy League schools. They are Brown, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Penn.

RedBedroom wrote:There are only 8 Ivy League schools. They are Brown, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Penn.

What makes them Ivy League? Is it how much money they cost or how old they are?

I think their title and the respect that cones with the name are the only real differences. I honestly think they are just overpriced ways to show off.

There is no difference aside from the reputation.

I believe the actual history of them being termed as such has to do with athletics and how they formed the first conference for college sports. Their admission standards are strict and they let in only top academic performers. And so they put a lot of money and effort into making the schools superior in all areas to attract the "best" students. And they get a lot of large endowments due to what their alum. have gone on to do. So the facilities are top notch, they hire the most desired teaching staff and a student will attend classes surrounded by people who have a strong academic background.

There is probably more to it than that, but that's all I know.

RedBedroom wrote:I believe the actual history of them being termed as such has to do with athletics and how they formed the first conference for college sports. Their admission standards are strict and they let in only top academic performers. And so they put a lot of money and effort into making the schools superior in all areas to attract the "best" students. And they get a lot of large endowments due to what their alum. have gone on to do. So the facilities are top notch, they hire the most desired teaching staff and a student will attend classes surrounded by people who have a strong academic background.

There is probably more to it than that, but that's all I know.

that sounds right, I just read the wikipedia about it, lol. I'm thinking in hindsight that the article I read probably threw in a qualifier like "the only ivy league level school in WA" or something that I didn't pick up on. Which even then still sounds ridiculous to me for that particular school.

Three hundred years ago a Harvard education was superior to common universities. What fuels an ivy league's reputation today is name, how old the school is, exclusivity/hard-to-crack admissions policies and public manipulation (via high tuition costs.)

10 Reasons an Ivy-League Degree is Overrated
By Amber Hensley
The Ivies are a great source of pride and prestige for its students
and alumni. But here are ten reasons you might be smarter to attend
college elsewhere.

1. Elitism.
   As this article, written by an Ivy-League-educated former Ivy-League
   professor, explains, getting a degree from an Ivy-League school leaves
   students isolated from anyone who is not also educated in the same
   manner. A definite class discrepancy, inability to communicate with
   real people, and the inability to fail leaves Ivy-League graduates
   with, according to this article, a lack of vision, ability to take
   important risks, and no experience with real life.
   
   
2. Publication vs. instructors’ ability to teach.
   Typically, instructors at Ivy-League schools receive tenure based on
   what they have published. Books and research documented in professional
   journals may take a back seat to an actual ability to teach their
   subject. At smaller schools, however, instructors are more often than
   not hired based on their teaching.
   
   
3. You can get many of the benefits online for free.
   With the availability of such resources as the free MIT OpenCourseWare
   classes online, the education once only available in the classrooms of
   the Ivy-League schools has now spread to anyone with Internet access
   and the desire to learn. Excellent video lectures, class materials,
   reading lists, and other elements of these classes are online at no
   cost. If you can supplement your education with these materials, you
   can avoid costly tuition and fees to receive the same knowledge.
   
   
4. CEO pay is not necessarily greater.
   For many who attend Ivy-League schools, the goal is to achieve success
   in business along with the expected elevated pay scale. A research
   study completed by a student from the Kelley School of Business
   indicates that while prestige and status may be common with an
   Ivy-League degree, higher compensation may not. The findings of the
   study show that Ivy-League graduates may indeed obtain marginally
   higher salary and marginally higher "other" income, overall
   compensation and stock-based compensation are actually lower than other
   graduates.
   
   
5. Ivy-League education not well suited for entrepreneurs.
   If you have the drive and ambition to become an entrepreneur, then you
   may want to stay away from Ivy-League schools. There is indication that
   an Ivy-League education produces excellent "corporate" thinkers, but
   does not produce the type of thinking that drives successful
   entrepreneurs or creates strong leaders. Indeed, many respected tech
   companies and other cutting-edge employers prefer to find their employees from schools outside the ivied walls of the elite.
   
   
6. Poor environment for undergraduate study.
   Sometimes Ivy-League schools put more money, quality instructors, and
   focus on their graduate programs than their undergraduate programs. The
   research coming from the graduate programs will promote the school in
   ways that undergraduate work will not. In these cases, undergraduate
   students may face large, anonymous classrooms and instructors that are
   graduate students or of lesser quality than the tenure-track professors
   spending time on mentoring grad students and their own research.
   
   
7. Quality vs. Affordability.
   With some Ivy-League colleges topping out at $50,000 a year, you would
   expect the quality to be the best in the nation. While this may
   certainly be true for some Ivy-League schools, there are also many
   other schools that offer comparable quality education at a fraction of
   the cost. According to Kiplinger’s ratings of the schools with the best
   value, institutions such as University of North Carolina at Chapel
   Hill, University of Florida, and University of Virginia offer top-rate
   education for a value price. Of the top 100 they ranked, only 18 cost
   more than $20,000 a year and some are almost half that.
   
   
8. Too much pressure on students.
   High school students pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion and
   mental stress striving to get into an Ivy League school or students at
   those schools living under the pressure of always competing to be the
   best among the best can result in overtaxed students learning less than
   their potential allows. Taking a student out of that pressure-cooker
   environment and allowing her to use her intelligence and ambition to do
   well in a good school without the added stress is ultimately a better
   choice for both the well-being of the student and her future.
   
   
9. Money spent on undergraduate education could go toward a graduate education.
   Choosing to go to a less expensive school for your undergraduate work
   means you may have more money available for grad school. According to
   Mark Kantrowitz of FinAid.org, students planning for grad school should
   look at options such as less expensive schools offering quality
   education for their undergraduate program and focus on better schools
   for their graduate work. Also, finding a school that offers excellent
   scholarship opportunities will greatly reduce your expenses, also
   freeing up available money for graduate school.
   
   
10. Low payback ratio.
    SmartMoney took a hard look at the expense of education alongside
    earnings of graduates from these same schools. Surprisingly, the state
    schools, which cost much less to attend, provided graduates with an
    education that helps them earn more money per the expense than
    graduates from Ivy-League schools. According to the study, Texas
    A&M graduates enjoy two and a half times the return on their
    investment than do Harvard graduates. Attending an Ivy-League school
    may provide connections and the opportunity for promising employment,
    but the return on the investment may not be worth the other gains.