Applying To All Ivies

legendofmax
Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:09:10 +0000

In terms of education, you can’t go wrong with any of the Ivies, or any top school for that matter.

It’s merely a matter of fit. I don’t see anything inherently wrong with shotgunning to a bunch of great schools. I know that if I go to any Ivy, I’m going to get a good education. Could I survive in a rural environment? Sure. Urban? Sure. Doesn’t mean I’ll enjoy it, though.

I mean, I applied to most of the Ivies back in the day – I wasn’t going to be picky. I didn’t know what I wanted to do or study 100%, and I knew college students changed their minds a lot anyway. So I figured that if I had to make those decisions, I may as well make them at a school where I know I’d get a good education, regardless.

I’d honestly advise against just shotgunning to all the Ivies. Yes, I did it, and applied to 15 schools and got into 14 of them. I was really proud of the acceptances, but if I could do it again, I’d choose more wisely.

It does no good to apply to schools you have no real interest in. I made the mistake of choosing a school (Penn) I wasn’t even all that passionate about. I was far more passionate about Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and MIT, but the allure of Wharton and all the talk about lucrative post-grad jobs was blinding. Am I getting a good education in Wharton? Of course, but it’s been the most uncomfortable four years of my life. I would have been much happier elsewhere.

This goes for all of you, too. Don’t apply to a bunch of Ivies where you honestly can’t see yourselves having a great time in every aspect. If you’re more passionate about a non-Ivy, GO TO THE NON-IVY. There are definite pros and cons to Ivies vs. non-Ivies. As someone who used to be super-skeptical when it came to stuff like this, believe me when I honestly say that fit is so incredibly important. If I were receiving this advice a few years ago, I would have disregarded it, and I did, and now I truly regret it. I cannot stress to you how vital this is. Please reconsider applying to all Ivies for the sake of applying. They’re all great schools, but I assure you that you aren’t going to have the same level of happiness at any Ivy.

Apply to schools you are passionate about. There’s no point in even considering a school where you won’t have a good time. It’s four years of your life. And I can tell you, four years at a school you don’t care for is really, really tough.