Re: “Lower Ivies” language
I’ve gotta say that I haven’t encountered that until recently, and it really just shows the callowness of the juniors (and younger) who use that language.
They have no idea how big the US is, how limited the number of slots at the Ivies/equivalents are, and how, with holistic admissions, how off their assessment of where they stand may be from how adcoms perceive them.
Being top 5% in HS is impressive, but a school like UIUC is a top 5% school.