The absence of not being in a prestigious university

College Life
#1

<p>Here I am, 17 years old and about 1 semester away from starting college. I got into my reasonable college, UIUC, and currently waiting on Cornell and Rice. I mainly applied to those 2 schools to see if I was up to match with 2 very good universities, one being an Ivy League.
I was recently rejected from University of Chicago, so these are the last two I am waiting on. I sit pondering, if I get the chance to go to Cornell, should I take it? The title "Ivy league student" is one I had dreamed of before. Just the cost and distance is what truly impairs me (if I make it in).
That is not the question in this post though, I was curious, have any of you been given the chance to make it into an ivy league, or a university of equal prestige, and skipped it due to other reasons? Any regrets? Do you plan to transfer or go through a graduate program?</p>

<p>For me, there is a possibility I may transfer or do a graduate program at one of the Ivy leagues, maybe just any that accepts me. I know it is just a form of elitism coming from me, but in reality, its just a dream that I want to achieve.</p>

#2

<p>By the way, this is the video that really got me thinking.
This</a> Is - YouTube</p>

#3

<p>I never applied to any Ivies (no interest) but I don't feel any regret for it. I go to a pretty good state school, and you see lots of really, really smart people who go on to get jobs at great companies. Everyone here seems to be really focused on success, and there are plenty of people who I'm sure could have gotten into an Ivy but chose to come here for cost or whatever other reason. </p>

<p>I often forget that other universities even exist, in all honesty (although I think that's a pretty common experience as college often puts you in a bit of a bubble). I consider myself to be studying with top professors in my field and surrounded by people who will go on to do great things. Perhaps I'm not studying with the BEST professors in my field and people who will one day cure cancer, but I'm really, really happy with the level of education I am receiving, it seems more than adequate.</p>

<p>Perhaps my expectations are lower than they would be if I went to an Ivy, I guess, but I find that this school correlates perfectly with what I plan to achieve, and there are 40,000 people at my school who would mostly agree with me, I think. :)</p>

#4

<p>this ^</p>

<p>i know a kid who probably could have gotten into any ivy league (minority with excellent grades and major athletic involvement. easily military academy material in fact) but he goes to my state university.</p>

#5

<p>I don't know why it's so important to go to an ivy league. I mean, sure, if you get in, then go by all means, but it's not THAT important - and it shouldn't. I go a good state university myself and I've met really, really smart people here. I met a girl who got into PRINCETON. Now, you'd think, "Wow, she chose Penn State over PRINCETON?" But she doesn't care and she is happy with her choice! She's in the honors college with me and is rocking her academics! State universities like UW-Madison, Iowa, UIUC, PSU, etc. all bring in very bright (but also "dumb," but that's everywhere) and intelligent students. Don't be discouraged. The majority of the population in America doesn't even go to a top 50 college.</p>

#6

<p>The absence of not being in a prestigious university is the same thing as being in a prestigious university....double negative....(sorry, I couldn't resist haha).
I go to Cornell and I love it, but I don't go there because it's an Ivy, I go there because they have programs and opportunities that I like, and I like the school.</p>

#7

<p>What about Ivy Leagues that interests you? If they excel in a study that you're planning to engage in then by all means, go for it. But when you want to go to a school just for names sake then that is an issue, that should not even be considered. I know a guy who got accepted to all UCs here in California and decided to attend Humboldt State University because it was a perfect fit for him.</p>

#8

<p>In honesty, it is for names sake. I pictured it as a childhood dream, whenever you hear someone say "I go/went to an Ivy" people are usually astounded, but I guess that dies down as you age, but still the status is still there.
I do not want to jinx myself, but want to say I will get into Cornell, but I just get a feeling that I might regret never going to one.</p>

#9

<p>Don't go to a college because 'it's an ivy.' If you get a big scholarship so that you can graduate without much debt and the education offered there aligns with your academic/career goals then sure, go, but 'it's an ivy' is the reason that all of the people with 100k+ debt and no job chose their college.</p>

<p>After a semester at a school that's a good fit for you you'll be shocked you ever considered going anywhere else.</p>

#10

<p>I graduated from a small liberal arts college and thought that prestigious universities were overrated. Then I spent time at Penn and Stanford and boy did that change my mind. Not only do they offer a much richer academic experience, but students there are actively being recruited by companies that would not even read an application coming from a small liberal arts college. </p>

<p>I am not even joking on that last point. A finance guy gave a "how to interview for a job in consulting" workshop at my liberal arts college. At the end of the talk, a student asked him if his company had internships or entry-level positions for college students. His response, "Yes but we hire exclusively from Princeton and Wharton."</p>

<p>I am not saying that everyone should go to a prestigious university at all cost if the opportunity arises. However, I do believe that selectivity and prestige have very tangible benefits that should enter into the equation.</p>

#11

<p>I also went to a small lac. Now I go to an ivy, and I have to say, that although the ivy presents me with many more opportunities that I did not have access to at my lac, I am not as happy at the ivy as I was at the lac. Go to the school that you think you will be happy at.</p>

#12

<p>Barium that really only matters if you wanna go into investment banking.</p>

#13

<p>Exactly what RoxSox said. I never applied to any ivy leagues because of lack of interest, go to MSU and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything that an Ivy League could offer. Okay, there might be slightly stupider kids in some of my classes in comparison, but I'm generally impressed with all of my classmates in my upper level courses. I've interned at places with ivy league students...they aren't all that impressive on a personal level. </p>

<p>There are very few professions/companies that actually care about what school you go to. A lot of companies actually prefer to recruit in large state schools because they can get more top applicants. For example, in government jobs they don't care about what school you go to at all...their selection process is primarily based off key words in your cover letter/resume/transcripts. I can give example after example of how prestige in a university doesn't mean that much...but I'm not going to convince the OP if he/she is deadset on going to an ivy league. I'm just saying that you should care more about the school itself and what it can offer you in your ideal program of study over the prestige of going to any ivy league.</p>

#14

<p>Thank you for all your input, I am not "deadset" on going to an Ivy, in reality, I probably am going to go to UIUC. I am just worried I will miss the opportunity to be with other "ivy leaguers". Also, looking at some statistics, a lot of top medical schools had only accepted the majority from top ranking, for example one school accepted like 20 Duke students while only taking 1 UIUC applicant.</p>

#15
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