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<p>Well what is the difference? It doesn’t seem like you know the difference. Aside from the USNWR rankings, you haven’t named any major differences. Alabama and ASU have AMAZING aid and fantastic honors colleges. If you are going to be applying to Swarthmore and Dartmouth, you have to write an essay writing about WHY you actually want to go there. It’s arguably the most important essays. You can’t just generalize about academic quality. I believe that is the biggest reason why my daughter got into Swarthmore. She researched and spoke to faculty about the curriculum. She actually WANTED it. And she will be attending Swarthmore after her gap year.</p>
<p>On to your second point, YES, there is a huge difference in the academics at those schools. Perhaps not in quality, but there are huge academic differences between Brown and Yale and Harvard and Dartmouth. They may all be top ranked schools, but the undergraduate experience at these schools are VERY different. The curriculums are different. The student bodies are different. The campus life is different. The campus area is different. The access to resources is different. And the overall environment is different.</p>
<p>Now, I’m not naive. I know I can’t convince someone who is set on prestige that it doesn’t matter. BUT you should go on the school websites and visit the schools. It will open your eyes.</p>
<p>Lastly, can you identify the differences that they would actually be paying for? </p>
<p>I implore you to do more research. Research job recruiting. Research best value colleges. Research internships. Research colleges with the happiest students. You would e surprised with what you find.</p>