<p>Among those who know, there are several non-Ivies that are actually held in higher educational esteem that most if not all of the ivies: Chicago (and Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, Stanford, CalTech, MIT) would all be on that list. To the average Joe, no question the only top schools in the universe are “Ivies”, but what does the average Joe know? If you are fortunate enough to attend Chicago, forget about it and get on with your life- and you’ll develop thicker skin than somebody attending Princeton ;)</p>