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http://www.thedailybeast.com/newswe...l?fb_ref=listicle&fb_source=profile_multiline
What do people think of the list?
What do people think of the list?
Let the debate begin
- Thread starter waterpolo480586
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This list sucks... blasphemy... Hogwarts takes the cake... no doubt.
mmmcdowe
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Never heard of St. John's College of NM.
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Half of the schools I've never even heard of..Guessing it's those expensive private liberal arts colleges huh?
Funny how most of them are in the east coast.
Funny how most of them are in the east coast.
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Yeah nobody cares about them snooty schools north of the Mason-Dixie.
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Yeah, there are several extremely demanding math/physics/engineering schools missing from that list. We're expected to believe that Stanford, with its 3.6 average GPA, is tougher? Just like all other rankings, it's crap.
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I believe it has been said that the hardest part about the Ivy League is getting in...and once you're there is a lot of grade inflation and you really have to mess up pretty badly to fail out...so its hard to take this list too seriously...although I have heard things about Harvey Mudd being ridiculously vigorous...
For those of you noting the cost, most of these instiutions have HUGE endowments and provide excellent financial aid. If you have the grades to get into any of these schools, you should apply; don't let the perceived price-tag scare you
3. Middlebury
5. Columbia
6. Dartmouth
7. UChicago
9. Harvey Mudd
10. Grinnell
11. Wellsley
14. Oberlin
15. Swarthmore
17. Harvard
19. Bowdoin
20. Princeton
23. Yale
25. Stanford
3. Middlebury
5. Columbia
6. Dartmouth
7. UChicago
9. Harvey Mudd
10. Grinnell
11. Wellsley
14. Oberlin
15. Swarthmore
17. Harvard
19. Bowdoin
20. Princeton
23. Yale
25. Stanford
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Even if the monetary cost was equal to everywhere else I still wouldn't want to attend 1/2 of the schools on the list. Especially for undergrad.
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Vigorous, eh?
These instiutions have no-loan or capped loan policies, and for many of them, if your family makes below a certain amount (50k, 75k, etc), they waive all tuition.
Students get into loan problems, primarily, when they go to okay private schools that do not have good financial aid (think NYU and BU)
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I'll bite the bait on this thread...
What made you so sure that you wouldn't want to go to one of them? There is much, much more to the undergraduate education than the introductory classes. You meet people who have made a genuine difference in the world, on a daily basis, in medicine, law, politics, environmentalism, education... Even for pre-meds, you have the privilege of working with some of the best surgeons, cardiologists, neurologists etc. in the world. For the researchers, your PI has enough funds that you never have to feel guilty about your pet projects and wasted reagents or opt for easy projects rather than interesting ones. If there's one thing that most bothers me, it's that I'm not remotely smart enough to take advantage of all the resources here.
To be sure, we have our fair share of annoying kids, but as long as you steer clear of those few ivies/ivy-equivalents that are populated with the unmotivated rich kids rather than the idealistic ones, it's really not that bad...
With respect to financial aid, I actually get a check from my school every semester, even though my family is definitely within the top 15% in the US in terms of income (at least now it is; we used to be quite impoverished). I got a comparable package from the other college to which I had applied, and everyone I know in the middle or lower classes is in a similar situation. I don't know a single person here who has felt the need to take out loans, partially because we also have ridiculously high wages for on-campus jobs. Quite a lot of us are entirely financially independent from our families without having to accumulate any debt.
I can completely understand the rationale behind not liking the vibe at one of these schools in particular, but I can't think of a true and consistent argument that would cross them all out entirely. They are in fact very different schools, their only real common point being prestige, and to reject prestige for its own sake seems arbitrary and senseless.
What made you so sure that you wouldn't want to go to one of them? There is much, much more to the undergraduate education than the introductory classes. You meet people who have made a genuine difference in the world, on a daily basis, in medicine, law, politics, environmentalism, education... Even for pre-meds, you have the privilege of working with some of the best surgeons, cardiologists, neurologists etc. in the world. For the researchers, your PI has enough funds that you never have to feel guilty about your pet projects and wasted reagents or opt for easy projects rather than interesting ones. If there's one thing that most bothers me, it's that I'm not remotely smart enough to take advantage of all the resources here.
To be sure, we have our fair share of annoying kids, but as long as you steer clear of those few ivies/ivy-equivalents that are populated with the unmotivated rich kids rather than the idealistic ones, it's really not that bad...
With respect to financial aid, I actually get a check from my school every semester, even though my family is definitely within the top 15% in the US in terms of income (at least now it is; we used to be quite impoverished). I got a comparable package from the other college to which I had applied, and everyone I know in the middle or lower classes is in a similar situation. I don't know a single person here who has felt the need to take out loans, partially because we also have ridiculously high wages for on-campus jobs. Quite a lot of us are entirely financially independent from our families without having to accumulate any debt.
I can completely understand the rationale behind not liking the vibe at one of these schools in particular, but I can't think of a true and consistent argument that would cross them all out entirely. They are in fact very different schools, their only real common point being prestige, and to reject prestige for its own sake seems arbitrary and senseless.
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for normal, "above average," middle class family students like me, who aren't geniuses but have respectable stats, ivies/expensive private colleges aren't a great idea. When you get into an elite priv. school, sure the financial aid is good, but my parents are upper middle class, which means I get about 5-7k in academic scholarships, and maybe 4-8k in need based. yay- knocked off 10k from a 40k tuition 🙂
/Had to turn down rice when applying to schools because I can't pay 36k (minus 9k with aid) in fees.
/Had to turn down rice when applying to schools because I can't pay 36k (minus 9k with aid) in fees.
I went to one of the schools listed above. I'm white and my parents made over 100k when I was in college, and my cost of attendance was less than COA at my state's flagship school
I think Ponyo was just trying to vouch that misconceptions about these colleges are often unfounded. If you look under the hearsay, you might actually like one or more of these institutions
Not prestigious, really? All of these colleges have large endowments, high admissions standards, and high US News rankings
Sorry, I lost you on this one: why is idealism bad?
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That's good for you but I wasn't given more than 9k in aid.
This depends on the circles you move in. If your goal is to impress the mothers of the nice young women your mom is trying to set you up with, yeah, you'll probably have better luck with the Harvard name. But in, say, the engineering community, Harvey Mudd has a terrific reputation. I've worked with several Mudders, a handful of Harvard grads, and some Princeton folks as well. The Harvard and Princeton crew tends to be smart and accomplished sure, but the Mudders get a lot more done. If I was on an adcom, or if I was hiring for some sort of technical work, the name Harvey Mudd would have a _bigger_ effect on me than Harvard or Princeton.
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Weird how most of the schools there are Liberal arts schools. Aren't they supposed to have smaller class sizes? If so, wouldn't classes be easier because of more personal instruction?
And yeah, I've never heard of like 3 or 4 schools on that list, WHERE MIT AT??
And yeah, I've never heard of like 3 or 4 schools on that list, WHERE MIT AT??
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is this why you chose to go to a CC?
either all the colleges u like are CC's, or (and even then) u're havin sum really cruddy debates
but yea this list is totes ill-composed
not the case... i graduated from an ivy league where the median gpa at graduation was just over 3.3
pretty 'vigorous', especially when you are competing against the smartest and hardest working kids from high school and all science courses are graded on a curve
really? you're right- i'd also rather stay at my CC than go to harvard
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I don't understand, why would a small teacher to student ratio constitute a rigorous college? I'd imagine the exact opposite to be true. Actually I don't even have to imagine, because I go to Berkeley where I am part of the massive crowd of overachieving and Berzerkeley premeds. (lol jk its not that bad once you get used to studying every waking moment, srsly!) It's pretty out in the open here that professors don't really have the time or interest to get to know their students and you must always remember that if you slip up, crash and burn, there's no one to turn to and that can be a little stressful.
All I have to say is damn the ivy league schools and those rich pretty little liberal arts colleges. Just sit back and rake in that 4.0. Did you know that at Stanford, if you attend every class the lowest grade you can get is a C? Go Cardinal football! Maybe some of the ivies should adapt this policy so they can stop making fools of themselves every saturday.
But at the end of the day your ass will be mine in the real world, lawn partying, sailing shoes wearing, mommy and daddy pay for my tuition preppy d bag.
All I have to say is damn the ivy league schools and those rich pretty little liberal arts colleges. Just sit back and rake in that 4.0. Did you know that at Stanford, if you attend every class the lowest grade you can get is a C? Go Cardinal football! Maybe some of the ivies should adapt this policy so they can stop making fools of themselves every saturday.
But at the end of the day your ass will be mine in the real world, lawn partying, sailing shoes wearing, mommy and daddy pay for my tuition preppy d bag.
you are misinformed.
'94% of admitted students were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class. 40% of admitted students were valedictorians and 10% were salutatorians. The mean SAT scores of admitted students by section were 734 for verbal, 740 for math, and 744 for writing'
i competed against these students in all the pre med courses i took. All of the gen chem/physics/bio/ochem courses are graded on a curve with a median grade of B or B+. I had to work my ass of to get ahead of the curve.
I would much rather compete against students of Berkeley caliber any day.
and bruh, just cause you didn't get it doesn't mean you have to be sour about it
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The aggressively willful ignorance of this and some of the other posts literally repulses me. The "rich snobby Ivy kid" stereotype is just that. A stereotype. It's not any more valid than the stereotype that kids who go to community colleges or party schools are all dumb and unmotivated.
I guess it's just depressing when you come from a very economically disadvantaged background and work your way through college, but still have to lie to people on buses about which college you attend so that you don't get randomly mugged just because people automatically assume your parents must be millionaires.
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have you ever thought that those people on the bus go to harvard, too, but theyre too afraid to tell you cuz they think youll mug them?
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Median grade of B or B+? Joke. Complete joke. Almost to the point where it sickens me.
K
kpcrew
ya lol
i mean the students you are competing against are probably smarter but you knew what you were getting into when you chose a good school. a b+ for the median grade would have been awesome.
i mean the students you are competing against are probably smarter but you knew what you were getting into when you chose a good school. a b+ for the median grade would have been awesome.
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I've never heard of a mugger who asks someone where they attend college before mugging them. Honestly that dood just sounds extremeley paranoid.
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maybe shes a bus driver
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your complaining will not lower my GPA
Grade inflation "cough".
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alright, well let's try to look at this another way.
the SAT scores for top quartile of students accepted to Berkeley in 2010 was 710 R, 740 M, 720 W. The median SAT scores for students admitted to my university were 734 R, 740 M, 744 W.
So, judging by SAT scores (and pardon me if you don't agree with my reasoning, but SAT scores are the only metric that we have to compare students), the smartest 25% of Berkeley students are still not as 'smart' as the median student from my university.
I doubt that you are in the top quartile at Berkeley (only 1/4 student are, statistically speaking- not trying to insult you). A B or B+ average may seem generous at first glance, but I assure you, it is very hard to earn even a 3.0. For every A awarded, someone else is getting a C. And this isnt a state school or a CC where the only admission requirement is that you have a pulse. You've got to be a smart and accomplished person who is clearly driven and focused on success to be admitted in the first place.
i wish you could take some classes at my school... i'm pretty sure you wouldn't be singing the same tune after the first midterm
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Not the person you're talking to but other people on the bus can overhear you. Greyhound's not that bad but some of the cheaper lines can get pretty sketchy (my favorite was a one-legged guy with cancer who tried to convince me to eat these white pills). Asian girl traveling alone is a big enough target... Asian girl supposedly with money is way, way worse.
Oh and I talk to them because sometimes they'll see it as an insult if you don't and it's not good to piss off psychotic people.
cause i thought it would provide me with the best possible education. and i knew how badly i wanted to go to medical school, so I made sure i would get good grades, no matter how much work it required. It seems like a lot of people on sdn see undergraduate as a stepping stone/ hoop to jump through to get to medical school. i think that is a shame, because i learned a tremendous amount of material (most of it outside of the sciences, *gasp*), made lifelong friends, and really had a unique experience that I'm not sure the prototypical state school can afford.
looking back, even though my gpa isnt stellar by any means, ill still get into an MD school and I dont think I could have had more enjoyable undergraduate years
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Just to clarify, I have a 3.9+ overall and 3.95+ sGPA in probably the most difficult track of all biology major. 35+ on MCAT. I work hard. Very hard.
But you know, you are right. When I'm heading off to an ivy medical school in a few years, I'll probably stop all this QQ and embrace the pampering and asswiping. 😀
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