Are Ivy League Schools Worth the Hype?

By: Suri Sezgin

Ivy League schools are widely known for their competitive program, high standards, and

good academics. This leads to many people thinking that attending an Ivy League school is the

key to success, however non-Ivy colleges can supply students to achieve the same level of

accomplishments.

Equal Opportunities

Non-Ivy colleges can provide the same amount of knowledge as an Ivy league can, plus,

a student’s success relies more on them, rather than the school name. For example, Stanford

University is a non-Ivy school, but offers several programs similar to Harvard. A dedicated

student at a regular college can earn a similar career. Another concern is the pricey cost of

attending an Ivy League, leaving many students in debt.

Skills Over School Names

If on an interview for a job, they mostly focus on what you can do rather than your school

title. While it is true that earnings can rise, it's not guaranteed or long-term. Going to an Ivy

League also won’t automatically get you a better placement in a job, if compared to a more

passionate student from a less known school. To be fair, due to its limited capacity of students,

it may not hold all people with potential.

Field or Status?

Every college has a program that it specializes in or makes it their reputation,

If you wanna study a specific program, you should choose the college that's best in that field,

rather than the one with a better status. There are many non-Ivy colleges that outperform Ivy

Leagues in that type of field. For example, the University of Pennsylvania is known for business

or finance, and it's usually placed as top 1, meanwhile Columbia Business School, an Ivy

League, is ranked around top 5 or 10, and the University of Pennsylvania actually reports higher

starting salaries, and has a slightly higher acceptance rate.