Do Ivy League schools deliver on expectations?

On average, the Ivy League, a set of eight prestigious universities home to some of the brightest minds in the country, receives over 300,000 applications per year, but only a mere seven percent of those students will be accepted. Of the nine pre colonial universities, seven of them now make up the Ivy league, with Cornell University being added later.

Similar to sports, there are several divisions for research at a university, those being R1, R2 or R3. The eight Ivy League universities are all classified as R1, along with 51 other institutions. This has both positive and negative effects on the students who attend these universities. Firstly, the increased research capability allows for more opportunities for students. On the other hand, a majority of the professors at these universities are only there for this increased research capacity, and have no interest in actually teaching. And the chances that an intro level course will be taught by a professor is extremely low, as most of the 100 level classes are taught by graduate students. This is true at most major universities, but it is also the case at the ‘prestigious’ Ivy Leagues. 

Being private institutions, an Ivy League education comes with a hefty price tag of over 60,000 dollars a year. On top of this, students are also tasked with covering their room, food, and other basic necessities. All eight universities require at least their underclassmen to live on campus, but some require on campus housing for all four years. Columbia University is the only university which does not require second year students and up to live on campus, however, 90 percent of students still live in the dorms due to the rising cost of living, especially in NYC. Due to this high price tag, many lower income students are forced to take out high-interest loans in order to afford this education.

Many Ivy League universities have notable alumni, lots of whom are leaders in their field. 16 of the 46 US Presidents attended an Ivy League University, and 51 of the 535 members of Congress also obtained their undergraduate education at one of these elite institutions. Alternatively, many Ivy League alumni have gone on to achieve stardom and fame in the media. One of those alumni was Natalie Portman who attended Harvard University  before she was well known for roles such as Padme in Star Wars, and Jane Foster in a variety of Marvel movies. She applied under her real name “Hershlag” so she would be judged on simply her merits, while not being given an edge over other students.

This is not the case for a large number of students applying to the Ivy League, known as legacy students, who use familial ties to a specific school in order increase their odds of acceptance to that university. With the recent end of affirmative action, the practice of universities boosting admissions of marginalized groups, many have called for the removal of legacy admissions, as it’s a similar practice that unfairly benefits certain students.  

These rigorous universities aren’t for everyone, as a good number of students will go on to have displeasurable experiences. In 2015, Vice News ran an article written by a former Columbia University student bashing the negative experiences he had at the university. He went into detail about the wide range of students in his class saying, “I’m still appalled at how shallow some of my classmates are. How did you get in? I wonder. But it makes sense. A lot of kids turn out to be interesting only on paper,” which is true for most prestigious schools as students tend to overhype themselves on their application. Later in the article, he describes the Ivy League as “a world where you have to keep moving forward no matter what,” leaving no time for students to slow down and discover themselves. College should be a time in a person's life for memories to be made, for them to explore new skills and opportunities, but this fast-paced environment potentially hinders students' abilities to be successful. 

With extremely low acceptance rates, high price tags and an education that doesn't necessarily make up for the downsides, what else do these universities do to make it worth it? There is name brand recognition for attending an Ivy League University. Ivy graduates have to complete a rigorous curriculum, which often shows employers that they are likely to be a well rounded employee. However, this is not a prerequisite to be successful in life, nor does graduating from an Ivy League guarantee success, though it helps. At the end of the day, none of this makes up for all of the work students must put in to both get into an Ivy League University, but also graduate from one.