Marc Falardeau
Photo via Flickr under Creative Commons license(CC BY 2.0 DEED: www.flickr.com/photos/49889874@N05/14512267537
Hudson: Every year, a handful of FM students get sent off to Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn, and the like for their higher education journeys. All of these schools have prestige, and all are extremely selective, to the point where it is not statistically significant to point out that Harvard’s acceptance rate is a good 0.5% lower than Columbia, the next lowest competitor of those polled for the class of 2027 according to Ivycoach.com.
Percentages can be misleading in some cases though; for example, Harvard has a higher early decision acceptance rate, but fewer students got in this way because fewer students applied. These generic statistics are fairly helpful, but geographic diversity is a factor some Ivies take into account more than others. Anyone who has gone to FM knows that, in the words of current sophom*ore Daniel Manta, “FM is practically a factory for Cornell.” It may be more difficult to get into Columbia living in Upstate New York rather than in New York City (although to be honest, the protests at Columbia right now are not exactly bringing up its reputation for safety).
Beyond the difficulty of getting in, there are other parts of the college experience. Perhaps since Harvard has the highest endowment, it can provide actually decent lodging, as compared to the schools that have learned to rely on their reputation in academic excellence, external beauty of their campus, and nothing else. Brown is ranked as one of the happiest colleges in general, not just of Ivies, by CollegeVine Blog in its article “Which Ivy is right for you?” It’s also fair to say that this article may be a little biased in Brown’s favor, but qualitative surveys can have useful insight. All schools push propaganda, whether officially on their website, or through forums like Reddit, Quora, and even CollegeVine.
Tony: I’m here to shift gears in this debate and talk about a major factor in deciding which Ivy League is the best in sports. I’m sure many of us are aware that the college sports experience is something that is unmatched by almost every other sport in the U.S. This is even more hyped up when your college is NCAA Division 1, and lucky for us, all Ivy League schools are D1. Now, no Ivy League has been known for their sports teams, but from time to time one school may out shine in this field more than the others, and Princeton has been this school the most. Princeton has won more Ivy League titles than any other school. This school has also placed higher than any other Ivy in nine sports, including men’s and women’s lacrosse. Now sports may not matter to you when applying to an Ivy League school, but when you’ve got free time on the weekends at college, you don’t want to spend it watching some mediocre team. When it comes to college sports, one point goes to Princeton.
Next we move onto the topic of dorms. Upon searching “Which Ivy League has the best dorms?” I come face to face with a list of college web forums ranging from Reddit and Quora to College Confidential Forums. Upon further investigation, I’ve found that every student on these forums shares the same conclusion, it’s hard to have a definite answer without attending all colleges. Now this makes sense, but some students still gave their opinion on the subject matter, and many have said that Harvard has the worst. They’ve mentioned how the dorm buildings are overall old and oddly built, but I believe that can be said for many colleges, not just Harvard. Continuing with an unorganized point system, I think we should minus one point from Harvard, and all agree that no matter where you go, some dorms are going to be nicer than others.
As I come to a close for my half of the article, I would like to mention that by no means is one school better than another as long as you enjoy your time there. In the end you choose where you want to go, and my opinion is just that, an opinion. With all that said… ROLL TIDE
