Ivy Leagues: Are They Really Worth It?

by Ayesha Mustajab, Reporter

Culture & Education, Op-Ed

     A few months ago, Columbia University — the prestigious Ivy League school — was exposed as a part of a scandal regarding the top university rankings on US News. According to mathematics professor Michael Thaddeus, the once highly prestigious university had submitted “rigged numbers to drive the university up the influential US News & World Report rankings,” ultimately putting its own financial gain over the academic success of its students to “fund a ballooning and secretive bureaucracy.” The school has since lost its top rank.

Ivy Leagues have historically been highly valued, but not for the reasons you might think. The term “Ivy League” was coined in 1954, the same year the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic conference for Division I was formed (BestCollegeReviews). According to Best College Reviews organization, “At the time, the elitism of these schools was really due to their prestige in the realm of sports like basketball,” but Samantha Lindsey of PrepScholar explains that “nowadays these schools are known for their academic prestige and famous alumni.” The League is composed of eight institutions: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, UPenn, and Princeton.

Though the formation of the Ivy League was relatively recent, these schools have been around for hundreds of years. Harvard University was founded in 1636, supported by John Harvard; Yale in 1701, supported by Elihu Yale; and Cornell in 1865, supported by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White (BestCollegeReviews). This makes them “some of the nation’s oldest schools,” April C. Armstrong of Princeton University claims, with seven out of eight of them established before the American Revolution (TheBroadcaster). This gives the Ivy League colleges an important legacy here in the United States. Moreover, due to the Ivy Leagues’ elitist history, these schools “have large endowments that are the product of wealthy alumni contributions over the years” (PrepScholar). The generous funding Ivy Leagues receive also allows them to supply financially-disadvantaged students with large financial aid packages, another factor that plays a part in determining college rankings.

While it is true that attending present-day Ivy Leagues colleges can be particularly beneficial for students due to their abundance of resources and prestige, they do have a staggeringly high cost for students of certain backgrounds. Financially speaking, the average cost to attend an Ivy League in the 2022-2023 school year alone is about $82,000 (SHEMASSIAN), almost 57% more expensive than most public (or even private) colleges and universities (masterportal). Ivy Leagues do offer generous financial aid packages to help students who may financially struggle with school combat these costs. However, the amount offered to incoming students may still not be enough, especially for those growing up in the middle-class. YouTuber Ahsante, a Harvard alumna who makes videos about her experience at Harvard College as “Ahsante the Artist'', explains that “If your family doesn’t make a lot of money, then Harvard will cover the cost entirely. If your family does make a lot of money, then it doesn’t matter for you to pay full tuition. If you’re in the middle (...), it’s expensive.” Ronald Nelson, a gifted individual who was admitted to all eight Ivy League schools, turned down all their offers in favor of a full-ride scholarship from the University of Alabama, according to ABC News. Stories like Nelson’s illustrate how the future debt an Ivy League institution could bring often outweighs the perceived worth of an Ivy League name decorating your future job application.

While the financial stress Ivy League colleges tend to put on students may seem to be the worst of it, there is a much larger discussion that needs to take place regarding the psychological cost of these high-pressure schools. It comes as no surprise that Ivy Leagues carry an air of extreme competitiveness, apparent from their low acceptance rates. But do we really have an idea of how intense these environments actually are?

“Everyone (at Harvard) is at the top of their class, including myself. I was salutatorian, number two,” YouTuber Ahsante later mentioned. However, getting to the top is generally a difficult feat. According to Caddell Prep, students who attend Ivy Leagues tend to have a GPA of about 4.06. For some, this could be a huge responsibility to take on at the early age of fourteen, considering the fact that many students aiming for top schools start as early as middle school.

The classes themselves largely contribute to this competitive environment. “In general, a lot of classes are graded on a curve,” Ahsante explains, “so not everyone could get top marks and you’re competing directly against your peers to get the A.” The grading system in place at schools like Harvard is an immediate shift from what many of us are used to here at Kamiak. Rather than being given a raw grade that illustrates a relatively accurate reflection of one’s academic achievement, students often risk a burnout from overworking themselves in stressful conditions, just for the chance to land a perfect score.

Moreover, while colleges in general have been known for overloading students with assignments, top schools tend to be especially difficult. Greg, a college admissions Youtuber who runs the channel “CollegeAdvisor,” mentions that even prerequisite classes assigned mountains of homework during his experience at Princeton University. “On average, completing these assignments takes about five hours a day,” he explains, “that’s an extra thirty-five hours per week.” Add hours of homework to the other daily activities college students engage in—work and extracurriculars, for example—and you could be busier than you ever would be at a professional forty-hour job. Greg further notes that the toxic environment students must withstand forces them to become more competitive, which compels them to put their mental health aside for the sake of keeping up. This atmosphere leaks into student culture, leading to fractures and exclusion within the student body. “The competition is endless, as is the sense that one group is better than another because it’s even more competitive to get into,” Ahsante says. “At Harvard, the culture emphasizes shutting people out.”

As attractive as their prestige and historical significance might seem, Ivy Leagues are far from the best places to be if you are looking for a school that could help you feel financially and mentally secure. Smaller local colleges are often the best option when looking for a place that could ease some of the stress Ivy League schools make no attempt to lessen. Still, Ivy Leagues certainly provide an experience entirely their own, and every student is different. While some students would have a very difficult time at such institutions, others might have a good one. Of course, this begs the question: are you willing to risk your time, effort, and money for a renowned school that offers no guarantee of happiness and fulfillment? Would you make that choice?

DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the various authors in this paper do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Kamiak High School or The Gauntlet. 

Sources

https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/history-ivy-league/

https://blogs.princeton.edu/mudd/2015/07/the-origins-of-the-ivy-league/ 

https://hhsbroadcaster.com/11824/world/what-makes-ivy-league-schools-so-special/ 

https://blog.prepscholar.com/what-are-the-ivy-league-schools

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HDYtDDskxM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REVmODOCMSU

https://blog.collegevine.com/a-ranked-list-of-the-ivy-league-schools/

https://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/the-50-most-stressful-colleges/1480/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmkAfRSjnm0&t=10s&ab_channel=ABCNews

https://www.mastersportal.com/articles/3115/what-are-the-tuition-costs-of-ivy-league-universities.html#:~:text=Tuition%20and%20fees%20at%20an,and%20%2440%2C000%2Da%2Dyear.

https://caddellprep.com/6-essential-tips-on-how-to-get-into-an-ivy-league-school/