Adam Barsouk shares with Federalist readers the story of his active decision to reject Ivy League schools.
As affirmative action court cases and skyrocketing tuition rates reveal, today’s Ivy League institutions have unfortunately strayed from their sacred mission, putting their own biases ahead of their students’ advancement.
As a valedictorian with a perfect SAT score, I was accepted to several Ivy League schools. After careful consideration, I turned them down in favor of my state school, which saved me over $200,000. Today, as a medical student and researcher, I have no regrets. …
… From U.S. News and World Report rankings to popular media, Ivy Leagues are seen as the paragons of education, but this prestige may not translate into better quality. Studies have found that the classroom experience in the Ivies tend to be identical to that of other schools, and students who were offered acceptance to an Ivy but chose to go elsewhere ended up with the same average salary later in life.
What is unique about Ivy Leagues is the fervor of their politics. The institutions that have, for centuries, prided themselves on being the “best of the best” have become a redistribution scheme that actually penalizes the best. In promoting all forms of “diversity” (except for diversity of opinion, of course), Ivy League schools like Harvard have actually seen less diversity in their SAT scores, and fewer students with exceptionally high SATs.
