[jamielee]

I really enjoyed reading all of the replies! Thank you all for the input.

To be a little more specific, I want to know if the classes themselves were significantly more effective in transferring knowledge to students. Do the classes at Ivy Leagues have a measurable superiority to classes of other colleges (as in, do the students learn more because the classes are way better, or do the students learn more simply because they are smarter, more hard-working, more interested and engaged than the average student)? Why do the Ivy Leagues have classes if it does not seem to be the main value added? It looks to me that Ivy Leagues are great because they figured out a way to attract all the smartest people to a central place. Is it really the Ivy League that transforms people, or would highly motivated people turn out the way they are regardless of the formal classes that seem to go hand-in-hand with the concept of "education?"

[psyklic]

I went to a state school and Caltech, which is not an Ivy League school but it is well regarded. The math courses were definitely much more difficult at Caltech. The incoming student caliber is much higher than at the state school, so even the introductory courses are very challenging in comparison. This sets a high bar immediately, which allows every succeeding course to maintain that high bar.

College-aged students are highly motivated, but they are often highly motivated simply to do well at school. Only a minority know what they are passionate about otherwise, which is evidenced by students switching their majors all the time.

I strongly believe that who you surround yourself with determines what you strive to become. Ivy League schools constantly tell you that you can become a superstar, so students believe it and your friends all strive to become superstars.

If your friends are all starting tech startups and you know people who have sold companies, suddenly it becomes something you strive to do. If you hang out with drug dealers then you will strive to get respect in a different way. This social factor transforms people just as much as the classes.

[jerrytsai]

I went to graduate school at a state school and at an Ivy League school, and my twin went to an Ivy League school for college while I went to a prestigious non-Ivy League school. So I will try to answer your questions based on my experience. YMMV.

No, I did not find that the classes were significantly more effective in transferring knowledge in either type of school. My impression was this: depending on the school, the class may be more "ambitious", i.e., may cover a little bit more material. However, many times the material is basically the same, especially in the introductory classes.

The main pedagogical effects of going to a prestigious school is: (1) Your classmates tend to be stronger students. They tend to be a little smarter, harder-working, more interested and engaged. Yet you can find the same type of people in less-prestigious schools, although there are fewer, percentage-wise. (2) Your professors tend to have accomplished more in their field of study. However, this often does not translate to having better classes than other schools. You could have lots of crappily-taught classes even if you're attending the most prestigious school in the world if that school (or a department within that school) does not care that much about educating its students. (3) You might have a little more variety in the interesting things you could learn in upper-level or graduate-level courses. (These things tend to be very department-specific, rather than school-specific.)

Off-topic observation: MOOCs are democratizing education nowadays. Ten years ago, say, if I wanted to take a thorough, competent class on database query languages, I would have to pray my institution, or another, sister institution, offered a class in that topic. Nowadays, I can go to Stanford's Class2Go website. I don't need to spend any time (a) applying to Stanford, (b) pray that I get admitted, (c) if admitted move to Palo Alto, (d) wait for that class to be taught, and (e) focus on that class while taking four other classes. Today I can stay where I am and take that class at any time.

[jamielee]

Did you find yourself enjoying the Ivy League environment (being around other high achievers) more? Has being at an Ivy League changed your world view? Which one did you like more?

I don't know if MOOCs will take off (in terms of being reliable for hiring). Just an unjustified gut feeling. Maybe they already have. I know they offer "certificates" that you can pay for.