It's that day. The one that I brace myself for. Ivy Day. The day when all eight Ivy League institutions release admissions results for Regular Decision.
Mind you, less than 1% of college bound students will end up getting admitted and enroll at an Ivy League school. So why is there is a special day to commemorate it? I am happy for the 1%, but I am also thinking of the 99%.
Every year, I try to write something clever, inspiring, and (sometimes) corny to encourage the 99%. This year's message is one for the books: Replace an Ivy with a "Givy."
Givy is a real word. It means "inclined to give," by the way. These colleges are more generous with their acceptance rates and a lot more givy than the Ivies:
1. Brown University has an Open Curriculum. So does Hamilton College.
Most students are attracted to Brown for its Open Curriculum. There aren't many colleges in the U.S. with something similar. But check out my alma mater, Hamilton College. It also has an open curriculum. Everything is dreamy at Hamilton from the hidden forest on campus, Root Glen, to the way faculty members support students, to the breathtaking campus that sits on a hill, looking over the valley below. It felt like a dream to go there. I still get butterflies every time I drive up that hill. It's a magical place that is pure and unbothered by societal expectations.
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2. If you like Columbia University and being in NYC, look at Fordham University.
There is not a Jesuit school I don't love. But Fordham is one of my favorites. You don't have to be Catholic to appreciate what Fordham offers its students. The Rose Hill campus in the Bronx is just as pretty as Columbia. The Lincoln Center campus is in the heart of culture in NYC.
3. Cornell University is cool (and cold), but the University of Miami is HOT!
After this winter in the Northeast, all I want to do is head south. The University of Miami is absolutely gorgeous and the weather is spectacular all year round. The school attracts some of the country's strongest students with merit scholarships, marquee programs like Herbert School of Business and Frost School of Music, and a powerful alumni network that reaches far beyond the beautiful enclave of Coral Gables where its main campus shines in the Florida sun.
4. Dartmouth College is beautiful, but so is the University of Colorado Boulder.
CU Boulder is known for its world class engineering, business, and environmental science programs. The views, the skiing, and the outdoors are calling you. And the acceptance rate is far more attractive too!
5. Harvard is Harvard, but High Point University is the school to watch.
Everyone watched the High Point mens' basketball team beat the University of Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But High Point has been steadily growing in popularity well before March Madness. The facilities and grounds are stunning. Many describe it as a country club for students. It is also known as the "premier life skills university," preparing students for a lifetime, not just their first job.
6. Princeton University is fancy schmancy, yet Rutgers University is the real deal.
As many know, I grew up in New Jersey. Both Princeton and Rutgers are located in New Jersey. My dad had a particular dislike for all elite institutions, especially Princeton. Instead, he used to joke that Rutgers was the only Ivy anyone needed. He obviously knew that Rutgers wasn't part of the Ivy League. But he wanted to impart to me to never overlook your public, flagship university. Rutgers will always have my heart.
7. University of Pennsylvania is the crown jewel of Pennsylvania, but the University of Pittsburgh is the hidden gem.
I spent nearly a decade working at Penn in the Undergraduate Admissions Office. It's also where I received my graduate degree. But if you ask anyone which college I promote more than any other, it's Pitt. The students who go to Pitt are incredibly bright and accomplished with no egos. The education is superb—every single program they have. And Pitt boasts some of the happiest college students in the country.
8. If you like the vibe of Yale University, check out the University of Washington.
Yale is beautiful in its Gothic Revival architecture. But the University of Washington is just as striking. It's also another public flagship like Rutgers. UW is elite, just like Yale. Seattle is an amazing city too, even better than New Haven!
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Give me a "givy school" any day. Give me colleges that celebrate acceptances, rather than denials. Give me the schools that give students tremendous experiences and an education that will rival an Ivy. There are so many more givy schools than Ivy League schools. What if we replaced Ivy Day with Givy Day? Now that would be one for the books!
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