A great  number of  teenagers dream of being accepted into an Ivy League school, but not many people know the negative implications that can come with this decision. While, in reality, the chances of even being accepted are slim, if a student is accepted, there are some serious downsides to attending an Ivy League school.

   Lots of people don’t realize how major the commitment is to attend an Ivy. The price is not something many families can afford and the amount of time it would take to save up this money would be a lifetime, so students who do not qualify for financial aid must take out student loans. The expenses of attending an Ivy League school can bring substantial debt to students, a scary prospect for anyone’s future. According to a professional organization company, ”Harvard students owed 1.2 billion dollars, Yale students 760 million dollars, and University of Pennsylvania students a whopping 2.1 billion dollars” (brookings.edu). Ivy schools may be an investment, but are also a major financial risk for students.

   Additionally, students’ mental health can be affected in a damaging way even before they get to these schools. These elitist schools make themselves pretty well known to students everywhere and the dream of attending one can cause stress leaving students burnt out after the admissions game alone. Even after getting into that perfect school it can be awakening to many students who used to be at the top of their class now only amounting to average. According to Teen Vogue, “Ivy League communities include some of the most high-achieving students from around the globe, and research suggests that these students can be two or three times more anxious and depressed than the average college student” (teenvogue.com).

Furthermore, there are plenty of other excellent schools that could be a better fit for students depending on their situation, major, or college goals. Head Counselor Kelsey Bradshaw said, “People should set their sights broadly. There is a college for everyone, and we tend to get caught up on the names we have heard. I think you should work to the best of your ability, to be well-rounded, and be a good candidate for any college.” Not only are the same majors available at public colleges, their prestige doesn’t amount to much when so many great schools can offer an influential college experience. Junior Isa Neri said, “As a student in California, I think that Ivy League schools are overrated, because you could get the same education, a comparable education, or even a better education depending on your major, in California at UC [University of California] schools.” Neri believes that being here in California is a major privilege, with the variety of quality colleges available that may even overshadow the prestige offered by Ivy Schools, potentially being a better educational route depending on one’s major.

   The choice of aiming for an Ivy league school comes down to each person and what might suit them best, yet there are a great variety of other academic options that may be far more beneficial for most college-bound youth. Going to an Ivy might sound like a dream, but there are several negative impacts that can come with this decision. Students should do the research in order to find out what schools best suit them, as well as thinking hard about their majors and what schools are known to fit those majors best, along with realizing that sometimes the work needed to get into an Ivy isn’t worth it.