So, I've never been to an institution like Harvard or Cornell, but despite this face these kind of places always held a kind of romance in my eyes. I suppose it's the allure of prestige and intellectuality that surrounds them that intrigues me (or perhaps something else). So I have to ask, for the individuals attending MIT, Stanford, etc, do these places really have something about them that most regular schools don't have? How do you feel it affects the way people think of you in general when you tell them you attend a school of this caliber? Do people around you at school seem motivated and smart? I really am interested in knowing what the experience is like, and if you feel that all the difficulties involved in being where you are were worth it (tuition, hard work, what have you). Thanks for reading!