History Main / IvyLeagueForEveryOne

* Ivy Leaguers are not represented very frequently in professional sports[[hottip:*: The actual Ivy League does not play in the highest level of college sports and does not offer athletic scholarships, which makes it hard to attract or produce elite talent.]] Despite this, the late-2000's Buffalo Bills had a General Manager from Harvard, a head coach from Yale, a starting quarterback from Stanford, and a backup quarterback from Harvard. Of course, Stanford doesn't really fit the non-elite reputation that the other Ivies do, since while it may be Ivy-level in terms of education, it is a member of the Pac-10 Conference at the highest level of college football. Also schools in conferences like the Pac-10 can hold athletes to lower standards for admissions. The Ivy League is the exception. However, that's not to say that the Pac-10 schools are bottom of the barrel when it comes to education, and seven of their ten schools are members of the Association of American Universities, a very prestigious academic organization which contains all but one of the Ivy League schools.

* In the ''LeftBehind'' series, Cameron "Buck" Williams graduated from Princeton.

* In ''BatmanBegins'', Alfred casually asks Bruce Wayne if he plans to return to Princeton after the trial of his parents' murderer. Bruce tells him that he won't, adding that "I like it fine. They just don't feel the same way." He drops out and goes to China instead. Justified of course in that Bruce Wayne is a friggin' billionaire, and while not as smart as his comic book equivalent still comes across as very intelligent.

* Ivy Leaguers are not represented very frequently in professional sports[[hottip:*: The actual Ivy League does not play in the highest level of college sports and does not offer athletic scholarships, which makes it hard to attract or produce elite talent.]] Despite this, the late-2000's Buffalo Bills had a General Manager from Harvard, a head coach from Yale, a starting quarterback from Stanford, and a backup quarterback from Harvard.
** Of course, Stanford doesn't really fit the non-elite reputation that the other Ivies do, since while it may be Ivy-level in terms of education, it is a member of the Pac-10 Conference at the highest level of college football.
*** Also schools in conferences like the Pac-10 can hold athletes to lower standards for admissions. The Ivy League is the exception.

For the British equivalent, see {{Oxbridge}}. In Japanese works, the University of Tokyo can fulfill this narrative role in a pinch. In Australian works, expect to see The Group Of Eight.

* In ''{{Oz}}'', Tobias Beecher attended Harvard Law.

* In ''BatmanBegins'', Alfred casually asks Bruce Wayne if he plans to return to Princeton after the trial of his parents' murderer. Bruce tells him that he won't, adding that "I like it fine. They just don't feel the same way." He drops out and goes to China instead.

** Nate, Blair and Serena all get into Yale University.

** Serena's mother attended Brown University. Her father went to Harvard University.

** Obama himself taught at the University of Chicago Law School, on par with the Ivies educationally.

** Obama himself taught at Harvard Law.

* Ivy Leaguers are not represented very frequently in professional sports[[hottip:* The actual Ivy League does not play in the highest level of college sports and does not offer athletic scholarships, which makes it hard to attract or produce elite talent.]] Despite this, the late-2000's Buffalo Bills had a General Manager from Harvard, a head coach from Yale, a starting quarterback from Stanford, and a backup quarterback from Harvard.

* Brittany Snow's character, Donna Keppel, protagonist of the 2008 film ''Prom Night'' was accepted to Brown, but has doubts about leaving her boyfriend behind.

* On ''TheCosbyShow'', eldest daughter Sondra Huxtable attended Princeton. Her future husband Elvin Tibideaux also went to Princeton.

* On ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'', another show written by Aaron Sorkin, Jordan (the new, unusually young head of the network) is a graduate of Yale Law School. In order to make it plausible that her character had time to go to law school and become a network head by her early-to-mid 30s, it was revealed that she was hired as the head of a major record label immediately upon graduating Yale Law - even though there was nothing in her resume that would qualify her for such a position. She wasn't the only character with a Yale degree, either. We were supposed to believe that Simon, one of the sketch comedy actors, attended Yale Drama School.

** The stage show elaborates a little more on where Joanne falls in this trope as her parents have a lot of connections - her mom is about to become a diplomat and they are hanging out with a Senator over the holidays.

* ''MissionHill'' - Kevin spends an entire episode trying to "crack" the supposed secret code in the SAT's believing that only a perfect score can get him into Princeton.

** Lisa fervently hopes to go to an Ivy League School when she reaches college age, and not just any Ivy League school, either. She has a mini-freakout at the thought that she might have to settle for Brown. Of course, there's nothing wrong with Brown - after all, Otto nearly got ''tenure'' there.

* Until recently they were only for rich people who went to the right feeder schools and now almost anyone has the opportunity (as long as they are smart enough and special enough to stand out from all the other smart people applying for the same spot). Fortunately, you no longer have to be rich, thanks to financial aid - as long as you don't mind a mountain of student loan debt after graduation.

** Harvard (not sure about the other Ivies) gives out large amounts of need based aid, if you are poor enough it covers tuition completely. Combined with grants and scolarships many can go there without paying a dime.

** And both of Obama's nominees - Sotomayor and Kagan - got their bachelors' at Princeton.

* Ivy Leaguers are not represented very frequently in professional sports[[hottip:* : The actual Ivy League does not play in the highest level of college sports and does not offer athletic scholarships, which makes it hard to attract or produce elite talent.]] Despite this, the late-2000's Buffalo Bills had a General Manager from Harvard, a head coach from Yale, a starting quarterback from Stanford, and a backup quarterback from Harvard.

[[/folder]]

In the (unfortunately very rare) case that we're past the high school setting, this information will commonly show up in a character's [[BackStory educational background]]. Usually this will be done as a shorthand to show that a character is either [[TheSmartGuy smart]], [[ToBeAMaster ambitious]], or filthy rich. The rule about not discussing coursework also holds at this stage. If the character is supposed to have a very strong science/math/tech background, then non-Ivies MIT and Caltech may be used.

* In ''{{Community}}'', Jeff Winger goes to Greendale Community College after the State Bar found his bachelor's degree from Columbia University to be a forgery.
** [[OrIsIt Or did they?]] The joke wasn't that he had forged his degree - but that he had earned it ''[[WorthlessForeignDegree in Colombia]]'', not at Columbia.

* Ivy Leaguers are not represented very frequently in professional sports[[hottip:*: The actual Ivy League does not play in the highest level of college sports and does not offer athletic scholarships, which makes it hard to attract or produce elite talent.]] Despite this, the late-2000's Buffalo Bills had a General Manager from Harvard, a head coach from Yale, a starting quarterback from Stanford, and a backup quarterback from Harvard.[[/folder]]
** Of course, Stanford doesn't really fit the non-elite reputation that the other Ivies do, since while it may be Ivy-level in terms of education, it is a member of the Pac-10 Conference at the highest level of college football.

* Ivy Leaguers are not represented very frequently in professional sports[[hottip:*: The actual Ivy League does not play in the highest level of college sports and does not offer athletic scholarships, which makes it hard to attract or produce elite talent.]] Despite this, the late-2000's Buffalo Bills had a General Manager from Harvard, a head coach from Yale, a starting quarterback from Stanford, and a backup quarterback from Harvard.[[/folder]]

Note that in spite of the trope's name other prestigious schools' names can be dropped for the same effect, namely Stanford, MIT, the historically-black Howard, and the Seven Sisters colleges. Why aren't these considered Ivy League schools, you wonder? The League is actually an athletic conference within the NCAA; the eight schools' sports teams compete primarily against each other in the playing season. The social connotations developed around this.

In a particularly extreme version of this trope, there will be an "Ivy League or nothing!" mentality implying that if a character doesn't get into an Ivy League school they might as well study with the hobo in the alley. Those of us who went to non-prestigious schools will be annoyed by this portrayal, as it's usually smarter to go to a school that offers programs that genuinely interest you than to pick the most impressive sounding brand name. Characters who go to Ivy League schools only rarely discuss their coursework or major.

* Special Agent Pete Lattimer from ''{{Warehouse13}}'' regularly wears his Dartmouth football shirt indicating he may be an alumnus.

*In ''{{Oz}}'', Tobias Beecher attended Harvard.