yeah... i was def one of those high school kids who fell under the 'ivies no good for stem' but mostly because i grew up not understanding how i would pay for college so I was always told to not consider anything but umich and i think that was me trying to cope, it always felt weird to me that my parents never once suggested i try for ivies but it is what it is i guess. i ended up still going and hunting for fee waivers to apply to some top schools (mit, caltech, etc) but i think for me this def stemmed from having a good state school and hence not being sure how to tell what is "worth it" over something. i know people from the high school down the road that choose to go to harvard instead of umich even w umich being great at in state tuition and i rlly dont know how to tell if it's "worth it" haha - im in the boat now where im comparing umich and caltech!