Best overall Ivy?

Northwestern and Duke are ranked ahead of 1/2 of the Ivies and they offer scholarships to women.

I feel exactly the same way about Williams or Amherst, or maybe a CMU or Pomona. If I could do it over again I would bag Princeton for one of these and run D3 while still getting top education in a much healthier environment. I get that’s not what OP asked but my experience at Princeton was definitely not the idealized version that many have, and I believes it’s that way at most ivies, save Dartmouth which really feels like a top Nescac

I am not making a particularly controversial point despite one ranking that you cite. Most people in higher ed would equate Notre Dame to the second half of the Ivies from an undergraduate prestige and reputation standpoint. Vanderbilt, Duke, Northwestern, University of Chicago also are Ivy aligned, albeit at different levels, with Duke ahead of all but HYP. This is kind of mainstream common knowledge, not particularly controversial. From an athletic recruitment perspective, on the female side, the requirements to be recruited at Notre Dame are substantially more elite than any Ivy. Harvard and Princeton have the highest athletic bar and then there is a substantial drop off. Notre Dame is looking for a top 1-30 recruit and recruits 3-4 runners a year. You have to have elite, national level high school success to be recruited by ND. Harvard and Princeton can not be as picky precisely because the Notre Dame's and Stanford's of this world exist, and they give scholarships. That said, they have done a fabulous job of developing elite athletes. After Harvard and Princeton there is another substantial drop in recruitment requirements for the female athlete, with Brown likely being the easiest point of entry. Again, none of this is particularly obtuse and is widely known by people who know something about recruiting. Hopefully, the latter part of this response is helpful to the OP. Harvard and Princeton have the strongest women's distance programs and then there is a substantial gap to the Ivies that follow.

I agree with what you're saying, but there's a difference between academic quality and schools' reputation / prestige. Notre Dame very well may be as good as some lower Ivies in terms of teaching, but I went to a very competitive (public but nice area) high school and can't think of anyone who turned down any - even Brown or Cornell - for it.

And Duke is similar but better - I don't remember seeing a noticeable preference between Duke / Penn / Columbia / Northwestern among people I knew who were accepted into multiple, but they'd almost always pick it over Brown or Cornell, and basically never turn down one of HYPSM for it...

I haven't read through all the jeremiads on this page, but it seems that they're all talking about schools the OP didn't ask about: She's not looking at any potential destinations other than Ivies.

If you're having fun, great, but you're not really contributing to the purpose of the thread.

I don't know much about programs but location (I've lived near Yale and Princeton)

I know multiple people to transfer out of Penn. Miserable place for running, you're in the middle of philly.

Dartmouth is definitely going to be signiificantly colder than the rest,

Brown and Yale are in similar, small cities but Providence is a little nicer than New Haven. New Haven has decent running nearby.

Princeton is a beautiful town, great running around. If running was the only criteria thats where I'm picking but obviously very hard academics and less to do as a college kid because you're not in a city.

Ok. Some of these answers are really helpful.

Seems like Princeton is winning and I have to agree. I don’t think it’s gonna work out there. To be on the team there I’ll probably end up having to apply by myself and get in by myself.

Worth the stress/chance I won’t get in? Or take the certain offer from another one or more Ivy that I’ll likely get?

It’s people who went to tier 2 universities still working off the chip on their shoulder.

“You want to go to a more prestigious university than the one I went to?? Here’s why you’re wrong”

I doubt that you know any kids who had offers at the Ivies and Notre Dame. I know 3 kids from my high school who recently turned down Ivies for Notre Dame. They are/were all athletes, one football, one male track, and one female rower. They all got scholarships although I assume that other than the football player, the other two were around the 25% level.

How confident are you that you could get into a less selective Ivy like Dartmouth on your own?

You’d be turning down a guaranteed spot to wait it out for Princeton?

I think you’d want to seriously evaluate your chances of getting into Princeton and others and see if it’s worth the risk of waiting.

Elite, highly recruited athletes frequently turn down Ivies for ND, Stanford or Duke in multiple sports. This is why the Ivies do not get the elite of the elite recruitment wise. Harvard and Princeton are the closest to these schools from a difficulty of recruitment/fast times perspective. Look at the lists of times for recent recruits. Runcruit is also helpful for this. Cornell, Columbia, Yale, Dartmouth all a couple of notches below time wise. Hopefully this helps the OP target the best fit.

Pick based on the best school for your major, not running.

Pick based on the best school for your major, not running.

DO NOT wait for PU. If you are not fast enough to be a top recruit for them, it's a blessing in disguise. Choose between Brown, Yale or Dartmouth. I'd pick Brown because I think kids are happiest there overall. Dartmouth is best for running, but it's a totally different vibe. Bucolic, cloistered and frat/sorority oriented. If you like the outdoors and skiing, etc., it could be a good choice. If you are more of a progressive, cosmopolitan type, then better to be at Brown or Yale.

I'm surprised no one has asked yet, but which event(s) are you being recruited for?
Yes, Princeton is the most well rounded team you're looking at and that isn't going to slow down anytime soon. IMO, Yale has been doing well with their long sprinting/middle distance women in recent years (they've been rebuilding the teams, and at least Yale is no longer DFL at Heps). Penn women have been strong in sprints and throws in the last 10 years or so. Brown's strength is in horizontal jumps. Dartmouth has a strong distance history and some good multi-eventers as well.

TBH, it cannot hurt to apply to all the Ivies you're interested in, keeping in touch with the coaches in the process (being on the coaches' radar will help them advocate for you in the admissions process), and should you get accepted, go on the official team visits so you can see the environment and teams atmosphere for yourself. If you can find a means to talk to a current team participant to ask them about the program (maybe through friend-of-a-friend or extended family? it could be tough to find someone). Just asking people in here, unless they are recent grads, you may be exposed to a lot of rumor or gossip or stereotypes.

Back in my day (god, I sound old, but I mean in the early 2000s), I did my best to find a school that I felt comfortable in attending, even I wasn't on the team (not being able to participate due to injury or if I quit the team for whatever reason). I ultimately went to an Ivy where I didn't do an official team visit but picked it out because I felt at home with the rest of the campus (they had a acceptance weekend just before the selection deadline). I did join the team and did it for all four years (although I lost a season due to injury, so I used up the rest of my eligibility in grad school). My closest friends ended up being people who were not on the team.

Good luck.

Are you a senior? Did you get a likely letter and/or have admissions review your stats?

I stand by my assessment of your choices above, but if Princeton has not given you a clear indication that you are wanted and a competitive applicant academically, have any of the others? Out of the remaining ones you mentioned, I’d choose Dartmouth, especially if you’re ok with the location. Like I said, the girls I know who went there were very happy.

The Ivies give out a lot of need based aid - do you know if you'd qualify for it? The answer to that question makes a big difference on what the expected ROI is of attending an Ivy for other good school that could offer scholarship.

if you may qualify for need based financial aid, keep in mind that the Ivies will match each other - so make sure to apply to those with the best aid packages (Harvard and Princeton I believe) so that others will match their offers.

In terms of what I'd personally recommend, my tiers would be:

1. Harvard and Princeton. Great academically plus solid running programs. Think you'll enjoy both as well

2. Yale and Penn. Yale is strong academically, Penn a solid balance between the two

3. Dartmouth and Columbia. This is the level at which I'd personally be less excited; they're still solid schools but the school + running level isn't as strong. Also don't like the vibes as much for opposite reasons - Dartmouth is in the middle of nowhere where it's always cold, and Columbia in NYC which I wouldn't love

4. Brown and Cornell. This is the tier where when someone tells me they went to these (especially Cornell, sorry Rojo) I assume they wanted to go to an Ivy but couldn't get into the others

I am tempted to wait for Princeton only because I have significant legacy and my sibling applied and got in early recently with this legacy. Family connections there (does this really help a lot?).

Otherwise I wouldn’t consider applying on my own because I would NOT get in. With no legacy at the other Ivies, I 99% cannot get into any of those alone. My academics are good enough but that’s not enough, because you need some “hook” to differentiate yourself from others, which should be running/athlete for me, because that’s what I spent my time on (instead of research, etc).

So I guess I have a small belief legacy will carry me into Princeton and then I can be on the team and it’s all complete.

You said Dartmouth Yale Brown. Thanks for the insight on them. Did you leave Penn out for a reason? Opinion?

Distance

I can’t apply to all of them. I can only ED to one, which I’ll have to do to whatever school’s offer I accept. If I don’t get any offers/decide to not take any, Princeton it is

Good to know you had closer friends outside the team. I wasn’t sure how kind of “stuck” with being friends with the team you are at an Ivy. I would love to be friends with the team of course but I’d also want other friends