the thread has gotten confused.
yes, there are some ivy-plus privates interspersed with the ivies. MIT, caltech, chicago, duke, hopkins, etc. might do just as well, particularly if your major is a top program there. those can be "as good as an ivy" and in some generic ranking even be ahead of some.
i think the vandy argument is more strained. it comes in around rice back end of the top 20. vandy has played some serious catchup. but is #17 really competition for #1? you're then starting to water down elite a little.
so, i think people are fudging some of the ivy-plus arguments. there are schools esteemed the same as ivies now. and then there are ones just after them. just after them is not as good. now, 99% of us would be happy to send out kids there, but let's not pretend they are co-equals.
and the people making state school arguments, ha. michigan is 20 and the other 2 top 20 state schools are UC-schools. those actually aren't the ones i often hear mentioned as potential ivy plus. UC went off radar for many when they went test optional, plus west coast politics for conservatives.
no, the usual state school argument i usually hear is something like UNC, UVa, UT, or florida. they are not equivalent, they are top 30-40 schools, and their admissions are like 100-200 SAT points easier.
they might be easier to get in. they might be cheaper. but their graduates are also seen as a step or two behind ivies or true ivy plus like chicago. and they make less.
no, this thread feels like a new angle at an existing argument i saw a couple years ago. some conservative publication tried to rebrand a new set of new ivy pluses. to me, seemed to be trying to argue schools in the south and southeast -- many state schools -- are "just as good" as ivy plus. it is interesting to see how schools like vandy and florida have blossomed. but, sorry, that doesn't make them harvard.
it generally felt like a badly strained attempt to argue smart southern kids into staying the south for school.
i think it relies on the fallacy that lower sticker price means fewer loans and cheaper drive out. that was not my experience. my experience when i applied to an SEC school alongside my d3s, they wanted just as much borrowing, and didn't give top aid.
the appeal then, ultimately, would be to upper middle class folks paying their own way, who didn't save for their kid.