Comparing Ivy League colleges to regular colleges

Hi Tiffanie,
Your choice of college is a complex decision that shouldn't be based solely on whether the school is Ivy League or not. Having attended an Ivy League undergraduate college myself, I can say that my experience was incredible, and I have no regrets about my decision. But every school is different. Even within the Ivy schools, there are varying student populations, specializations, geographic locations, weather, urban/rural, sports/extracurricular opportunities, etc.
So my advice is to make your decision based on the particular school's offerings, and whether it provides what you are looking for. Don't pick a school just based on reputation. Remember, you will spend four incredible years of your life as an undergraduate, where you will grow and change as an individual in many more ways than simply academic. Take your time and enjoy those four years!
Yes, having an esteemed school on your resume is nice, but I think your personal experience and growth over your four years of school is more important. Also among Ivy schools, some are more challenging to get accepted into, while the workload may be easy once you get in. Others have more challenging and rigorous academic schedules, even if they have a higher acceptance rate. So don't base your choice on what may be perceived by the outside world as the "best" school you can get into - what is best for some may not be best for you.
And when you graduate, of course there are some companies who highly value an Ivy League school on your resume. But if that's their main criteria for hiring you, I wouldn't want to work for those companies anyway :) You are a unique individual, and your choice of university should reflect what is right for you.

Ivy Leagues are generally just known for their name, prestige, and high selectivity rates. Regular collges can actually (and some are) just as good as Ivys based on the US World Colleges Report. Additional comparions and information can be found online. Collegeboard.org is a great resource for this! I poured through the pages of universities all over the U.S. when I was a senior in high school. Collegeboard was my go-to site! They put all of the information in one place and it is very easy to use. They even have various filters you can apply to see only colleges that have programs you are interested. To determine academic rigor, look at the admissions requirements, G.P.A. of past admitted applicants, SAT/ACT scores, class rank etc. This will give you an idea of what scores and grades you need to be accepted. However, don't be discouraged your application will be reviewed based on the full picture! College-board will help you get an idea of what is most important to the specific school you are applying to.