State schools do not equal safety schools, a Minnesota student argues on the New York Times website.

Abigail Hansen, a student at Minnetonka High School, has been chronicling her college application process for the New York Times blog "The Choice." In her latest entry, she explains why although she's a strong student with a high ACT score, she's not applying to Cornell University.

Or, in fact, any Ivy League school.

She has been impressed, she says, with the University of Minnesota -- its honors program, its research, its study abroad program.

Here's the crux of her entry:

Many of the comments on her entry begin with a congrats. "Kudos to you, Abigail!" writes one woman, who says she completed her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota.

I wonder what you make of her argument. Should Abigail and other students opt for the Ivy League? Do too many students look past their state schools? What advantages does one kind of school have over the other? Leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments.