We followed a similar path with the exception of my education being public university rather than Ivy league. I knew going into college that I was a conservative and often argued with professors who spouted complete lies to further an agenda.
I had professors (in the mid-1970s) who were open Communists. Arguing with them was always a frustrating experience; they understood the power of rhetoric and ridicule; I did not. I had never heard of Saul Alinsky; they had memorized his Rules. And needless to say, one sacrificed the possibility of achieving high grades merely by virtue of one's willingness to disagree in class.
Our universities are now dominated by radicals, administratively and professorially. After 40 years they remain, closing American minds, one at a time.
I actually credit the conservatives of Free Republic for much of my education. I discovered FR in 1998, at the same time I was in grad school. I’d argue with my professors using what I learned from freepers, and I’d argue with freepers using what I heard from my professors. In the end it became clear to me that freepers would never stop explaining their point, but professors would tell you to shut up. Politely, of course, but that was the ultimate message. “We are right, shut up,” they explained.