| Another factor to consider when looking at those 'CEO stats' is that most of those people went to school at least 2-3 decades ago. The trend is certainly moving towards top students attending a much more diverse range of schools (rather than just a handful of schools as it largely was several decades ago). 20-30 years from now (when today's college graduates will be tomorrow's CEOs) it's almost certain that the 'CEO stats' will continue to be much more diverse than they are today. Similar observations of increasing school diversity amongst the 'best of the best' can be made by looking at those selected for top prestigious scholarships (Marshall, Rhodes, etc.)
As I always tell people, an amazing individual is going to be an amazing individual no matter where they go to school. The qualities required to reach a high level of 'achievement' (define that as you wish) are the sorts of things that can't be taught in a classroom.
So in short, one has to set their own priorities for what they want in a school. Personally, I'd say that in most cases the 'top dream school' isn't better than the 'free ride.' Like it or not money is important.
Think about the extra money required to go to the 'dream school' and then make a list of other things that could be done with that amount of money, or even less, (a nice down payment on a house for a new college grad, a jumpstart on retirement savings...) then decide which you'd rather have in the longer run. |