Did I make the wrong college choice?

TopTier
Tue, 10 Feb 2015 19:25:33 +0000

Re post #35:

I’m all for the OP, she seems just fine to me, and I sincerely wish her great happiness, success, and satisfaction both professionally and personally.

However, @gearmom‌ and @VMT, the germane systemic question, it seems to me, isn’t did @girlengineer‌ receive her current Sprint job when a Penn graduate was passed over – hurray for her – rather it is how frequently would that occur and how frequently would it not? An East Swampy State alum may sometimes prevail in a job competition with a Stanford graduate, but how often and for what job(s)? Were there no major, pervasive and widely-acknowledged advantages to matriculating at the most-competitive universities (and some CC participants seem to suggest that’s true), wouldn’t everyone simply attend East Swampy: it’s easier to be admitted, it’s less expensive, it’s less academically difficult and competitive, and it just may be more fun. Yet, generation after generation, very bright individuals (and their families) work diligently and make profound sacrifices to attend the most demanding and selective institutions (not to suggest that some equally intelligent people do not opt for other higher educational alternatives). Why do they do so? Could it be that America’s long history has generally demonstrated that enduring, tangible, and extremely significant benefits accrue from their decisions to do so?