What are some truths and misconceptions about Ivy schools?
No, it’s no guarantee.
In fact, there was a student posting here awhile back whose parents were both Yale grads, but they were low income…qualified for Pell.
That said, many/most college grads are probably “successful later in life,” no matter where they went to school.
Going to a good school is by no means a ticket to success. However, many of the people who get into such schools are hardworking and driven, which I’m sure would then apply to their careers after college. The school you attend may be advantageous in giving you its ‘name’ which I guess could put you ahead in a few job applications etc, but after a few years your work experience and personality will count more than where you went to school. Also, the people, connections and opportunities available at a school could impact future success, but the vast majority of the time none of this will be any good if you don’t put the work in.
Many people who went to lower level colleges (or even didn’t attend college) have been succesful, it’s not the be all and end all.
(This is just my opinion)
At any of the 8 Ivies, you are pretty sure to be among many talented, motivated, hard-working classmates who will be successful in various career fields (including academia, business, government, and the arts). You may find that in itself to be an interesting, worthwhile experience (even though no college can guarantee future success to any given individual).
Well said @mom2collegekids
Dr. Amy Bishop Ph.D. Harvard University
Currently in jail, convicted of killing three colleagues and wounding three others after being denied tenure at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
No one thing will guarantee that you will be successful in life.
What constitutes success? Success does not necessarily mean making a lot of $$. I know plenty of people who make lots of $$ and are miserable. I would not call that successful.
No, of course not. You are likely to have a broader set of potential choices and opportunities, but there are opportunities at every school.
It’s up to you to grab them.
Nothing is guaranteed. It is quite possible that by entering and attending an Ivy league school you have demonstrated the ability to learn at a high level and this could in turn translate to the ability to become successful. Not necessarily rich as using only money as a yard stick is a bit basic.
Let’s also not neglect the fact that the majority of Ivy League graduates come from upper-middle-class families and higher, and people from upper-middle-class and upper-class families are more likely to succeed in life by the definition of career and financial success.
The primary benefit of a top university/LAC is that, generally speaking, you are exposed to a group of more motivated more academically capable peers and professors, and your mind is shaped in a more intense academic crucible. The secondary benefit is that if you perform well you will have better access to certain professions (that can be very difficult to otherwise access) and to the top graduate programs.
The set of Universities and LACs that feed the top financial (investment banks, hedge funds, money management, etc) and strategic consulting firms as well as the top graduate schools (law, medicine, business, etc.) include the Ivies+ (Stanford, Duke, MIT, etc.) and the top LACs (Williams, Swarthmore, Amherst, etc.).
Every university/LAC has a bell curve of outcomes. The better the university/LAC the farther to the right the center of the bell curve will be. There will always be anecdotal evidence of success from a less selective university and of failure from a more selective university, because every bell curve has a left and right tail.
Unabomber–Harvard genius
Not exactly. It may help building connections and circles among elite groups but that can get you only so far.
Supreme court justices, presidents/prime ministers (and not just of the US), corporate CEOs (US, Europe and the rest of the world), investment bankers, private equity investors, hedge fund managers, leading scientists (including Nobel prize winners), journalistic thought leaders, most successful entrepreneurs. And, that is just the tip if the iceberg. In other words a disproportionate percentage of those who are shaping the world were educated at about 20 universities, most of which are in the US.
There is no doubt about it. All over the planet, these names are synonyms for intelligent, accomplished and well connected. Not only you get a good education, driven peers, amazing opportunities, membership to an exclusive alumni group but a coveted social currency as well.
Is it possible to have a terrible experience there and not taking advantage of opportunities offered? Absolutely. Is it possible to be equally successful from no name colleges or local state schools? Absolutely. Only difference is that odds are heavily in favor of Ivy graduates. Obviously, major factor is Ivies picking cream of the crop. If you take out hooked ones, most students are already top 1% in whatever they do.
Not to mention the cement elite circles dominating the top 1%
Nothing is a guarantee, but it increases the odds of earning more money if that’s your goal. See this article, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-colleges-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html, and the research it was based on http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/documents/.
The study is robust because of its large sample size of 6.7 million college students in their main sample, being able to match the data to IRS and W2 records to avoid biases inherent in income surveys, and following incomes longitudinally over many years, instead of looking only at the beginning of the career like the College Scorecard. The study is interesting in that it looks at income success: the probability of being in the top 1% or top 20% given you came from a family in the bottom 20%. The students who benefit the most from going to an Ivy Plus college seem to be the low income students. Like all studies, it has its limitations. Look at some of the debates on the Krueger studies and form an opinion.
[QUOTE=Harvard and Radcliffe Classes of 1962 – Fiftieth Anniversary Report]
THEODORE JOHN KACZYNSKI
HOME ADDRESS: No. 04475-046, U.S. Penitentiary-Max, P.O. Box 8500, Florence, CO 8216-8500.
OCCUPATION: Prisoner.
HOUSE/DORM: Eliot.
DEGREES: AB '62; MA, Univ. of Michigan '65; PhD, ibid. '67.
PUBLICATIONS: *Technological Slavery/i.
AWARDS: Eight life sentences, issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, 1998.
Yes, if you go to an Ivy League school it is very likely that you will lead at least an upper-middle class lifestyle.
But that doesn’t mean that if you DON’T go to an elite college, then you likely WON’T lead a successful life.