<p>You absolutely don’t have to go to an Ivy League school. FloridaDad’s comment seems very likely. Here in Texas, the A&M and UT and SMU grads all get those high paying jobs. Furthermore, Ivy League schools are not necessarily the best schools. A lot of it depends on what major you want to get into, but not all of it. Some of those Ivy League schools have TA’s teaching classes, and the prof.s are just there for research and prestige. Of course, you want to go to a good school if you can, but it does not have to be an Ivy. You can go to a Rice or a GA Tech or a Carnegie Mellon and get a higher quality education for less money. Smart people are EVERYWHERE. Scholarships and such often draw geniuses into going to non-Ivies. Ever heard of Steve Jobs? He went to Reed College.</p>