Top 5 reasons why students want an Ivy League/Duke/Stanford/MIT/Caltech degree

Parent Cafe
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<p>I was reading a 2007 study two days ago regarding what students look for and value in a college education. The article compiled results firsthand from the choices made by 10,000 students who ranged from basically every demographic when given a choice between a high-quality in-state public school and a prestigious private school. Additionally, the study offered the top 5 top reasons in order why most kids pick the more prestigious private school in this situation even when the public institution is usually more affordable.</p>

<li><p>Earning Potential(ability to afford more expensive cars, clothes, homes, furniture, dining, alcohol, vacations and more attractive members of the opposite sex in the future)</p></li>
<li><p>Prestige(waking up in the morning for the rest of your life thinking “Wow I’m an alumni of " " university!”/pride/impressing parents, friends, members of family’s social group and the general public)</p></li>
<li><p>Common Social Interaction(finally being able to meet and socialize with individuals of the same “perceived” intelligence/having meaningful intellectual conversations/ability to forge lifelong friendships with individuals with equal drive for success and common interests/feeling of “belonging”)</p></li>
<li><p>Validation(making sure all the hard work and effort in high school pays off appropriately/ensuring that all the studying and extracurricular involvement was not in vain)</p></li>
<li><p>Undergraduate Focus(smaller classes, better student/faculty ratio, more opportunities to participate in class, stronger connections with influential alumni, ability to personally interact with professors, unique study abroad and volunteer opportunities set up by school, bigger endowment so more resources/stipends for research, etc.)</p></li>
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<p>I unfortunately can’t find the link to the study again but regardless even though I wasn’t very surprised, I thought many of you parents would find this very interesting. Being on CC and interacting with parents/teachers would make you believe that most students are opting for more prestigious and expensive private schools over the quality in-state options because of the “strength in area(s) of study/intended major” or “the right fit in terms of size/location/student body”.</p>

<p>However, the common theme in all 5 of these options regarded by the study as the most influential seems to be the idea of “exclusivity”. Given the option, students want to go to a school for the reasons of higher perceived selectivity/ability to go to a school with kids who worked just as hard as they did/be where statistics show they could earn more money in the future/attend a place with does a better job of garnering praise and the “wow” factor from loved ones and the general public.</p>

<p>This seems in line with my experiences because most of my friends who chose to go to a prestigious private school given the ability to attend a less expensive in-state school gave the reasons of a) “Why would I want to go to the same college as those same kids who worked half as hard as I did in HS and got lower grades and test scores?/If I wanted to go the public institution, I could have relaxed so much more in HS and enjoyed myself and at the same time obtained the same result!” and b) “I want to finally meet intelligent students of all walks of life who I can have meaningful conversations and who share my desire to succeed educationally unlike those unmotivated high schoolers we went to school with!”</p>

<p>So to you parents: Are you surprised by the top motivations of kids today for choosing an expensive and prestigious private school? Did your kid(s) share any of these reasons with you while he/she was engaged in the college search? Are you surprised in general by what kids value today in a college education? Were these motivations in line with what you all felt when you were going through the college selection process several decades ago and if not, does that mean our generation is more materialistic?</p>

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<p>small classes, undergraduate focus, fabulous financial aid, intellectual peers, cultural reasons (location), national + international diversity on the <em>undergrad</em> level, residential college system providing social opportunities, beauty of campus.</p>

<p>Nothing for my D in there about “prestige” or earning-power or public perceptions. If that will be a byproduct, it wasn’t sought going in, I assure you. It would be a secondary result, but that’s it.</p>

<p>So fit, yes, but not in the supposedly prominent ways you suggest. I do think, though, that in general private high school kids transition more easily to private colleges than to publics. Just from observation, nothing scientific. You’re used to a more personalized, individualized approach, which is more difficult to experience at a very large in-state, even the best. Nothing snobby about it, necessarily, just a comfort level.</p>

<p>Also, it is not necessarily true that a in-state is a better deal financially. The well-endowed privates sometimes exceed in generosity that in-state publics. (Or, the EFC can be different, or the configuration of aid.)</p>

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<p>Privates do their best to hold your hand :rolleyes:</p>

<p>And just because you D doesn’t say prestige/earning potential has something to do with it doesn’t mean it’s true. I hardly doubt everybody who goes to hyp goes because of the location, financial aid, culture fit etc. There’s nothing wrong with prestige playing a roll, hell I’d take hyp over any other school.</p>

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<p>“I hardly doubt everybody who goes to hyp goes because of the location, financial aid, culture fit etc.”</p>

<p>As usual, you “quote” and “re-state” things that posters have not said. I did not say “everybody.” Said one person. Too bad if you don’t believe it; that’s your problem. You apparently think the whole world reflects your value system. (“There’s nothing wrong with prestige playing a roll, hell, I’d take hyp over any other school.”) Why do you assume everyone’s as cynical as you are, or shares your priorities or the OP’s assumption of priorities? </p>

<p>Trends and generalizations are not comprehensive for a whole population.</p>

<p>Personalization does not equal hand-holding. Two different things.</p>

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<p>You’re right epiphany, I’m sure you daughter was one of the few who decided on an ivy school despite it’s prestige/future earning potential. The culture, location, and diversity amongst the ivies are TO DIE FOR!</p>

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my that is unfortunate. I sure would like to see it for myself. e<em>a</em>d, if you can give me a few hints I can google the “study” or “article” . I’m sure I’ll be able to find it. 10,000 high school kids who had the choice between an elite and a high-quality in state public. A study like that would cost serious coin and would certainly get loads of press. </p>

<p>Some q’s

  1. Was it done by a university, government agency, or private company?
  2. Where was it presented on the net? Magazine? Book excerpt?
  3. Do you remember anything about the authors?
  4. Who were the exact schools involved?
  5. Was it exactly 10,000?</p>

<p>I’d really like to find the study. A study that size must be fascinating to read.</p>

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<p>Earning potential and prestige are certainly factors that were high on my son’s list, but not at the expense of other things that were important to him as well. It is all a balancing process- he wasn’t going to live in a dump for 4 years to obtain that prestige (oh wait, he IS living in a dump!). This forum probably wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the way the elite colleges promote their prestige and future benefits in the income-earning world.
That’s why it is so important to look beyond those things and try to figure out which college is the best fit for you with a view towards present AND long-term goals.</p>

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<p>Yes, kids and their families can differ on their reasons for going to these elite colleges.(IMHO) I had dinner with a Brown student last week who was very upfront about wanting to make alot of money after graduation. Maybe she will, maybe she won’t. She also talked about how amazingly bright her classmates were and how she was so impressed by them. H and his brothers all went to Harvard and except for H are in professions that aren’t the least bit lucrative. Money was irrelevant regarding their college choice. Everyone’s different.</p>

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<p>Curm - you are hearby put on notice that you are violating the CC bylaws requiring the toleration and indulgence of all forms of insecure and narcissistic hooey. Any further implied deprecations and you will be required to respond to “What are my chances” and “Should I try to improve my 2390” posts for the next 6 months.</p>

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<p>I can easily see why Cornell might appeal to S, and it has nothing to do with prestige/future earning potential. He likes cold weather and snow and wants a “hippie”/liberal location. So far, he has stated that he wants to stay in the NE for college, and that he wants to be far enough away, but not too far away. I’ve suggested he may want to consider Cornell when it comes time to consider colleges because I think he will like Ithaca a great deal. I think the town will fit him very well.</p>

<p>H, whom I married last year, got his PhD from Cornell; he followed a composer he wanted to study with there from another college, at which he’d gotten his masters. He was not thinking “prestige” and obviously, from his choice of field (music), was not thinking “money.” When he was in high school, he had met this composer and had decided then that he wanted to learn from this man, and did just that.</p>

<p>It’s not always money-making potential; it’s not always prestige. Some kids really do have other reasons for choosing the schools that they choose, even if those schools are Ivies.</p>

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<p>I don’t know a single kid who has gone to an Ivy for “earning potential”. All the other factors ring true to some extent: culture, location, peers, intellectual opportunities, environment, national/international diversity (with everyone at a high level) and validation. And, yes, LaxAttack – those things are great.</p>

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<p>An authentic alumnus or alumna would not use the plural for male graduates upon waking in the morning.</p>

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<h1>3 was very important to me.</h1>

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<p>I think that parents actually do think about those things (secondary to just hoping their kids are happy where they go). But do the kids really think that way? I sure remember that my reasons for wanting to go to Harvard had a lot to do with the fact that I thought that Harvard Square was really cool with all the Hare Krishna people, and that I thought it would be romantic to go to school where it snowed. (I am SERIOUS, people). I was also really excited about going to a place where I could take all kinds of amazing courses. The thought of jobs, money, prestige, etc. were notions I do not think that I had even contemplated as a high school senior. Maybe I was extremely odd but don’t you think kids choose schools for lots of really sort of romantic-notion reasons? Or maybe it was because it was still the 60s and we didn’t think that way, back then?</p>

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<p>location > reputation > cost</p>

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<p>patient - I think this generation is far more concerned with earning potential than previous generations. Everything has become more competitive and students are doing their best to ensure their success in the future.</p>

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<p>gotta agree with UriA, earning potential is at the top of the list with the current generation, very much the “me” generation. </p>

<p>A major factor in the process is also parent’s influence .</p>

<p>Prestige is certainly there too, a consideration I find ever present and horribly shallow, if not completely silly.</p>

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<p>bullwinkle - I don’t see anything wrong with wanting prestige. It is impressive to most people to say the least, and gives a real sense of accomplishment. Some student excel profusely due to the prestigious competitive environment. I don’t find anything wrong with being a prestige whore, to each his own. </p>

<p>After all, prestigious schools are prestigious because of their excellent academics and superb track record with alumni, something very appealing to the intellectual.</p>

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<p>Did I read that right?</p>

<p>“1. Earning Potential (ability to afford … more attractive members of the opposite sex in the future)”.</p>

<p>Spitzer is an Ivy grad (Princeton and Harvard).</p>

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<p>My nephew graduated in 2006 from University of Colorado Boulder.
He chose Boulder over Duke because he was able to graduate without loans.</p>

<p>Also the skiing.</p>