The NYT tax study suggests only relatively small differences in average income between poor and rich students who attend Ivy League colleges. Poor students average top ~28% at age 34 . Rich students average top ~22%
Average Income Percentile at Age 34
Princeton: Poor student: Top 26%, Rich student: Top 20%
Brown: Poor student: Top 27%, Rich student: Top 26%
Dartmouth: Poor student: Top 27%, Rich student: Top 22%
Columbia: Poor student: Top 28%, Rich student: Top 24%
Penn: Poor student: Top 28%, Rich student: Top 20%
Cornell: Poor student: Top 29%, Rich student: Top 23%
Harvard: Poor student: Top 29%, Rich student: Top 21%
Yale: Poor student: Top 29%, Rich student: Top 23%
Instead of parents’ income, a key factor in future income appears to be college major. College major appears to have more influence on future income at Ivies than at larger, less selective publics. The table below compares median income by major among federal FA recipients (either grants or loans) at Ivies, as listed in the CollegeScore database. As you brought up in another thread, sample size is too small for precise values; but there are still clear differences in earnings between the different majors.
--MEDIAN FIRST YEAR EARNINGS BY MAJOR AT IVIES--
Major Earnings<br>
Computer Science+ $110k<br>
Electrical Engineering $83k<br>
Mathematics $82k<br>
Economics $74k<br>
Nursing $74k<br>
Mechanical Engineering $71k<br>
Engineering (All Majors) $70k<br>
Business $62k<br>
All Students $60k<br>
Political Science $50k<br>
Sociology $45k<br>
Psychology $42k
English $36k<br>
Biology $36k<br>
Education $32k<br>
Chemistry $31k<br>
+Includes CS + Computer & Information Sciences Major