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I looked at the names of numerous CEO's at large and small companies in the USA and there is not "rule" that says that most of them are Ivy League grads.

It's far less true for jobs like CEO, since they frequently work their way up from entry-level management positions that hire from a wide range of schools. But it's definitely true in industries like finance and consulting, where it's rare to even break in in the first place from non-elite schools. And those are best far the best-paying entry-level jobs most college grads can get.

But it's definitely true in industries like finance and consulting, where it's rare to even break in in the first place from non-elite schools. And those are best far the best-paying entry-level jobs most college grads can get.

Hmmm... let's see if this is true...Let's look at the undergrad degrees of the head of some prominent finance companies in the USA...

Frank Zarb --- Former president of the NASDAQ Stock Market Inc, and later Chairman of AIG. Graduate of Hofstra University ( is that "elite" ?)

Gary Crittenden : Chief financial officer of Citigroup. BS degree in management from Brigham Young University ( State University ).

Richard Severin Fuld, Jr., currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., One of The USA largest brokerage and investment banks. Fuld, received his B.S. from the University of Colorado in 1969 ( A State University).

G. Kennedy "Ken" Thompson, chairman, president, and CEO of Wachovia Corporation. He holds a B.A. in American Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (a state school)

Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, Graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst ( A State University ).

Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr., CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers, One of the world's largest consulting companies. He received dual degrees in accounting and economics from the University of Alabama ( A State University ).

Kenneth D. Lewis, the current Chairman, CEO, and President of Bank of America, one of the largest banks in the United States. He is a graduate of Georgia State University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in finance.

Gary D. Cohn is President and COO of Goldman Sachs. Graduated with a major in finance at American University.

I could go on and on and on.

While there is an argument to show that most Ivy League grads do well, it is not necessarily true that you have to spend a fortune in your undergrad to get the Ivy League "connections" to climb the corporate ladder.

A better strategy is this -- if you don't have the money, don't bankrupt yourself in order to go to an Ivy League school if they don't give you sufficient aid.... go to a good state school and do well. Then, find employment in a good company while enrolling for your graduate studies ( either at an elite Ivy School or a good non-Ivy ). You can use your salary to pay for the grad school tuition or maybe your company has educational benefits for its employees. At any rate, it isn't a good idea to be in debt by over a hundred thousand dollars before you earn your first salary when just as good an alternative exists.