Is an Ivy League education worth the money ?

Smart Money ^ | Dec 16 2008 | Neil Parmar

[rbg81]

In his case, he wasn’t necessarily incompetent, but gave off a vibe like he expected what he was doing to fail. Actually, it did fail, but for reasons that weren’t his fault. Maybe he just saw it coming, but he gave off an aura of doom—its hard to explain. He did mention a few times that he regularly networked with fellow Princeton alums looking for jobs. My own observation is that success is dependent more on your performance than on your pedigree. Of course, I am not an Ivy Leaguer and don’t run in those circles—so what do I know?

[Swede Girl]

“as tough as an Ivy League”

It is tougher than any wimpy Ivy League. The Acacemies provide the best all-round education if you have the drive and ambition.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Here is the thing. Many on the left go to an Ivy League school then right after that go into government. They never get a feel for using their quart million dollar degrees in real life.

But they are taught one thing. How to legally steal from the people.

[Tzimisce]

...you can learn simplistic liberal philosophy for free at a public school....

[wastedyears]

The question arises: How could so many learned men and women, endowed with so many honors from America’s highest institutions of learning, set in motion the financial catastrophe that now grips the nation? Conclusion: The evidence here is overwhelming that a superior education can certainly rake in big money - tens of millions of dollars, in fact - but sadly it is no guarantee of competence, judgment, prudence, trust or integrity. Especially in politics.

Worthy of repeating

[SeekAndFind]

But at some point I wonder if private employers will start to recognize that Ivy grads are not as good hires as someone from, say, Grove City College or Georgia State.

I know something about Grove City College since I have friends and relatives enrolled there.

Some interesting info :

* Last year, 150 companies visited their campus (it's a small school with just 2,500 students) to hire their graduates.

* Over 90% of their graduates found jobs within 4 months of graduation.

* The school's students ranks second among all colleges surveyed by the ISI in terms of knowledge of civics and economics ( above most Ivies and second only to Harvard).

* Approximately 1 in 6 of the graduates for the past ten years own their own businesses (and small business are the ones that employ 80% of our workforce ).

* The school's tuition plus board and lodging is competitive with public universities ( recently $18,000 for board and lodging and tuition ). All freshmen students are given a laptop and color printer which is their's for free after graduation.

[rightwingcrazy]

Considering how selective these schools are, you’d think the students would succeed all the more because they were so much cleverer.

Part of the problem may be that the pricey profs they employ may be superb scholars but not necessarily superb teachers.

[Revolting cat!]

Ticket to the salons of American aristocracy.

[wastedyears]

I imagine employers in the science fields would sooner hire somebody from MIT than Harvard or Yale.

[MichiganConservative]

I knew a surgeon from Yale. He was a tool that lived off his brother and father. He enjoyed playing out his business man fantasies on daddy’s dime. Oh yeah, he had a copy of “The Audacity of Hope” on display at his condo. I think that was the only book in the place, unless you count magazines like GQ, Esquire and Playboy as reading material.

[wastedyears]

Part of the problem may be that the pricey profs they employ may be superb scholars but not necessarily superb teachers.

Yes, that could definitely be a big problem.

[Nahanni]

My nephew had a full scholarship to MIT for Nanotechnology. He left MIT last year to go to Emory (with a full scholarship).

Why?

Because Emory is the leading school for that field in the US.

[taxcontrol]

Is the EDUCATION worth it ... no

Is the ROLODEX / Networking you develop worth it ... in most cases, yes. It is the best way for those on the “out” to get plugged into the “old boys network”.

[MichiganConservative]

It is the best way for those on the “out” to get plugged into the “old boys network”.

Otherwise, how hard is it for the children of wealthy members of that "old boys network" to get connected to it?

The people I have know who attended those schools got in because of family connections or because their spot was otherwise secured by monetary gifts to the schools.

[SoftwareEngineer]

RBG81,

Oh definitely I agree, your success depends on you. It is like the old saying “God helps those who help themselves”. We can slightly modify the saying to say “An Ivy League stamp helps those who are actually smart and hardworking to begin with”

Keep in mind that Gates, Dell and many others have done just fine without an Ivy education. It is just that on average, it seems to help you get a push ahead

[SoftwareEngineer]

Wasted,

MIT (as a “name” college) along with Stanford are considered Ivy schools even though technically they are not.

[HawaiianGecko]

I've worked with and hired dozens of ivy league graduates over the years and in general I'd say they were the brightest.  They were certainly the most motivated and hard working. They were also the most likely to apply a systematic approach to problem solving which in turn made my job easier because their logic and methodology was easier to follow. I'm not speaking of guys with Harvard MBAs mind you, those are a dime a dozen. I'm talking about people with ivy league undergraduate degrees. 

So is it worth it?  A prestigious degree may cost four times as much as a state school degree and it doesn't guarantee you will make four times as much money, but you will very likely earn more than enough to pay for that education plus interest.

[Clock King]

I know the Ivies also give some 100% to poorer students, but I wonder if they are kept out of that most important part of their private college experience.

Well, according to Michelle Obama's thesis, I would think so. Otherwise she wouldn't be so angry about it.

[nufsed]

Pomona Colleges, the IVY League of the west.

[HawaiianGecko]

"MIT (as a “name” college) along with Stanford are considered Ivy schools even though technically they are not."  Good point.  As a matter of practice, I guess my definition has changed to mean the most sought out & prestigious schools which certainly would include MIT and Stanford.  I forgot that Penn was considered Ivy League, and maybe never even knew it.