The $$$ Value of an Elite College

People are starting to get the message that attending an elite school is not necessary for future success.  I just wish those “people” were students!

There is solid research out there dispelling the myth of the elite college, but it is often out of reach for the average student.  One example is a recent study by Mathematica Policy Research entitled: “Value of an Elite College.”  I found this study through an April 8 article in TIME claiming that students might be better off attending a safety school than their “dream” college (The Upside of College Rejection: Your Safety School Might be the Smarter Choice, Kayla Webley, TIME, April 8, 2011, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2063935,00.html).  

According to the article, “students rejected by highly selective schools go on to bank the same average earnings as Ivy League graduates.” 

Curious about this claim, I checked out the report.  It is very academic, full of statistical jargon like coefficients, regression models, variables, etc.  The purpose of the report was to measure “labor market return to college quality,” i.e., whether attendance at an elite college results in higher income.  The answer is no. 

There is more encouraging news for rejected students.  The study found that for students with “unobserved student characteristics” such as ambition and persistence, the elite factor had an insignificant relationship to future earnings.  Students who applied to elite schools displayed ambition, and students who applied to a long list of schools were considered persistent.  So simply applying to an elite school shows you’ve got the stuff to make it, regardless of the end result. 

According to Alan B. Krueger, Princeton economist and co-author of the study, "Even if students don't get in, the fact that they are confident enough to apply indicates they are ambitious and hardworking, which are qualities that will help them regardless of where they go to school.”

To be fair, it must be noted that there are three exceptions to the findings.  For black, Hispanic and students with parents who have little education, attending an elite college does impact their future earnings.  The authors suggest this could be because elite colleges offer these students access to connections and networks otherwise unavailable. 

The TIME article also makes the point that applying to graduate school from a safety school could be easier than from an elite school, where it is harder to stand out from the pack of overachievers. 

Getting back to my initial statement about students receiving this positive news.  The thing is, this is old news.  The researchers published another report with similar findings ten years ago, yet in the past ten years the pressure to attend an elite college has only intensified.

A New York Times blog posted the following quote from Krueger, and it is particularly applicable to students reading this blog. 

Krueger’s advice for students:  “Don’t believe that the only school worth attending is one that would not admit you. That you go to college is more important than where you go. Find a school whose academic strengths match your interests and that devotes resources to instruction in those fields. Recognize that your own motivation, ambition and talents will determine your success more than the college name on your diploma.”

Krueger’s advice for elite colleges:  “Recognize that the most disadvantaged students benefit most from your instruction. Set financial aid and admission policies accordingly.”

PDF of the report: http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/education/returntocollege.pdf

April 8, 2011 TIME article: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2063935,00.html

Feb. 21, 2011 New York Times blog post: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/revisiting-the-value-of-elite-colleges/

Could Rejection from an Elite School Improve Your Job Prospects?

People love to throw around the saying that a degree from an elite school “opens doors,” but they fail to mention that graduates now face a revolving door.  Time wasted leaning on the doorframe to drop the name of your alma mater will leave you on the outside looking in on a candidate who may not possess a degree from an “elite” college, but has the skill set employers are seeking.

But don’t take my word for it. 

In September 2010, Jennifer Merritt of the The Wall Street Journal surveyed recruiting executives at nearly 500 companies to “identify the majors and schools that best prepare students to land jobs that are satisfying, well-paid and have growth potential.”  Recruiters were asked to rank the best-qualified graduates by school and major.  Public and private companies participated, representing sectors such as finance, technology, consumer goods, energy, IT, manufacturing, consulting, healthcare, non-profit and government.

Penn State topped the list, followed by Texas A&M, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Purdue and Arizona State.  The only Ivy on the list was Cornell, ranked 14^th.   The complete list is reproduced at the end of this post.

The recruiters favored schools with large student populations that teach practical skills and offer a well-rounded academic program.  State schools fared well because of corporate internship programs that companies rely on for hiring.  According to the report, “Recruiters made clear they preferred big state schools over elite liberal arts schools, such as the Ivies.”

In responding to reader questions, the author emphasized the importance of internships and practical skills to recruiters.  Other factors affecting a school’s position on the list include the quality of the career services office, length of service at the company for school alumni, student professionalism and preparation for the work world, and school location.

When asked about the study, a Harvard professor tracking the career paths of Harvard graduates responded, “We have none of the basic bread-and-butter courses that serve you well in much of industry.”  I guess that was left out of the glossy brochures.  Parents might not react too well if they read that their money was going to a school that didn’t value preparing students for the workforce.

Top 25 List of Colleges as Ranked by Recruiters

-Penn State

-Texas A&M

-University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

-Purdue University

-Arizona State

-University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

-Georgia Institute of Technology

-University of Maryland, College Park

-University of Florida

-Carnegie Mellon University

-Brigham Young University

-Ohio State University

-Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

-Cornell University

-University of California – Berkeley

-University of Wisconsin – Madison

-University of California – Los Angeles

-Texas Tech

-North Carolina State University – Raleigh /University of Virginia (tie)

-Rutgers University – New Brunswick

-University of Notre Dame

-MIT

-University of Southern California

-Washington State University/University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (tie)

Source: Penn State Tops Recruiter Rankings, Wall Street Journal, 9/13/2010

  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435563989873060.html

You Want to Win a Nobel Prize?

    Do you think you need a degree from an elite university to win a Nobel Prize?  One of my favorite authors, Malcolm Gladwell, says no.    

In his 2008 book Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell discovered that even at the highest levels of research, a degree from elite institution did not matter as much as one might think.  What does matter is getting a strong, solid education to serve as a foundation, regardless of your school.

Gladwell’s strongest evidence is a study of Nobel Prize winners in Medicine and Chemistry, no doubt fields that require a high degree of intelligence.  Gladwell collected data on the undergraduate schools for the last 25 Americans who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine.  The list certainly included some Ivies, as well as Antioch, Holy Cross, Hunter, and DePauw. Gladwell politely surmised, “No one would say that this list represents the college choices of the absolute best high school students in America.” (For the complete list see pages 81-82 of Outliers). 

Next, Gladwell looked at Nobel laureates in Chemistry and concluded that while Harvard did appear more frequently than any other school, less prestigious institutions like Notre Dame and University of Illinois also appear on the list.  Gladwell writes, “To be a Nobel Prize winner, apparently, you have to be smart enough to get into a college at least as good as Notre Dame or the University of Illinois.  That’s all.”

This is especially surprising because most Nobel Prize winners work in academia.  If the prestige of a school brand would be a critical factor in any field, you would think academia would be it.  But even in academia, the elites do not have a lock on success.  

The Story Behind the Blog

The idea for this blog came about after I received an email from my dearest high school friend, who now works as a psychologist.    She asked me to offer advice for an overachieving high-school senior who had been rejected from her top choice colleges.  My friend reached out to me because I had been in the same position years ago.  Here is what I wrote:

“I don't know you, but I may know how you are feeling.  I was crushed when I wasn't accepted to my first choice college.  I felt like a failure, and was angry that all of my hard work hadn't been enough for admission.  It didn't seem fair.  I actually began to think I wasn't good enough or smart enough for the school.  Needless to say, this did quite a job on my self esteem.

I went to college kicking and screaming (on the inside).  Looking back, I was a horrible snob.  I thought I was better than my classmates.  This was no way to begin that chapter in my life.  But slowly I gave my school and my classmates a chance, and gave myself a break.  I realized my insistence on going to a "top" school was much more about my insecurities and need to define myself as "smart" than about education.  I learned that learning can happen anywhere, and often our most valuable learning experiences happen outside the classroom.  I came out of college with a better sense of myself, a true appreciation for learning, good friendships, happy memories, and even my future husband!  

Now, a practical note.  In high school it seems like the only route to success is through a "top" school.  In the real world, nothing could be more untrue.  What matters is what you do in college,  including your grades, work experiences, life experiences, etc.  Nobody gets a free pass because of the school they attend.  Maybe a certain diploma will open doors, but you have to prove yourself once that door is open.  I have worked in several law firms, and my husband has worked in corporate America, and quite honestly, we have found the college a person attends to be irrelevant.  This question is more relevant to graduate school than undergrad. 

So my advice is to try not to place too much emphasis on the decision of the admissions officials - it has nothing to do with you or your abilities.  Don't take it personally, and don't take it to mean you are not intelligent or capable of success.  Pick a school where you can thrive, take interesting and challenging classes, learn about the world outside the classroom, make good friends, get to know yourself - all of these things can happen anywhere.  I worked with two lawyers who attended Ohio State, and they both had wonderful experiences and went on to very successful legal careers.  So give yourself a break- you have achieved a lot, don't forget that.  Don't measure yourself by the standards of an admissions official - define success on your own terms and believe in yourself.  That will get you much further in life than a degree from a "top" school! :)”

April 7, 2010 

Dear Rejected College Applicant

You hold the envelope in your hand.

The envelope you believe controls your future.

It is thin. 

You don’t even have to open it.

You know what it says.

You have been rejected from your first-choice college.

You might think the scene ends there, but it doesn’t.  There is another letter in the mailbox, the one I am writing to you now.  Consider this blog your reality check, a guide to help you figure out what college rejection really means, and if it even matters.  I hope that reading this blog will empower you to toss the thin envelope into the trash where it belongs.

But first, you’ll have to allow yourself to think differently about the thin envelope.  It might be addressed to you, but who did the admissions officers really meet?  Did the application version of you reflect the person you truly are, or who they wanted you to be?  How much time did they spend with your application?  Did they make snap judgments based on factors that have nothing to do with you? 

The admissions officers don’t know you at all, and if they don’t know you, they can’t reject you.  They can reject a test score, a grade point average, a geographic/racial/ethnic statistic, but not you.  The admission decision is not personal, and certainly not a statement on your self worth or your qualifications. 

This may take time to sink in.  If you are anything like I was in high school, your college logic goes like this:  Smart people go to college X.  If college X accepts me, that means I am smart.  If college X rejects me, then I am not smart/worthy/going to be successful in life.  This logic is so powerful it cancels out what remains of your self confidence after surviving four years of high school.  You don’t think twice about placing your self image in the hands of people you have never met.  Their decision, often random and based on factors beyond your control, suddenly means everything.   

The unspoken truth is that those of you striving the hardest for admission at top universities will face rejection.  It is the cruelest twist in what becomes the hottest reality show of the spring.  The college admissions “machine” sets the standards higher and higher, and the more you push yourself to meet them, the greater the likelihood that you will be rejected.  When the rejection letter arrives, you are left alone when you most need advice from the so-called college “experts.”  Rejection is a taboo topic, too often untouched by the countless books, information sessions, and counselors claiming expertise.  How to get into college sells, coping with rejection doesn’t. 

The college admissions process is a human system, complete with human flaws and motivations.  College administrators and admissions officers mean well, but are often driven by agendas at odds with accepting the most qualified applicants.  Although it is hard to swallow, factors beyond your control may carry more weight than your SAT score or extra-curricular activities.  Former admissions officers and current administrators have written candidly about the system and offered suggestions for change.  Whether it changes or not, the admissions process will still be a human system, not a science, and should be treated as such.

Not only is the system flawed, but we are also seeing cracks in the foundation upon which it rests, namely, the mistaken belief that school status ensures future success.   Granted, years ago attendance at an elite college was the secret handshake welcoming students into the “old boy’s club” of the ruling class, but those days are long gone.  Students clinging to the past and expecting school status to carry them place themselves at a serious disadvantage in today’s global marketplace. 

            This is not to say that school status has no value, it just does not have as much value as we are led to believe.  You will be entering a workforce in which the answer to the question “What can you do?” is much more important than “Where did you go?”  Most graduates from elite colleges will freely admit that completing a four year degree doesn’t guarantee you can do anything.  That part is up to you.

Hopefully, that thin envelope is starting to feel less heavy in your hand.  You might even be considering the notion that the college admissions process, like high school in general, has distorted your view of the real world, and your true self.   

We all receive thin envelopes at some point in our lives.  Yours came from a college, others receive rejections from dream employers, banks, editors, or coaches.  Whether it arrives when you are eighteen or twenty-four or forty, dealing with rejection calls upon the same coping skills.  Look at your thin envelope as an opportunity to learn how to rise up when the world makes a mistake, take back your power from the admissions officers and define success, and yourself, by your own standards.