Why do people pay SOOOO much to go to a presitgious college?

[BD2003]

I dont get it, why do people empty out their pockets and go into major debt to go to a prestigious college? Sure the professors may be a little better (unless you go to a research university), and the campus may be nicer, but it just seems like a total waste of money to me.

Personally I go to a state college, and tuition is only $1700 a semester, room and board comprise the larger part of my bill bringing it to about 5k a sem, 10k a year. If I had gone to a local college, I could have lived at home and paid only tuition.

Im about to graduate in a semester, and I dont feel as if my education has been lacking at all. If anything I've gotten a great value for my dollar, and had the best time. Back in high school all of my friends wanted to go to an expensive college, I told my counselor I didnt care for any of that, and she actually agreed with me.

Now if your parents paid for your education, your answer to the question is already apparent. I am talking to the people who foot it themselves. Why?

 

[amdskip]

I agree and this is what I am doing also.

 

[Dudd]

Well, it depends on where you go. For example, I'm going to Notre Dame next year, and they have a nice campus and all that you said, but they also have great school spirit, and also a large alumni network that may help once you leave school. But, my parents are paying amyways (actually, it's because my grandfather died after hardly spending a dime in his life), so I really don't have to go into debt anyways.

 

[BarneyFife]

Well I don't foot it myself but the reason I go to a private college is because it offers a better education for me since I don't have 100 people in any of my classes. I can ask the teacher questions, have them explain to me something I don't understand, and we all know each other's name in class. I was in a public university (for a year and transfered) and didn't find 150 people in a class a nice learning environment. Some people might enjoy it, I sure didn't. Also, my school has a good reputation in the area and 96% of graduates gain employment within 6 months of graduation in their desired field. It will end up paying off in the long run for me.

 

[StormRider]

Originally posted by: BD2003
I dont get it, why do people empty out their pockets and go into major debt to go to a prestigious college? Sure the professors may be a little better (unless you go to a research university), and the campus may be nicer, but it just seems like a total waste of money to me.

Personally I go to a state college, and tuition is only $1700 a semester, room and board comprise the larger part of my bill bringing it to about 5k a sem, 10k a year. If I had gone to a local college, I could have lived at home and paid only tuition.

Im about to graduate in a semester, and I dont feel as if my education has been lacking at all. If anything I've gotten a great value for my dollar, and had the best time. Back in high school all of my friends wanted to go to an expensive college, I told my counselor I didnt care for any of that, and she actually agreed with me.

Now if your parents paid for your education, your answer to the question is already apparent. I am talking to the people who foot it themselves. Why?

I agree with you totally. Actually, when I was in High School I probably did care about it but my parents wanted me close by and I only applied to the University of Maryland. And at the end of my academic journey, I think I got a really good bargin. I graduated without any debt, my parents didn't go into debt helping me go to college and I think my education was first rate. I've meet people from other more prestigious universities and I never really felt intimidated by them (in other words, my education seemed to about equal to theirs).

 

[richardycc]

they pay more for the "networking." It all comes down to it is not what you know, it is who you know.

rich

 

[damiano]

because then you get paid SOOOOOOOOOOO much more if you come out of harvard than if you come out of a little school

 

[Vampirrella]

i agree with Rich, thats a BIG part of it

 

[tcsenter]

Why do people pay SOOOO much to go to a presitgious college?

Same reason people pay SOOOO much for prestige in anything; art, cars, watches, clothes, wine, etc.

 

[chizow]

Simple answer: Many top-tier firms ONLY recruit out of the "prestigious colleges".

Chiz

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

As long as daddy is able to buy you a degree at one of the big universities you can become president, something you can't do if you have brains but no money.

 

[BruinEd03]

I go to a prestigous college w/o the debt

-Ed

 

[BD2003]

So far the reasons given make sense, networking, recruiting etc, but there doesnt seem to be any apparent lack of that here. But if you are so smart, wouldnt it be better to stick out at a normal college rather than be one of the crowd at a prestigious?

Besides, there still has been no mention of anyone footing the bill themselves yet. Scholarships are a whole different beast entirely.

Personally, I know two people. One, I dont know he goes, but he is paying 30k a year, and his major is jewish studies. The other, is a comparitive lit major at NYU, and pays even more I believe. Neither knows what they want to do you, and I'm not too sure theres many firms knocking on the doors of jewish and lit majors.

 

[IGBT]

To establish high end social connections.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Honestly, I don't think the education is better at a prestigious university. My friend is a student at Vanderbilt and I go to UT. From what I hear, the only difference is the amount of work we do, in other words, difficulty. He pulls all nighters several times a week, and doesn't party. He was complaining that in chemistry, for the final, they made him study 400 pages, then on the test, they asked questions about the most obscure things. To me, it seems like the purpose of the classes is to be hard in order to maintain the school's status, not to teach.
Any school that makes you memorize atomic weights to 3 decimal places is crap.

 

[chizow]

Well here's the deal: You can still get an excellent job out of a major state university if you do well. There are however, firms like McKinsey & Co., Booz Allen, AT Kearney etc. that ONLY recruit out of the Ivy League for undergrad and Top 25 for grads. The situation is similar on the Tech/Engineering/Science disciplines.

The key thing is to keep in mind, as someone stated, that most people don't know what they want to do during undergrad. And thats fine. If you do well in undergrad, you still have the opportunity to go to a "prestigious school" for grad work. Depending on how well you did in undergrad, you may go free, or even get paid to go.

Chiz

 

[Adul]

Originally posted by: chizow
Simple answer: Many top-tier firms ONLY recruit out of the "prestigious colleges".

Chiz

sadly, and yet idiots are chosen over someone who knows what they are doing simply because of the school :|

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: BruinEd03
I go to a prestigous college w/o the debt

-Ed

yay! go bruins!

although i have the debt because parents are paying for two UC educations at the same time so i took on some of the burden. plus rent is expensive.

 

[DigDug]

It is wierd, but the door openings are a real effect of where you go. Its fun to walk into an interview and spend 10 minutes chatting about college. I didn't go to an ivy, but a prestigious school nonetheless, and get asked all the same questions. While it may not be the deciding factor in getting a job, it sure as hell doesn't hurt. Brand names are a real part of everything we as humans do.

 

[McPhreak]

Originally posted by: chizow
Well here's the deal: You can still get an excellent job out of a major state university if you do well. There are however, firms like McKinsey & Co., Booz Allen, AT Kearney etc. that ONLY recruit out of the Ivy League for undergrad and Top 25 for grads. The situation is similar on the Tech/Engineering/Science disciplines.

The key thing is to keep in mind, as someone stated, that most people don't know what they want to do during undergrad. And thats fine. If you do well in undergrad, you still have the opportunity to go to a "prestigious school" for grad work. Depending on how well you did in undergrad, you may go free, or even get paid to go.

Chiz

wut he sed

 

[isasir]

I went to NYU, a decision made because more than 1/2 of my tuition was covered by scholarships and state aid. It's been two years since I graduated and all loans I took were paid off within a year of my graduation (about $13k in loans). I did have to pay full tuition tho' for 12 credits, cuz I couldn't finish them in 4 yrs. (switched from pre-med/bio to comp. sci. junior year). THAT is when it truly hurts ($550 a credit!)

A friend of mine from NYU basically KNOWS he got a higher starting salary than his friend that got him the job, because of the school he went to. (His friend went to SUNY).

 

[tcsenter]

There are however, firms like McKinsey & Co., Booz Allen, AT Kearney etc. that ONLY recruit out of the Ivy League for undergrad and Top 25 for grads. The situation is similar on the Tech/Engineering/Science disciplines.

Right, but they ONLY recruit from the top 5% or fewer within these prestigious schools, which leaves a whole lot of people (probably 80%) who go to prestigious schools for reasons other than "prestigious" career path plans.

Why does anyone place value on "prestige"? If there wasn't something totally intangible to be said for prestige in and of itself, then companies like Rolex and Bentley (among a thousand others) wouldn't exist. Personally, while I do find a certain value in prestige, its of low priority and takes a back seat to many other factors I value more, like pragmatism or utility. If a Rolex could be had for a couple hundred bucks, without losing the prestige, I'd go for a Rolex over others, but then that's precisely why Rolex is prestigious (not many people can afford one). You can't lower the price of a Rolex, thus increasing access to one, without a commensurate loss of prestige.

Its all about exclusivity, really, and one's desire to be counted among some thing which is very exclusive. Most people who go to prestigious schools do so because they somehow came to hold views or beliefs which instruct them to place more value on exclusivity, because with the notorious grade promotion that goes on in "prestigious" schools like Harvard, it can hardly be said that its a better education.

 

[wyvrn]

BD2003

I agree with everything you said. That is why I have always gone to state colleges. But from experience, there are some drawbacks to cheaper education. As richardycc stated, better networking at ritzier schools.

Who you know can make or break your career, just ask many IT managers if they got their job by merit only or by knowing someone in power. Most will tell you they had to have a "break" from someone to get their foot in the door, regardless of their technical prowress. This is a telling example, because it happens in all career fields.

Also, class sizes at state colleges mean students do most of the learning by themselves. Most of my profs limit questions in class severely in order to have time to get the material across. With less class time devoted per student, you then have to spend outside hours attending tutoring sessions on campus. I have gone to a private college for one semester (couldn't afford to keep going), and the learning experience was much stronger because I could interact intimately with my fellow students and the prof in a way you can't in a room of 200 people.

Certain careers look at prestige of your schooling, such as politics. Name does mean something in publicized jobs. Look at President Bush. His campaign fought the belief that he was not articulate (read: smart) by pointing out he went to an Ivy League school. If they hadn't done this in a close election, that view might have cost him the election. Those are some of the benefits I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[KokomoGST]

I think the answer to the question is for the neat-looking rear windshield stickers.

It's like TypeR stickers for the older generation
"I put a Harvard sticker on my car and suddenly my portfolio went up 2%!!!"

 

[tcsenter]

I should add...

Some schools are prestigious because they are arguably the best in a particular field, but that is hardly the case with all of them. Many "prestigious" schools have some good competition from less exclusive and more affordable universities.