Is it worth it to go to a well-known, highly ranked, prestigious college?
Is it easier to get a job coming out of a college like this?
Or does the college itself not matter and it just matters how well you do wherever you go?
Some employers prefer kids from state schools others prefer Harvard kids. Besides that, You don’t need to go to a prestigious school in order to have more internship and research opportunities, the most important thing is being the best you can be wherever you go and being comfortable with your school environment (A lot of people in prestigious schools feel below average and that can impact your academics).
In the end, the name of the college will be far less important than how good you are in the field. A well-known college for your field may make it easier but a good student and worker can make it out of any college. My dad does many interviews and he always says that often Rutgers or Temple students are better equipped to work than Princeton or UPenn kids. It all depends on you as a person. If you are easily distracted by a big school where the population will be 50/50 with motivated students and kids that want to party each weekend, a more academic environment that often comes prestigious schools. On the other hand, if you are inherently a focused student, you can strive even in you “average” state school. Employers will often assess your skill to their own requirements and needs and whether you can do what they need you to do is more important than the name of the college on your degree.
The vast majority of professionals across the country did not go to elite schools. Ask your doctor, attorney, dentist, accountant, etc. where they went to undergrad. It is more likely to be State U or regional LAC than HYP.
Only a tiny percentage of college students are attending the “elite” colleges, obviously you don’t need to go to one to be successful. In that sense it is nothing to stress over.
But, it is silly to pretend that attending one doesn’t help open up some doors and can impress employers/graduate schools.
I guess I don’t know what you mean by worth it? Do you mean financially?
Assuming a student can get in, those colleges actually offer generous financial aid if you come from a lower income or middle class background.
You’re a high stats student with a $40k/year budget. If that doesn’t include the ~$5500/year student loan or ~$3k summer work earnings, you have closer to $48k/year. That’s enough to give you some great options in NYS and probably many OOS too. Have your parents said they’d cosign loans for a more expensive college? I think you’ll have some great choices without resorting to more loans.
I completely think that a kid who goes to an average state school can get the same or even better of a job than the kid who went to a top 50 college. The reason people send their kids to these top 50 schools and are willing to pay so much for them is because going to a highly ranked school makes it easier to do well. Having a recognizable name on your resume gets you in the door or at least looked closer at by many employers.
Is it worth what? Is it worth taking out $240k in loans to go to Cornell over your top state school? Probably not. Is it worth going to Cornell over your state school if your parents assure you they’ve saved up enough to comfortably pay with no debt? Then probably yes.
It depends.