Do Elite Colleges Lead to Higher Salaries? Not for STEM majors...

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From the WSJ:
“A diploma from a highly selective college means higher pay in certain fields. In others, it makes almost no difference at all”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/do-elite-colleges-lead-to-higher-salaries-only-for-some-professions-1454295674

In our study, we looked at about 7,300 college graduates 10 years after graduation. We divided their majors into several categories: business, engineering, science, social science, humanities, education and other. And we used three broad classifications for college type: selective, which covers elite schools and other highly competitive institutions; midtier; and less selective, which covers schools with open enrollment.

What we found startled us. For STEM-related majors, average earnings don’t vary much among the college categories. For example, we find no statistically significant differences in average earnings for science majors between selective schools and either midtier or less-selective schools. Likewise, there’s no significant earnings difference between engineering graduates from selective and less-selective colleges, and only a marginally significant difference between selective and midtier colleges.

What’s going on? For potential employers, the skills students learn in these fields appear to trump prestige—possibly because curriculums are relatively standardized and there’s a commonly accepted body of knowledge students must absorb.

Interesting article. Any thoughts?

[Erin_s_Dad]

Please see the discussion here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1857278-do-elite-colleges-lead-to-higher-salaries.html#latest