<p>In a word: YES.</p>
<p>Take a look around you. Take a look at the struggling economy. Although the numbers don't say it, people out there are struggling paycheck to paycheck, living hand to mouth. And many of these people are NOT high school dropouts. In fact, many are college educated people, many of whom even have Masters degrees.</p>
<p>I think that what will happen in the future is that the US will become even more bimodal. The rich and elite members of society don't give a damn about the economic crisis. If anything, they are benefiting from it because that means they get a bigger piece of the pie (which would normally belong to members of the middle class) so they probably want this economic crisis to keep on going because they get more and more of the pie. Meanwhile, the rest of society will either have to push themselves to become the elite, or become the lower class. I predict a very bimodal US society in the foreseeable future, with a small but very influential upper class, and a large struggling working class. The working class won't be homeless or on welfare, but they are definitely working paycheck to paycheck and are teetering on the brink so that even if they lose their jobs only temporarily, they will get hit hard. And the elites don't give a damn, either. </p>
<p>So with the middle class dwindling, I think that there will be more emphasis on getting a top notch education because that may be the only path to a secure future in this country. Whereas in the past, going to your local state university would guarantee at least a secure job and happy future (a ticket to a stable, middle class life), that is no longer the case because many college graduates themselves are struggling to pay the bills. </p>
<p>So I think the elite universities (the Ivies, Stanford, etc.) will definitely benefit from the economic crisis because more parents will try to send their children to these schools. They know through example that many graduates of average universities are struggling to survive while elite school graduates are continuing to receive job offers by the minute. Short of a nuclear apocalypse, elite university graduates can still get jobs even if this whole country falls into a major recession or economic depression. </p>
<p>Look at the job market. In a bad economy (like right now), companies can only recruit from so many universities. But companies STILL need new employees; the only difference is that they are much MORE selective. So these top companies can only recruit from the Ivies, Stanford, Michigan, the Top 25 - 30 universities or so (maybe even only Top 15 to 20). </p>
<p>If you want a good job in an uncertain economy, the only way to hedge against that uncertainty is to go to an elite university.</p>
<p>I'm not advertising my alma mater; in fact, I'm a graduate of a US News Top 50 university. But in this tough economy, many top companies have stopped recruiting at my university. Yet, these same top companies continue to recruit at Harvard, UPenn Wharton, NYU, etc even though they cut ties to my Top 50 university. It's a harsh reality and something I wish I learned earlier in my life.</p>
<p>To prospective college students, aim for the most brand name university out there because THAT will protect you against a slumping economy. If the economy is doing very well (like it was when I applied to my Top 50 university), then going to a top notch school is less important because companies will recruit across a broader spectrum of schools (including even some TTTs: third tier toilets). But no matter what, in a good or bad economy, an elite university degree will make you marketable. If you went to a TTT, you can only get a job during a thriving economy (like the late 1990s when ANYBODY with a college degree and a pulse could get a good job -- I miss those days).</p>