Does going to an ivy really matter in the long run?

<p>Does it? i mean, you can't expect to get anywhere if you're boring and uncreative, even if you graduated from a good school. Any comments?</p>

<p>THANK YOU. </p>

<p>Ivies are great in that they provide a fantastic education, thus opening doors for the future, but they're not the only way to success (nor are they sure keys to success.) And it's not like the caliber of education is proportionate to name recognition, anyways. </p>

<p>Look at the people that you consider most successful either in the world or in your local community. I don't think that the majority of them went to big-name schools. </p>

<p>It's so hard to see past this frantic high school mentality of "Gotta get into the best school ever! My future depends on it!" But really, as important as college is, the prestige of your school isn't gonna make a difference in the overall scheme of things.</p>

<p>I agree that the most successful people don't seem to come from such great colleges. However, I would think that they average salary of Ivy League graduates would probably be higher than that of other schools.</p>

<p>Who cares about average salaries. The only one that will matter to you is your own.</p>

<p>Are you seriously asking this question?</p>

<p>Moviefreak: Are you?</p>

<p>If by "ivy" you mean strictly one of the 8 Ivy League universities, then no. If by "ivy" you mean ivy-caliber school, then I'd say yes. Ivy-caliber schools do offer a higher level of education, and usually have some kind of alumni network that will help you get a job in the future. Keep in mind, my definition of "ivy-caliber" is pretty loose.</p>

<p>i read from a Time article that ivy schools dont really teach you more, but just give you the brand reconition, and that got me thinking.</p>

<p>Speaking from experience and living in an area where the big State Unis carry a lot of weight, an ivy is impressive, but I don't think the salary is being paid for it. I believe that an ivy degree can be more helpful globally. Both husband and his brother have ivy educations, but elected to return to hometown. People are impressed, but the State Unis seem to be just as important in providing job ops. If it is your intention to return to your hometown, then the state Unis may do the trick.</p>

<p>In 1954 8 college presidents got together to form an athletic conference. That's all it is. I do believe for many, a better education can be had at the Little Three, Bowdoin, Sweatmore, Chicago, Stanford, many of the top-tier engineering schools, not to mention those that have the stomach for Reed or St John's College. And I could list 50 more colleges. Harvard tries to be everything for everybody and ends up being nothing for nobody, Yale's in New Haven; Cornell is the least Ivy and the 8th president should've been from Colgate, instead of Ithaca. I'll stop there so I don't offend more than I have already...</p>

<p>
[quote]
Does it? i mean, you can't expect to get anywhere if you're boring and uncreative, even if you graduated from a good school. Any comments?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What do you mean boring and uncreative?</p>

<p>Is getting an Ivy League education the ONLY way to succeed? No.</p>

<p>Does it give you a legs up over pretty much everyone else? Yup.</p>

<p>"it give you a legs up over pretty much everyone else"
Oh really? Over MIT? Stanford? Cal Tech?
And succeed at what? Bragging rights? "Ivy League" seems to mean a lot more to some people than others.</p>

<p>These threads are everywhere.</p>

<p>Just read.</p>

<p>.... okay first of all I said pretty much everyone else. Those excluded is obviously schools like MIT, Stanford, Duke where it's more or less equal.</p>

<p>But for some professions like Investment Banking (highest starting salary out of college 60k + 70-90k bonus 1st year) ... not going to Ivies/MIT/Stanford/Duke pretty much means you're gonna have a LOT harder time finding a position. </p>

<p>Prestige matters.</p>

<p>This thread just makes me think you're sneering at people who go to such schools. Why is it wrong to want to go somewhere prestigious? Not that everyone that goes to an Ivy goes for just for prestige. Everyone has a reason for going to the school they've picked. So is everyone that goes to a top school just out of prestige to you?</p>

<p>This is a stupid thread and the OP Is a idiot for wasting time and bandwith. This idea has already been determined about in THOUSANDS OF THREADS ON CC.</p>

<p>Instead of annoying people with more stupid threads, just learn HOW TO USE SEARCH.</p>

<p>But to answer your question, if your an idiot, you won't get into an ivy league. But in the long wrong if you are into something like politics, ivies make 99% of politicians - so thus going to an ivy OR another top school is a prerequisite for glorious sucess, unless your an outlier, which are statistically insignificant</p>

<p>Yea, VY league does matter for a lot of things, but not for others. Everything depends. ONe thing for sure is : IT WON'T HURT!</p>

<p>Thanks for asking. I know you could search, but sometimes it is fun to start your own conversation. The pluses to an Ivy league degree is that it will be easier to get into graduate school and easier to get job interviews. Notice I said "degree" and not education.</p>

<p>I do not believe that being taught in large classes by teaching assistants is a quality education. You get that sometimes at the Ivies. </p>

<p>I think the better question is what do you mean by success and what is the right environment for you. This website is dominated by folks with very high scores and ambitions. I supervise someone who graduated from Dartmouth. I went to a local public college. What can I say?</p>

<p>For me, it's not, "This is an Ivy! I want to go there!" it's more of a, "This school seems best for me." I assumed it's the same for a lot of people. Otherwise, if everyone wanted prestige, they'd go for Princeton, right? Ranked number one. But I'm sure everyone picks the school they did because they believe it's where they'll get the best education, not the most prestige.</p>