Study: Elite schools losing name value

Parents Forum
1

<p>This story appeared in Boston University's Daily Free Press today:</p>

<p>Study: Elite schools losing name value</p>

<p>Last week, the University of Michigan published the results of a study that reported that graduates from "elite" and "high prestige" universities, including universities typically categorized with Boston University, do not fair any better in the job market than graduates from public or low-tier colleges.</p>

<p>The study followed the college and career paths of high school graduates from the last 35 years. According to the results, elite college students showed no significant gains in their early, mid or late careers when compared to college graduates from other less-prestigious schools.</p>

<p>You can read the entire story at <a href="http://www.dailyfreepress.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.dailyfreepress.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>funny. I have never thought of BU as an "elite" or "high-prestige" university. (In my high school, it was a safety for wealthier students trying to escape New York City.)</p>

<p>Guess I have to take my prestige-o-meter in for servicing.</p>

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<p>I thought the study also looked at students with equal ability going in.</p>

4

<p>I've always wondered: Do studies like this one and Dale and Kreuger take into account graduates that are not currently working at all, even by choice? If so, that might skew the results a great deal. For example, how are stay at home moms factored in? Or are comparisons made just between people that have stayed in the work force for the entire duration of the study?</p>

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<p>I am pretty sure they only look at employed people.</p>

6

<p>If you're choosing college based on maximizing earning potential, then these types of studies will resonate with you. </p>

<p>If you're not, then they're kind of besides the point.</p>

7

<p>Where is the actual place of publication of the study?</p>

8

<p>More detailed descrpition of the study, perhaps offering a little different interpretation:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eurecord/0506/Apr10_06/14.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0506/Apr10_06/14.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>To identify elite schools, the researchers used "Barron's Profiles." Colleges in the "most competitive" and "highly competitive" categories were considered elite. Among the schools were Lawrence University, Northwestern University, Dartmouth College, Carleton College, Wellesley College, Cornell University, Duke University and the University of Chicago.</p>

<p>Students who attended an elite college were about 6 percent more likely than other students to graduate from college and they were 12.5 percent more likely to earn an advanced degree. But using the potential outcome matching technique, researchers found that equivalent students who attended less selective colleges would have been four times as likely to graduate if they had attended elite schools.</p>

<p>In terms of occupational status and wages, elite college students showed no significant gains in their early, mid or late careers. In contrast, students who attended less selective schools would have had occupational status gains throughout their careers had they attended elite schools. These gains were significant—the difference, for example, between being a designer and an architect.</p>

9

<p>This study has been re-cycled, cited, quoted and mis-quoted many times. Before you accept any conclusions, I suggest you read the original publication. You will find that it is a long way from comprehensive or compelling.</p>

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<p>BU is elite? It has nice buildings...</p>

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<p>Its all relative. Considering all the schools in the US, top 100 is probably elite. Is it considered elite by top students? the answer is no most likely</p>