There were multiple factors, including his career path, which is proven to be enhanced by attending an Ivy +. Also, if you are looking for ROI, if you can get in to an “elite college,” that will likely have a greater benefit that attending a public university in a state that is not insane.
1 Like
It is a truism that any cash spending decision is essentially an opportunity cost question–if I didn’t spend this $X in cash on A, what else could I do with it?
But of course money is fungible, and there is no reason to assume if you didn’t spend some particular $X on A, you would spend it on something similar to A.
This is actually an incredibly complex question when you really think about it. And in the end, most families largely do it through a combination of intuition and rules of thumb. Is this blender worth it? Is this car worth it? Is this vacation worth it? Is this house worth it? We don’t try to do a full opportunity cost analysis each time (or really any time).
So yes, people should understand this is an opportunity cost question. But it is also really just a normal sort of spending question, albeit at a rather large scale (for most families).
7 Likes
Well, as you know then, to take Harvard Business School as an example, about one-third of the class is from consulting/venture capital/private equity-all fields very heavily populated by elite school grads. Add in financial services (generally investment banking) and elite tech and now over half the class is represented. So if an elite MBA is one’s goal ( not that it often is anymore), getting that is substantially easier from an elite college.
3 Likes
For many, elite schools that “meet need” are not more expensive, or at least not 200K more than state schools. My kids ran the npc on every school they applied to. Debt was not an option, so if a school came out higher than the state school they did not apply. We are a middle income family and did not qualify for any assistance at any state school. (FAFSA efc is somewhere in the low 30’s) The most selective schools were by far the most affordable, and we are paying LESS than our efc by quite a bit. After seeing the opportunities they have access to at their schools - WOW! Hard to put a price on - so I think if you can AFFORD the price tag, you can weigh out the value using your own impressions/criteria. But, I think debt should be avoided - State schools also offer great education and experiences.
10 Likes
Those are exactly the kind of funded opportunities you get at elite universities. They are mostly for personal enrichment, and you could have found and funded them yourself.
The coral reefs thing is cool but only useful in the tiny tiny chance this person goes into marine biology research. There are almost no jobs in that field.
I think most UMC parents want their children to have what they had.
1 Like
For d22, yes the elite college is worth it. But our situation may be odd.
First, literally no college in our state offers one of her majors (the joys of living in Alaska). To accomplish her goals, she could not stay here.
Second, she applied widely to a range of public and private schools, and even WUI schools could not come close to the aid package her elite college offered. We’re an ordinary lower-end-of-middle class family, and it seemed insane to pay up to 20 grand more a year.
5 Likes
That’s not just restricted to elite MBAs. The same is true for admission to T20 PhD programs (of which a recent study showed confers a significant advantage to being hired into academia). Applicants from elite schools have an advantage over applicants with similar stats but from lesser known schools.
2 Likes
What’s the total cost of undergrad through PhD? It has to be a large number, especially at elite schools.
OP add/edit:
I’m not saying the value of an elite college is zero. Really just saying that any of us who care about the money (raises hand!) should care about the math. And that we should include opportunity costs in our equation (the $200k in my example).
Your math and mine would look different because our kids are different and we value different things.
4 Likes
Not sure why my anecdotes are being criticized – not many internships are directly related to one’s future job after sophomore year in college. Furthermore that son is an environmental science major and at a crossroads deciding if he wants to go the scientific study career path or the more policy oriented career path. For him, it was extremely valuable, and definitely career oriented, to do this job, even though he will not become a marine biologist.
6 Likes
It seems to me the more relevant question is not whether an elite school is worth it, but why do so many pay or go into debt for a non-elite school? We can debate if Harvard is worth $86k, but is Lehigh? The cost is close to the same at many private T-100 schools, which may offer opportunities more similar to flagships, but inflated costs.
13 Likes
So with you here
1 Like
Well an elite PhD doesn’t cost money, students receive funding to cover tuition and living expenses. How much the elite undergrad cost to get into the elite PhD program depends on whether or not the student received any financial aid or was full pay.
4 Likes
So rather than spending an extra $200k you’re saving $80k, that’s awesome!
Exactly. D22 pretty much won the lottery.
3 Likes
So every PhD candidate at Harvard is essentially attending for free?
1 Like
HBS and Harvard undergrad are different. I don’t think it’s fair to include any graduate program in any major in a discussion revolving around decisions about the value of different undergrad institutions.
2 Likes
PhD candidates at most schools are attending for “free,” because most are funded. Not really though because they are very underpaid relative to the work they produce. So, there is an opportunity cost for a PhD.
13 Likes
If a student wishes to major in Biology, English, History, Religion or Sociology, is it worth paying for an “elite” school over a state flagship?