<p>Anyone who wants to have clout in the global economy, for one. Tell someone from China or Europe you went to any Ivy, MIT, Stanford, etc. and they will know what it is and where you are coming from. Fewer will take your education seriously if you went to Davidson or even an IR focused school like Macalester. </p>
<p>Abroad the US university rankings seem to be taken even more seriously than here! I was in Poland and told people I went to Columbia; they said it was a shame I wasn't at Harvard or Yale!</p>
<p>"Getting good grades at a small school looks better than floundering at a famous one. Think they need to be able to tap into the old-boy network to get a job?"</p>
<p>False.....</p>
<p>Harvard provides more opportunities than any other college. If you are going into business, the Harvard name on your resume is likely more valuable than any other. Also, the best firms recruit on campus (better even than Wharton in my opinion). For med or law harvard students are extremely highly represented at the very best schools because they have the opportunity at H to pursue any EC's that they want, with over 300 student organizations, etc. I think that most people who turn down Harvard make a big mistake, unless they are more interested in engineering/comp sci and choose mit or stanford, or possibly yale for english.</p>
<p>So who cares what they think? </p>
<p>I mean I once met an idiot who thought Bill Gates was a loser because he didn't graduate from Harvard. Do you think Bill Gates cares?</p>
<p>"they said it was a shame I wasn't at Harvard or Yale!"</p>
<p>Ahhh what a bunch of idiots. People seem to forget that the college you choose is supposed to also be the right fit for you. I'm willing to bet that a great deal of students accepted to Columbia could also get into Harvard or Yale, but they choose Columbia because they have balls enough to pick a school with a <em>slightly</em> lower prestige factor because they enjoy it more. That just drives me crazy when I tell someone I'll be applying to Brown and they say, why not Harvard or Yale? I guess people just think prestige is THE only thing that matters.</p>
<p>From page 7 of the article: "She's prepared to give up whatever edge a more intense summer might give her. 'It's a time I get to recharge from a pretty stressful school year. If I spent the summer taking extra classes, I would just be worn down by the time school starts.'"</p>
<p>I don't know about that. Sure, a week of laziness after school ends is nice, but on the whole I enjoy my summers most when I have something productive to do.</p>
<p>"Harvard provides more opportunities than any other college"</p>
<p>Perhaps most other colleges, but certainly not any other college. For example, Wellesley is widely known to have one of the best, if not the best, alumni network. I know several people who go there, and they say that they are always meeting alumni who go way out of their way to help them once they know they go to Wellesley.
Middlebury College has perhaps the best English department in the country. If you want to be a writer, Middlebury college is THE place to go.
Dartmouth, which is often seen as inferior to Harvard, has a genetics major. If you're going to major in genetics, why not go to Dartmouth, where you can major in it and get experience at one of the best hospitals in New England.</p>
<p>That said, of course people are still going to pursue an Ivy league, especially Harvard, education. I myself want to go to Harvard very badly. But I would be mistaken if I though that Harvard was the only place I could go and find success. I have a full scholarship to a state school, and a place in their honors program, if I so desire. If I get straight A's, and graduate magna cum laude, is anyone going to say "You're a failure, you didn't go to an Ivy." It is silly to think that the place you go to college is the most important factor in your success.</p>
<p>"Harvard provides more opportunities than any other college. If you are going into business, the Harvard name on your resume is likely more valuable than any other. Also, the best firms recruit on campus (better even than Wharton in my opinion). For med or law harvard students are extremely highly represented at the very best schools because they have the opportunity at H to pursue any EC's that they want, with over 300 student organizations, etc. I think that most people who turn down Harvard make a big mistake, unless they are more interested in engineering/comp sci and choose mit or stanford, or possibly yale for english."</p>
<p>None of that is the case or not. The best firms are smart and recruit at a lot of places to get the very best rather than just the best at one school. GS, Bain, McKinsey, etc. have been known to dislike Hahvahd students for the same end-all be-all attitude that your sentiments seem to project.</p>
<p>A lot of schools have 300 student clubs. I don't really think that matters.</p>
<p>You claim that students turning down Harvard make a big mistake. What if other schools actually offer more opportunities? What if you're merely justifying your own choice, and perhaps hiding a touch of buyer's remorse?</p>
<p>"Gabriel Slavitt, 17, who this spring graduated from Crossroads School in Santa Monica, Calif., says his stepsister "basically flipped out" when she heard he was turning down Brown University in favor of Washington University in St. Louis, Mo."</p>
<p>This point is entirely ridiculous because WUSL is a well known school-
also, it happens to be "ranked" higher than Brown</p>
<p>I also wonder why the author treats merit-based scholarships as attributes of a good school.</p>
<p>If I knew someone choosing WashU over Brown, I would also flip out.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what WUSL is beyond the people on CC, the people who flip out over the USNWR rankings, or St. Louisians? I had never heard of it until glancing at the rankings, and its presence alone made me severely question their methodology...</p>
<p>That's pretty harsh....</p>
<p>To be fair I was quite ignorant then. I had thought your school was public for quite some time as well...</p>
<p>I learned of my school from U.S. News in 2002. :)</p>
<p>For the <em>vast</em> majority of available jobs - school prestige matters very little. Furthermore, companies recruit at certain schools not because the school imparts some great knowledge and understanding of the world, but because the schools are already extremely selective. If you need the name of a university on your resume to demonstrate intelligence and competence....you probably aren't intelligent and/or capable.</p>
<p>Mr Payne</p>
<p>I would differ.
It was proven that the only group which really gained advantage by going to "elite" schools is a socioeconomic one- composed of students from the lowest income range, probably well below the national average/median household income.</p>
<p>I am sorry, but I entirely forgot where I got this statistic. Otherwise, I would have backed it up with a link or etc.</p>
<p>That would make sense, wouldn't it? Kids who did not have many opportunities but attended a highly selective college with an abundance of opportunities (and not to mention exposure to a world where not many kids get to experience) would definitely be an "advantage" compared to the kid who has always attended prep schools, whose parents are graduates of a highly selective college, etc.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Mr Payne</p>
<p>I would differ.
It was proven that the only group which really gained advantage by going to "elite" schools is a socioeconomic one- composed of students from the lowest income range, probably well below the national average/median household income.</p>
<p>I am sorry, but I entirely forgot where I got this statistic. Otherwise, I would have backed it up with a link or etc.
[/quote]
Aren't you basically agreeing with me? I said there is little to no effect. You are basically saying the same thing. And the stat you are posting is from an article written by a Canadian in the New Republic magazine. It's been posted on here several times.</p>
<p>that was a pretty badly written and reasoned article.</p>
<p>of course there are good schools other than the ivies and stanford. of course there are so many qualified kids that getting in at the top 10 schools is a crapshoot to a certain degree. of course you can get a stellar education at a smaller place if you apply yourself. everyone knows that. time is more than a decade behind the times here, how is this newsworthy.</p>
<p>i like how they end the article talking about how this one girl at harvard just got outed as a massive plagiarist like it is a major point in this big picture discussion. its hard to take an article seriously with stuff like that, and i dont.</p>
<p>Do people ever take Time Magazine seriously?</p>