The Years That Matter Most: How College Makes or Breaks Us

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do agree where you go to college has a profound effect on your life. If you decide to go out West, you might very well stay out there and live life away from immediate family (why I don't let my kids apply to CA). You may meet your spouse. Your professors will mold and shape your kids. And, depending on the school, you will have different contacts for future jobs. You can get an education anywhere but where you decide to go will have implications.

Yeah, all that stuff affected me. Moved to the opposite coast for college and stayed. Got talked out of law and into academia by a prof. Ultimately married my college sweetheart (which reinforced both of those decisions).

OTOH, I chose college on the opposite coast. OTOOH, had I gone to my 2nd choice college, I probably would have ended up in business. So who the hell knows?

I suspect the “does it matter?” question looks very different to researchers (who may focus on SES/occupational achievement) than it does to students and their families (who focus more on what kind of life am I living, where, and with whom).