How much do you think college truly influences the trajectory of someone's life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An LSU degree will open as many doors as an Ivy degree. It's all about the person wielding it.

Maybe, but they ain't the same doors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My HS junior DD LOVES WashU and I know she’d get a great education but is it worth paying full-price for? It has a good reputation, but not great. Where’s the line?

I’m the PP who went to Wash. U.

I loved it there, and it does have some merit aid.

In my opinion, for undergraduates, for most programs, it’s probably roughly at the same level as UVa., UNC or Texas. Those are all great schools, and good graduates from those schools probably have about the same chance of getting into top grad schools and professional schools as otherwise similar Harvard grads, but no employer will swoop in and suck up the Wash. U. or UVa. art history majors with a tractor beam just to get into their contact lists.

Wash. U. probably has a lot less red tape than a typical state school, but it was big enough and cold enough that when I was there, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, anxious people had problems.

So, it was great for a serious student who wanted a flexible curriculum and a reasonably down-to-earth atmosphere, but it wasn’t necessarily any better than UVa. for students intimidated by the idea of going to a big school.

If I could figure out how to make it happen, I’d be open to paying $10,000 or $15,000 more for Wash. U. than my state flagship if the state flagship was known mainly for its sports teams. But I wouldn’t be quick to pay more for Wash. U. if the flagship was UVa. or UNC.

If I were willing to pay extra because I had a nervous kid, I’d focus more on liberal arts colleges than on a place like Wash. U.

Thanks for this! She loves liberal arts schools except she thinks they have too few students. She thinks state schools are too big and she’d feel lost. She was thinking a mid-size school with nice, academically minded students like Wash U would be the perfect compromise but your post has me doubting that.
(Also- I think they dropped merit aid a few years ago.)

[Anonymous]

Your college life is part of your life, a big part, an important part. It absolutely influences the trajectory of your life.

You can't compare to someone who made millions but never went to college. You and that guy are two different persons. That guy might have made billions if he had gone to Harvard. The only meaningful comparison is with yourself. But we can't go back in time and change, so it's meaningless to speculate what if. Go to the best college you got into and enjoy the 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Answer honestly.

I'm thinking of some of the most fulfilled people I know. One is a restaurateur who didn't go to college. One is a lawyer who went to two state schools and is doing what he loves. Another is an author who went to an "average" school and is wildly successful.

I know this is a stressful time, but the long view helps. What do you think?

I went to a school (Wash. U.) that’s seen as prestigious by some and just OK by some. My cousins all had comfortable middle-income or upper-income parents, and all went to schools ranging from Harvard to University of California schools.

I have friends who’ve gone to all sorts of schools.

I think “higher-ranked schools” tend to be more comfortable and more fun. But I don’t think going to a higher-ranked school makes a big difference in terms of financial outcomes.

I think what distinguishes high-earning kids from lower-earning kids are general intelligence; social graces; parental connections; the ability to play golf and tennis; and the ability to make intelligent comments about baseball, football and basketball games. Excellence at sailing may be able to compensate for general sports illiteracy.

Parents who are obsessed about having high-earning kids should obsess less about SAT prep and more about joining a golf club or signing their kid up for sailing lessons.

The difference between kids of lower-earning parents and higher-earning parents are their teeth and how good they are at downhill skiing*.

* Except kids whose lower-earning parents work in the ski industry.

It depends more on the choice of toothpaste. If you brush your teeth with Colgate, your smile with become your career asset.

I'm better at XC skiing and like it more than downhill, so where does that leave me? 🤔

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College had a massive influence on the trajectory of my life, but I'm not typical of the college bound kids whose parents post on this board.

I was a working class kid who was only the second person to earn a bachelor's degree in my family over many generations. I earned two bachelor's, a master's, then a JD.

My college education didn't result in a massive change to my standard of living, as the burden of student loans ate up most of my earnings beyond what I paid basic living expenses (and I lived not a lot better than I did as a student) because I went into public service lawyering (legal aid, then public defense, then prosecution) and earned a modest income. I got some assistance from LRAP at my former law school, but was only chipping away at my student loans when very serious health issues caused me to be forced to leave the practice of law. I'll be repaying my student loans until I die.

I'm an entirely different person than I would have been had I not gone to college. While many aspects of my core personality remain the same (empath, loving, trusting, hopelessly idealistic, down to earth) my world view was very shaped by the knowledge I gained in my university studies, and sadly to some degree alienated me from many members of my immediate family who are very conservative, very anti-intellectual and cannot put politics aside for the sake of family bonds.

I struggle with my feelings about whether I made the right choice going to college. I am certain that had I not gone, I'd be better off financially than I am now and better situated in retirement. I know that might sound absurd to some of you, but it's a truth that many working class/lower middle class kids experience whose parents don't help them with financing college and whose student loan burden often stands as an obstacle to home ownership and even parenthood. I have many peers who did technical programs or associates degrees or apprenticeships or started businesses who own homes, have shiny new cars every few years, have kids, etc. It's frustrating.

On the other hand, where I grew up and the people I knew and associated with - I think I would have been a person with a worldview that from where I stand now I would find sad, if not repugnant. But I'd be blissfully ignorant! So there would be that.

I have a very curious mind and I'm glad I had the opportunity to fill it with so many years of learning and that I continue to be a critical thinker who is still always learning and open-minded about new ideas, new horizons, etc. But it's hard to have one foot in one world and the other in a different world. I really wish I'd been born into a different kind of family, I guess. I do spend a fair amount of time wondering 'what if?', and I wish I could know how my life would have turned out on a different trajectory. I'm not sure that's a normal preoccupation for people whose college experience isn't so intensely transformative as mine was, for the reasons articulated.

Thank you for sharing. The post moved me.

Interesting post that highlights what many on DCUM cannot seem to relate to - sometimes kids don't have parents who will be funding any part of college or grad school. Agree that it's possible to be better off financially with associate's degrees, technical degrees, or apprenticeships. Also, not all lawyers will be landing in Big Law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College itself does.

Which college you attend, not as much.

This. Of course, you can meet your spouse in college (any college), so in that sense it could have a huge impact, or you could go to a college where you end up finding some major or opportunity that you wouldn't have somewhere else, but all of that is impossible to predict ahead of time. In terms of what is predictable, I don't think it matters much at all for the vast majority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some top tier jobs that are much more accessible from top schools. Your double state school lawyer friend is far less likely to ever be a Supreme Court Justice, White House counsel or Solicitor General than a dual Harvard / Yale / Stanford graduate. It doesn't mean it's impossible from other schools, just more difficult.

Did you notice that OP described people as being "fulfilled?" Your answer smacks so much more of status and impressing others.

Different values. I find OP's to be more healthy and centered.

[Anonymous]

I went to a T10 from a very small town. I had been a big fish in a small pond, so I entered that school with the confidence of a lion. Obviously, I was knocked down a few pegs as I was no longer the smartest, funniest, or most popular. I learned to manage that and remain confident, but it was hard. I was also intimidated by all of the money that my peers had, but I learned a lot about the lifestyles and habits of wealthy people.

That said, I graduated and took all of that to my new career. I remained fairly confident and advanced easily. It was helpful to know how to stand up after you've been knocked down. IT was also invaluable to know a little about wealth and wealthy people. You could say that any success I've achieved is due to the name on my degree, but I don't think so. I think it's due to the fact that I have never discounted myself or assumed I deserved anything less than what I wanted. It's a "never say die" attitude that was instilled in me back in my small town. The big school could knock me around but it was already ingrained within me.

Conversely, my children have not grown up as big fish in a small pond. Their confidence has been rocked by going to high school in such a competitive and "dog eat dog" atmosphere. They are cynical but are trying to remain hopeful about life, in general. Although we are not wealthy, wealth does not intimidate them. It's very interesting for me to observe.

When it came to choosing a school for my oldest, we focused on fit and comfort. I couldn't have cared less about the rankings of those schools. I wanted DC to feel strong and confident about themselves again. I truly believe that one's attitude is what makes the difference. DC will be graduating from a small SLAC that gets no attention from DCUM. He has really blossomed there and has taken advantage of all the opportunities he was given there. He is looking forward to being employed when he graduates and is hoping to use that employment as a springboard towards his Master's. DD is heading towards a similar college decision and we are 100% on board.

TLDR: it's not necessarily prestige or reputation, it's fit. I needed one thing out of college and my kids need(ed) another.

[Anonymous]

I was a first generation, URM, Pell-grant recipient who pretty much got a free ride to Swarthmore. It completely changed the trajectory of my life. I loved my time there, and I believe that the Quaker values really helped me to fit in despite my family's inability to support me financially.
I think that for kids with backgrounds like mine, going to a top college is absolutely life changing. It means having little to no college debt (because these schools have massive endowments and generally do not require poor students to take out loans), and invitations to incredible opportunities. The world is your oyster when you leave a school like that. I was shown graduate school, career, and travel opportunities that I simply couldn't even imagine before I had left for college.
For kids who already grow up with privilege, going to a top college is probably less life-changing because all those opportunities and and doors are already open to you via other venues (parents, friends, neighbors, etc.).

[Anonymous]

College changed the trajectory of my life because I met my husband there, and also because I never left my college town (DC). I was admitted to a T10 school and didn't go because of finances...and I do sometimes wonder how my life would have differed if I'd gone there. I don't think my career would have been all that different--I was well-prepared right out of undergrad and got a great first job that could have led anywhere in my field. I don't think a more prestigious degree would have served me any better. But I would have lived somewhere else and married someone else...can't imagine that being better, either, just different. My only regret, if it is fair to call it that, is that I live somewhere where people assume so much about you based on where you went to school. I'll admit I have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder about that.

[Anonymous]

Obviously it does. It’s where kids spend their first 4 years as adults and start making the decisions that will shape their lives.

Does it matter career wise? I’d say not so much in law. The name of the law school matters a lot though. But WM to Yale vs Brown to Yale? IDK how much it matters.

I care a lot less about career though for undergrad and more about peer group and the college being a good fit for my kid. Somewhere they can grow and develop and be encouraged to make good choices. Chasing T10 or Ivy never made much sense to me. But, we did well regarded SLACs for both kids, so I have a bias towards small classes, relationship with professors, supportive residential community, lots of writing and public speaking, no Greek life, etc.

[Anonymous]

Depends on where you started out. Life-changing for me (working class kid who went to Harvard). Not for my DC (who grew up in my post-Harvard UMC world) — more of the same-ish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a T10 from a very small town. I had been a big fish in a small pond, so I entered that school with the confidence of a lion. Obviously, I was knocked down a few pegs as I was no longer the smartest, funniest, or most popular. I learned to manage that and remain confident, but it was hard. I was also intimidated by all of the money that my peers had, but I learned a lot about the lifestyles and habits of wealthy people.

That said, I graduated and took all of that to my new career. I remained fairly confident and advanced easily. It was helpful to know how to stand up after you've been knocked down. IT was also invaluable to know a little about wealth and wealthy people. You could say that any success I've achieved is due to the name on my degree, but I don't think so. I think it's due to the fact that I have never discounted myself or assumed I deserved anything less than what I wanted. It's a "never say die" attitude that was instilled in me back in my small town. The big school could knock me around but it was already ingrained within me.

Conversely, my children have not grown up as big fish in a small pond. Their confidence has been rocked by going to high school in such a competitive and "dog eat dog" atmosphere. They are cynical but are trying to remain hopeful about life, in general. Although we are not wealthy, wealth does not intimidate them. It's very interesting for me to observe.

When it came to choosing a school for my oldest, we focused on fit and comfort. I couldn't have cared less about the rankings of those schools. I wanted DC to feel strong and confident about themselves again. I truly believe that one's attitude is what makes the difference. DC will be graduating from a small SLAC that gets no attention from DCUM. He has really blossomed there and has taken advantage of all the opportunities he was given there. He is looking forward to being employed when he graduates and is hoping to use that employment as a springboard towards his Master's. DD is heading towards a similar college decision and we are 100% on board.

TLDR: it's not necessarily prestige or reputation, it's fit. I needed one thing out of college and my kids need(ed) another.

That’s just a cliche. If college were a question of “fit”, how do you explain the fact that most people apply to schools that are different on the opposite end of the spectrum? Yale is different than Harvard, as they are different than MIT/CalTech. Brown is different than UChicago. Dartmouth is different than Columbia. The only common denominator is T10, T20, or T30. So, let’s not kid ourselves.

[Anonymous]

It is one factor that influences the trajectory of your life, along with many other factors that include

family support (psychological not just financial)
temperament
drive and ambition
intellect & talent
how hard you work (at college)
what major you choose

and circumstance - this, is huge

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An LSU degree will open as many doors as an Ivy degree. It's all about the person wielding it.

Maybe, but they ain't the same doors.

People call yell all they want but this is true. LSU is a great school and I have a couple of friends that went there including a guy that makes a couple of million a year. But the path is not the same from the schools. One example, Art History major at LSU is not being hired by Goldman but an Art History major at an Ivy could very well be. Substitute Art History for just about any other major. I am not saying it is the be all and end all. It is just a wider array of options that open easier.