College in hindsight

[Anonymous]

Many of my friends who attended medical schools right after high schools in an underdeveloped country are teaching at top medical schools here in US after doing their USMLE, residency and board certification. Pay attention here, no undergrad AT ALL. They work with and are respected by their state school and ivy educated peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your child went to a regional university, not top 100 school, community college...Do you think it hurt them in life at all? Trying to get perspective on all this from people with older children.

I can speak to other children (now adults).

Adult 1: They attended a regional university after not being able to get into the flagship. They earn a good living in CS--probably more than $150K/year. They seem happy too.

Adult 2: They attended community college and transferred to a T100-T150. They joined the government and have had about 30 years with the government. They own three real estate properties.

Adult 3: Attended regional university. Picked up by a government agency and have semi-retired from there. They enjoy a good life with more than one real estate property and healthy finances.

Adult 4: This one is younger. They attended community college and transferred to a regional college. Due to ADHD, they had a rocky start. They found a job they are very good at and have been in that job for years. This is huge for them. They underperformed in high school and struggled through college. It took them a while but they did it. They are very good at their job, and I think they are paid well too.


I hope this helps you, OP! There are a lot of paths to happiness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many of my friends who attended medical schools right after high schools in an underdeveloped country are teaching at top medical schools here in US after doing their USMLE, residency and board certification. Pay attention here, no undergrad AT ALL. They work with and are respected by their state school and ivy educated peers.

Not sure how this helps the OP at all...but I agree that other countries have a better system for professional degrees.

At the end of the day, doctors and lawyers are essentially skilled tradespeople. There is no reason for 4 years of undergrad and 4 years of medical school, or 4 years of undergrad and 3 years of law school. I think in the UK, you complete your legal education with a total of 5 years and med school is 6 years. Of course you still have to pass the legal and medical license exams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of my friends who attended medical schools right after high schools in an underdeveloped country are teaching at top medical schools here in US after doing their USMLE, residency and board certification. Pay attention here, no undergrad AT ALL. They work with and are respected by their state school and ivy educated peers.

Not sure how this helps the OP at all...but I agree that other countries have a better system for professional degrees.

At the end of the day, doctors and lawyers are essentially skilled tradespeople. There is no reason for 4 years of undergrad and 4 years of medical school, or 4 years of undergrad and 3 years of law school. I think in the UK, you complete your legal education with a total of 5 years and med school is 6 years. Of course you still have to pass the legal and medical license exams.

I wonder why ours are so much longer. I don't mind a year of additional humanities and even fitness as part of schooling, but medical school here can be 12 years. Why does it take twice as long here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a sample size of two families, but we know a couple who are both Ivy grads. He has a science PhD and she is CS. He stopped working to raise their 4 kids and she works for the government. They are fine and happy people but not doing anything spectacular. Compared to my husband and I who went undergrad to a school people scoff at - he’s a scientist and I’m a doctor, both working for the government. We are doing just as well as they are (monitarily) - prob better since we are both working.

Not quite sure how the $$ spent on the Ivy puts them in any much better position than we are.

One or both of them probably have a trust fund and still make more than you despite one not being traditionally employed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a sample size of two families, but we know a couple who are both Ivy grads. He has a science PhD and she is CS. He stopped working to raise their 4 kids and she works for the government. They are fine and happy people but not doing anything spectacular. Compared to my husband and I who went undergrad to a school people scoff at - he’s a scientist and I’m a doctor, both working for the government. We are doing just as well as they are (monitarily) - prob better since we are both working.

Not quite sure how the $$ spent on the Ivy puts them in any much better position than we are.

I think this is super common, so why such emphasis on top schools when they often don't correlate with more success? It's an interesting phenomenon.

Same reason people wear Gucci and drive Teslas. They like the brand name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an adult (early 30s) with
- two AAs from Community College
- BS from regional west coast college
- MS from regional midwest college

DCUM would call them junk degrees. But they were affordable and served my career really well. My office of highly educated people, from a mix of universities. It has not held me back at all.

And quite honestly, the majority of people have a story that is similar to yours and are doing very well.

I have no problem with where anyone goes to college, but on average, graduates from middling regional colleges are only earning like $50k - $60k after 10 years. I don’t quite get how you can say the majority are “doing very well”.

Pick any school you want and look at the stats. Take Frostburg State and it’s $52k after 10 years.

Yes, your major matters and yes there are motivated success stories…but to say the majority are doing very well is a stretch.

The problem with using just that one number is that it doesn’t tell you where they chose to live and what opportunities were there. If they all moved to DC, they’d earn a lot more.

My guess is many Frostburg grads stay in the region and the jobs there pay less.

Another aspect is that a particular school may not attract students seeking higher-paying jobs or majors that lead to high pay. That is not the fault of the school and does not mean it’s impossible for a student to leverage their education and make the connections needed to earn big bucks.

Opportunity is at any school for a student to grab. Likewise, you can attend a T10 and end up earning zero if you stay at home or graduate in the bottom third.