Reply to What’s the point of going to a top school if you end up in the same place as someone who didn’t

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Bloomberg New analysis of more than 1,500 4-year colleges show the return on investment of private elite colleges outside of the 8 Ivies is no better than far-less selective colleges.

In fact, the hidden return on so-called "Hidden Ivies"- a list of 63 top private colleges--is about 49% less than the 8 official Ivies and 9% less than public flagships.

10-years out a private elite college is worth about $135,000 compared to $265,000 at one of the 8 Ivies.

At more than 140 public institutions, the majority of Applicants are able to return more than $135,00 for the typical student after 10 years. And public flagships have typical 10-year ROI of $148,000.[/quote]

I laughed when I read this. Been in consulting for too long not to recognize when someone is playing games with numbers to create a narrative. I am intrigued. What constitutes these non-Ivy private elite colleges? Stanford? Duke? MIT? Caltech? Are you saying that the Cornell or Brown or Columbia alum is at an advantage over a Stanford alum? Somehow I suspect not.

There is no need to dwell on the rest of your post. I will say two thing. [u]First, I don't think anyone refutes the more elite the college, the higher the average aptitude and the greater the average long term financial outcome[/u] (as the relationship between aptitude and success is clear). Second, the elite colleges (whoever they are) do not have the monopoly on high aptitude students. Many go to "lesser" schools for various reasons. [u]Is the long term outcome, as measured by financial success, worse for these high aptitude kids who didn't get into Harvard despite having stats exactly the same as the typical Harvard admit[/u]? Nothing to suggest this at all. People who talk about average student at X school versus average student at Harvard are missing the point entirely. Repeatedly. Over and over again.

Believe what you want to believe. There are many routes to success in life. An elite diploma is only one of them and even then it is only a tool, not the means. Plenty of kids go to elite colleges and go nowhere. Plenty of kids go to diploma mills and end up leaders. [/quote]

Your are correct that not all high aptitude students go to elite colleges. But there is a difference in outcomes. This study examined waitlisted students at Ivy League schools and compared the outcome of students who ended up being accepted versus students who ended up attending the top state flagship schools instead. The study found a measurable difference in outcomes.

Of course, any individual student might not experience said difference. But on average, there is a difference.

https://opportunityinsights.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CollegeAdmissions_Paper.pdf
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