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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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?[/quote]

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. [/quote]

All of the non academic life skills are easily mastered and refined at elite colleges.  I hope that those are not the accomplishments that make one successful because it will cause many brilliant people to be left behind.  It is completely obviously what type of family college students or young professional come from unless they have absorbed unspoken rules.  Not knowing what to wear, say, drink or eat is often an unspoken reason for excluding smart people who otherwise would make substantial contributions.  They show up green and never get invited back to anything important.  People would rather deal with someone who is less bright but polished, in friend groups and in business.  Hopefully this will change.[/quote]

How are a lifetime of non academic life skills mastered in college? I went to an Ivy, studied a hard major, but still wore a freaking GREEN suite to my interviews because I like the color.  I didn’t know any better, and growing up most adults I knew dressed up was jeans with a blazers and novelty necktie.  [/quote]

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