I used to think so. Then the internet and sites like coursera and edx were invented, allowing anyone on this planet with an internet connection to access the course content offered by elite institutions.

Quirky question-

If someone graduates from Harvard/Yale/Princeton but marries someone from a state school, which one of you loses? State school spouse gains a lifetime of discussions with an Ivy-educated spouse while the Ivy-educated spouse gets a lifetime of discussions with someone who went to (gasp) a state school.

I say no. I went to SUNY Binghamton and am a partner at a law firm with someone who went to Duke undergrad. We both got to the same place.

(In case you're wondering he went to Yale for law school and I went to Boston Univ.)

Here’s an example. I have several friends who were smart and went to W&M or UVA but majored in education and became teachers. Had they gone to Longwood instead that wouldn’t have changed a thing for their job. But UVA majorly changed their selection of spouse. And all three of them married high earners and none of the wives work any longer.

I think the official answer is "it depends." If your lifelong dream is to design the next generation of those freaky dancing robots, then going to a small liberal arts college will probably make you less competitive than someone that has an engineering degree from MIT.

But I don't think going to Harvard or Yale are the only paths to success.

Personally, I think graduate school matters more than undergrad. Go to a solid state school, save $, do well and go to a great grad school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a pop-science guy (name escapes me at the moment) who said there was some data showing that the ranking of the college you went to was less important for your prospects than being in the top half of whichever college you ended up choosing.

Sure, if an unknown pop-science guy says it, must be true.

Says the person reading and commenting on an anonymous comment board.

Grabbing my popcorn for the million dollar question.

Did you make friends and connections during college? Did you stay in touch with those people? If not, it doesn’t really matter once you are 5yrs out of school.

Where you go matters for connections and opportunities.
You can go to a prestigious school and fail recognize or to take advantage of ample opportunities. You can go to a mediocre school and bust your butt to find and take advantage of opportunities.

Anonymous wrote:There was a pop-science guy (name escapes me at the moment) who said there was some data showing that the ranking of the college you went to was less important for your prospects than being in the top half of whichever college you ended up choosing.

Sure, if an unknown pop-science guy says it, must be true.

There was a pop-science guy (name escapes me at the moment) who said there was some data showing that the ranking of the college you went to was less important for your prospects than being in the top half of whichever college you ended up choosing.

Yes. It matters that you don’t take out a stupid amount of debt to go to a private school. Go instate or somewhere cheaper than instate due to scholarship. Once there, get the best grades you can.

I made friends with a bunch of moms when DD was a baby. Our kids are all now aged 9/10 and we are all still friends, we have different income levels and jobs and I have no idea where any of them went to school. Out of 8 of us 2 of us ( including me) didn’t go to school. I actually make more than the one with a law degree. So no, I’m my opinion and social circles it doesn’t matter.

Definitely not if you end up with years worth of debt.

Sometimes yes and sometimes no

Maybe harvard or yale make a difference but does any other school? I’m pretty underemployed and I went to a top 25 university. Would have been much cheaper to have gone to Maryland or Towson