Is Ivy league everything?
Is attending an Ivy league school going to really help me get better jobs? Is it worth it when compared to a high ranked non-Ivy league university? #college #university #admissions #ivy #league
4 answers
Ken’s Answer
Hi Rachel!
The answer to the question is that it really does not matter where you go to school.
The most important thing is to choose something that interests you and challenges you and brings you fulfillment. Then when you find it, get an education in the most cost effective manner possible while developing networking and career exposure oppory people spend too much money on an education and end up unnecessarily with very high debt. 83% of those who graduate from a community college earn as much as, if not more than, those who went to a 4 year schotunities along the way, which will enable you to put your education to use in a manner to assist you and your employer to reach mutual goals.
The first step is to pick an appropriate career area. Here are some good steps which will enable you to get to know yourself:
The next step is to get to know the career area through exploration. Looking for an appropriate area is like buying a pair of shoes. They may look great, but you need to try them on and walk in them for a while to determine fit and comfort. Here are some good ways to do that:
- talk to your school counselor about becoming involved in coop, intern, shadowing, and volunteer programs that will allow you to meet people in those areas and see what they do, and how they got there, and how you feel about that. Also, here is a good site for locating internships: http://www.fastweb.com/
- talk to the head of alumni relations at your school to arrange to meet and visit graduates of your school who are working in your areas of interest to see what they are doing
- talk to the reference librarian at your local library to locate and attend meetings of professional organizations to which people in you career area of interest belong so that you can mix and mingle and learn more.
Follow these tips, and they will allow you to rise to your potential in an effective and economical manner.
Best of luck! I would like to follow your progress!
Thank you so much!! I appreciate your advice!
Rachel
Alexandra (Sasha) Verkh
Alexandra (Sasha)’s Answer
As you and your friends can know that there are some high quality brands out there without the name recognition, so can you also recognize that perhaps you and certainly others you know will pay top dollar for the brands that everyone is talking about. Same with Ivies. Some HR reps are really impressed. Some aren't. It may be the difference between you getting an interview and not. An Ivy may open doors for you that another college wouldn't. And even if your prospective supervisor knows which colleges are great for that line of business, the HR folks or recruiters are the ones doing the initial screen, and they may grab at the shinier objects. Know what I mean? If they get 25 resumes for each position open, they need some way to differentiate.
Here is another perspective. Ivies are chock full of students who really want to learn. Who want to discuss and analyze, and grow. They are full of enthusiasm, ready to pursue all kinds of possibilities, and it really enriches the classes and the campus. The caliber of student admitted elevates the entire college experience for anyone there. That's not to say it can't happen elsewhere. I am sure it can. But Ivies with their low acceptance rate really set the bar.
Taylor’s Answer
Hi Rachel, thanks for submitting a question! Ken and Alexandra both gave great advice, and I agree with both of them. If you're struggling to figure out where to attend, I had the same problem when trying to decide which college I wanted to go to. I found a great article from USA Today that I think will help: http://college.usatoday.com/2016/04/10/picking-the-perfect-college/
The part that really sticks out to me is to go somewhere you can stand out. I went to Ohio University, a great college, but it's not an ivy league school. I obtained top executive roles with multiple organizations I joined on campus because everyone around me wasn't number 1 in their class at their high school. If you're the same, I would take this into account.
The one other piece of advice I'll give when trying to figure out where to go is you should make a list of everything you need/want in a college. Such as, does it have the sorority or club you're looking to join, is it close enough to home, is it well known for your major? Here's an example of what I mean:
https://www.kaptest.com/college-prep/college-fact-chart
Hope this helps and best of luck!
Arjun’s Answer
Food for thought, all these schools are not Ivey's:
1. Stanford
2. MIT
3. CalTech
4. John's Hopkins
5. CMU
6. Duke
7. UC Berkley, UCLA
8. UIUC
9. NYU
10. Umich