Wow! That looks really interesting. I guess we didn’t know enough to ask about it during our campus visit; thanks.
The article I posted showed individuals with the same academic skill level. Your statistics involve competitive vs. less competitive schools, which isn’t the same thing. If both students are equally competent academically it shouldn’t matter where they go.
That article itself doesn’t necessarily support Ivy league degrees
New Work Model’
Some career consultants, however, argue that Ivy League degrees are no longer as valuable as they once were in the workplace. “There’s a new work model these days,” says Barbara Moses, president of a human-resource consulting firm in Toronto. “Although the prestige of an Ivy or highly recognizable school enables you to get out of the gate faster … employers are looking for what you can do. They’re looking for a rich portfolio of skills instead of prestige.”
She adds: “If you have two equally bright, well-spoken grads capable of solving problems, 10 years later the two will not be substantially different. In the long term, the differences between an Ivy grad and a state grad will start to average themselves out.”
I"m not saying Ivy League degrees offer no benefits whatsoever, just that they are not worth the extra $60k in cost it’ll take to get one. A person would be better off going to an in state college and investing that 60k in a home.
It’s decided . . . or as decided as a seventeen-year old can get.
He applied to Kalamazoo, Kenyon, MSU, Michigan and Oberlin. Got accepted at Kalamazoo, MSU and Michigan, and decided not to complete the Oberlin application (Kenyon will let us know by April 1).
He went to Kalamazoo over the weekend to sit for a competitive scholarship in history. Just before he and his mom left, we got a letter: Kalamazoo has awarded him an “Honors Scholarship” that covers close to half his tuition for four years. With any luck on the competitive scholarship, Kalamazoo is now as affordable as a State school.
And he’s re-fallen in love with the place. He and his mom had a great visit, met a bunch of people, got a bunch of questions answered, and got majorly seduced. They brought me back a Kalamazoo College coffee mug, in bright orange.
So . . . Kalamazoo it is. Thanks for all the advice, Dopers; your input has been a terrific help!