Seth Godin posted a great article on his blog about attending top colleges vs. regular colleges and their outcomes. I gotta say kudos, Seth! You got it right.
I don’t mean to disrespect those who attend Ivy League and upscale private colleges and universities. But, let’s face it, most people won’t ever set foot on one of those campuses, let alone become a student on one. They’re prohibitively expensive except to the rich or the select few who can go on full scholarships. The education you receive is not proportionately better for the price. The career you enter into is probably not going to pay enough to cover your student loan payments if you aren’t rich enough to pay cash for such an education.
A $40,000 education at a public, in-state college or university is just as good as a $200,000 education at an out-of-state private or Ivy League school. I’d pit my public primary and secondary school education and my state public college education and degree against anyone’s. And I didn’t go into a ton of debt to get it either. I was able to work my way through college. My very small student loans were paid off within 7 years of graduation on a modest salary. My loan payments were less than most people’s minimum credit card payments.
After you have a degree, there are very few places where anyone cares where you got it or even what your GPA is for long. What people care about is if you have the knowledge you need and if you can apply it, know how to get more and think to accomplish your work for your employer or in your own business. Your performance is what matters.
I’m a small business owner and given the choice, I’d hire a B-C average student from a local college because they probably had to work hard on studying to get those grades, or they had to work a job part-time or full-time to get a degree at all. They already know how to work.
I wouldn’t even consider a student from an Ivy League school. They wouldn’t stay long enough for me to waste my time, energy and money training them. I’m a small business with no clout. Why would they even look at me as a potential employer? I believe they’d leave as soon as a more prestigious opportunity came along.
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