S/O Ivy Education. Does the school make the person?

[BabyMine]

I have absolutely nothing wrong with an IVY league education. If I could have afforded it I would have gone. Having said that I'm wondering if it's the school's name or the person that gets them farther in life?

A friend I know did 95% of her undergrad work at a local university and then transferred to the IVY league school. She only took a couple more classes and then graduated with the IVY league school on her diploma but paid much less because she did almost all her classes at a cheaper university.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think it is what you put into the college experience that makes the difference, though some prestigious name school might give you a leg up simply on that alone. I went to a good, big public university but I did nothing except go to classes when I was there. I think that when I was there I should have joined clubs, got to know my professors and fellow classmates, and networked. I was anonymous when I was there and anonymous now. It was my fault and I regret it. I was in dh's social circle instead of young professionals so I didn't eel a need to do anything at my school.

Anyway, I think that the person matters more. A desire to succeed and network is going to get you further than the school's name will get you in most cases.

Beth

[luckytwenty]

Things I got from going to an Ivy that influenced my success:
-Confidence & feeling like I belonged with high achievers
-Connections
-Some absolutely amazing academic experiences I am not sure I would have received elsewhere. English classes taught by famous writers. Psychology classes by authors of the psych textbook used at most universities!
-I met my husband in school. He's pretty amazing. Not that I went there for my MRS. Not at all! (We got married seven years later!) But I will say that having a higher IQ gene pool at my disposal when I was most interested in dating was probably a good thing. If I was likely to fall in love with someone at age 21, it was not so bad to have a bunch of high achieving guys surrounding me. Might not have happened elsewhere.

In that sense, the school helped make me who I was. But I wasn't chopped liver going into the school. I am sure I would have found a way to be where I wanted end up wherever I went, because I was a good student, hardworking, and was attracted to people with those kinds of qualities.

[Reina]

connections... connections... connections.

Schools don't "make" a person. No. But connections and good education help.
I should also say that I have always felt a certain disdain from some of the people I have met over the years about ivy league schools and their graduates. I don't tell people I meet where I went to school unless the school subject is relevant.

[american_mama]

>> friend I know did 95% of her undergrad work at a local university and then transferred to the IVY league school. She only took a couple more classes and then graduated with the IVY league school on her diploma but paid much less because she did almost all her classes at a cheaper university.

I would be surprised if that is completely accurate. I went to an Ivy, did not like it and and actually applied to transfer to another school at the end of my sophmore year. One reason I did not is that the schools I looked at would have required me to be at their school for two full years, which would have precluded me from studying abroad for a year. I do not remember if it was an enrolled-on-campus residency requirement, or simply that roughly half my credits needed to come from my new school. But I would be very surprised if most colleges allow an undergraduate student to graduate having taken so few classes actually at their institution. It weakens the college's "brand," so to speak.

My Ivy was unusual in that there were a chunk of student who transferred IN at the end of the sophmore years, sometimes even from community colleges. I would have been flabbergasted if I'd met anyone who transferred in later than the sophmore year, and would have assumed that they would have lost credits in the process and would need to spend an extra year to graduate.

As for your question, I absolutely think the person is the factor that makes the difference, not the school.

[AnnieW625]

Yes it does depending on what you want to do. DH's cousin got an engineering degree from Stanford and he got a job with a major defense contractor straight out of college. I am going to assume that his grades were good as he got out of college in 5 yrs. when it takes most engineers sometimes 6 because the courses are very rigorous, if you work it can take even longer. My DH went to a smaller less known college for engineering and while he was hired by an electronics testing company straight out of college when he was unemployed he had a really hard time getting interviews with large defense contractors and oil companies.

I will say though in my line of work I have worked with people who degrees from UCLA, UC Berkeley, and USC just to name a few and we all get paid the same amount of money and I had way less debt when I graduated from college so while I don't have a degree from a prestigious college I can still do the same job.

[BayGirl2]

I agree that you get out what to put into school. But also that a well rated school helps you build a network and exposes you to a higher level of recruiting companies - both of which are key to success over the longer term. So in that sense, its a combination of both.

I didn't weigh in on the Ivy thread, and I didn't go to an Ivy League school, but I did go to a top 20 business school for my MBA. I am certain that my high level of involvement in extracurricular activities plus the network and job opportunities I was exposed to are what led me to my current location and career. (And I consider both to be fairly desirable)

[hellbennt]

I think it can be both. I'm smart (intelligent), went to a great college (not Ivy, but 'up there') and am not what most would call a high achiever. *sigh*
I would think this has to do more w/ me & my...what? personality? lack of motivation?
If/during the times in my life when
I'm looking down on myself, I'd say I'm unmotivated & not living up to my 'potential' - other times, I look at myself and see that I've been so fortunate to have been able to have wonderful experiences and that I completed my Master's, that I'm employed full time w/ benefits and have a wonderful husband and kids, etc...
Unfortunately, I don't have any connections due to my college (or high school either, for that matter and that, too, was 'up there...')...

[hellokitty]

I know plenty of ppl who are successful that have a variety of backgrounds. Half are ivy half are big public universities. I think that the ivy can get you a leg up, b/c they tend to try to help their own more, it's like belonging to some sort of exclusive club. However, the ones who I know that are successful from big public universities are extremely self motivated ppl to begin with. No matter where they went, they would have been successful, kwim? I do think that it helps if you have the type of personality where you are good at networking. That alone will get you very far in life, no matter what kind of education you have. I tend to believe that the person has more control than just the name of their college. I know some ivy league grads who got a useless degree and are basically still mooching off of their parents, w/o any future education or career plans. So, I'm not sold that going ivy is a guarantee to success. I think it helps more in terms of opportunities and the brand name for networking, but in the end the person has to put forth effort and have motivation. In the end, I think an ivy education is nice, but it isn't a ticket to success and not going ivy doesn't mean you are just mediocre and incapable of success. My observation is that those who go to large public universities get the added strength of not having their hands held during college. I've noticed that students who go to small private schools (not just ivy), tend to expect more guidance and it takes them a little bit longer to gain more independence.

[AshleyAnn]

To get my BLA I went to a small liberal arts school in SC that is frequently compared to some of the ivy league school and have taken some classes based on the lecture series they publish on the net. I transferred to that school for a local community college. The education I got was much different at the 2 school. The quality of the academic stuff was about the same, I did not feel I learned to be a better accountant by going to that school. But the elective classes ment to turn you into a better more well rounded person were light years apart.

Thats interesting about your friend. My school allowed me to bring in up to 60 credit hours for a 125 credit hour degree and required the last 25 be at that school. I assumed that was standard unless there is a transfer provision between the community school and the university.