The college you choose to attend changes the course of your entire life. It changes where you live, who your friends are, and most importantly who you become as a young adult. But for the purpose of employment after college, does it really matter what school you attend? Those four years of your life will end up on a sheet of paper that will be sent to each of your potential employers, but how much weight does a school name really hold?
Every school virtually offers similar types of classes, majors, and clubs. With slight variations in what each school is ‘known’ for, all colleges can offer students the same thing: an education. For some people there is only one key criteria: ranking. People believe the lower the acceptance rate, the better the school. There’s a reason why the college scandal in 2019, named Operation Varsity Blues, occurred in the first place. Those parents were willing to go to extreme lengths with their money so their child could attend a prestigious university. In a world where those celebrities could get their child anything they wanted, college admissions was originally not one of them. To go through so much trouble, it shows how much prestige matters to some people. It wasn’t about the experience their child would have at that college, it was about how impressive the name of that college would be.
People’s main reasoning behind shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars is that it will guarantee them for success. Despite what most people think, an Ivy League university does not fully change one’s ability to become wealthy and successful after college. According to the Fortune article, Ivy League is not the only ticket to success, “The CEO’s of the top 10 (as of mid-2014) hail as undergrads not from Harvard and Yale but from the University of Arkansas; the University of Texas; the University of California, Davis; the University of Nebraska; Auburn; Texas A&M, the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University); the University of Kansas; and the University of Missouri-St. Louis” (Easton). Not only that, but additionally Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg both dropped out of college. For two Ivy League dropouts, they did pretty well for themselves.
The myth behind the facade of success these schools have is the people who attend them. Most people who attend an Ivy League school have an incredible work ethic. To get accepted into one of these universities, they must earn their spot through difficult classes and remarkable extracurriculars. What makes these people so successful is not just the university, but their ability to continue with this work ethic post graduation. This work ethic is not only formed at an Ivy League school though. Here at UW, I have seen so many people that work tirelessly in school, clubs, and building their future. They spend their time here at UW focused on furthering their education. Many people here have a lot in common with Ivy League students by working towards the same goals. Once you graduate college, everyone regardless of the university they attended is up for the same jobs. What is shown to the employers is not just the college name, but more importantly what they decided to do during their time in college.
There is so much pressure on students to go to a top ranked university, but it’s time we take some of that pressure off of them. With so many high school seniors applying for such a small amount of spots at Ivy Leagues, it’s important to know that an Ivy League is not an end all be all. It’s not a golden ticket for success. Getting a college education at any school can grant you opportunities that will take you far. If we live by this more, students will be more open minded and excited to attend any university regardless of the name.