Why do so many students think only an upper-tiered school will do?

Question

It seems there's so many college bound students who will only be happy if they're accepted into the Harvard, or Yale, or Duke, or John Hopkins, etc. of this world. Whatever happened to just wanting to go to a regular school that has a good program that you like? Is it really that necessary for a student to be in one of top 5 schools of the world or it's all for naught?

Personally I'm of the mentality that it should be the student making the school and not the other way around. At least here in Texas Michael Dell came from a regular school (UT, and he didn't even graduate). So did LBJ (TxState). While I appreciate students aiming high in their prospective schools, IMO they just set themselves for a larger fall when things don't work out accordingly with their careers, even after attending these "prestigious" schools. It reminds me of the business grads who automatically expect to be hired as managers or CEO's of their new organizations. Any thoughts would be appreciated?

Answer 1

Based on the USNWR, your list doesn't include all of the top 5.

Harvard National #2
Duke National #8
Yale National #3
Johns Hopkins National #14

You left out:
Princeton (1)
Stanford (4)
Cal Inst of Technology (5)
U Penn (5)

Reality is that graduates of these schools do outperform those from the tier 3/tier 4 schools as a generalization. We can always find exceptions for individuals but as a generalization, those who attend the top schools end up better off.

UT is in the national top schools list.

That the question is even asked means there must be some differentiation in people's mind about these schools. If you believe the school doesn't matter though, why not just pick the cheapest or easiest school you can find? The reason is that colleges do really have reputations that extend to their graduates.

Top 5? Maybe not. Best school you can attend? Absolutely.

Answer 2

I am not of the opinion that you "get what you pay for" in terms of education. I went to a state university, the best in our state's system, which could rival many Ivy League schools in terms of academic performance. And my tuition was only 5 or 6k per year (I lived off campus). However, like I said, it's performance and reputation are top-notch. Had I chosen a reputed "party" school, and gotten even higher grades, my degree might not be as well respected by those familiar with the school. Often the reputation of the school lends weight to your resume. Should it? Maybe not. But a rigorous academic atmosphere certainly challenges you a little more.

And to think, when I started this post, I was going to go in a completely opposite direction. Just goes to show what a wonderfully analytical mind I picked up at school! :)

Answer 3

I believe it all comes down to pressure.Many families set the bar for some students who are looking to go to prestigious schools because their parents went or their families always wanted them to attend a good school sort of thing. same with fraternities.
But it is amazing how many students whom attend Harvard or Yale whom are also on depression medication and often think of suicide and thats even before their careers take off! The pressure amounts.

Answer 4

Good question. The teachers, parents, and other people often like to push students to excel and to settle for nothing less than the "best." And some students don't know what's good for them or what they want to do with their lives because they're still young, so they cave to this kind of pressure and think they're doing something good by attending (or trying to) a prestigious school. They're too much of idealists.

Answer 5

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