Where should you go to university? Do you believe the common wisdom? Should you?

Rene Magrittte

What difference does studying in a top-ranking university make in comparison to studying in a low-ranking university?

 I was asked to answer this question on Quora.com

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If you listen to the common wisdom and the media hype then you would think the difference between obtaining a degree from a prestigious university would be much better for your short and long term success.

On the face of it, this conclusion would seem to make sense. After all, being around bright students in an environment with exceptional professors and facilities would seem to predict that a student would have more opportunities in life.

But as with much conventional wisdom, while it may be what most people think, it isn’t accurate. Two researchers have looked at lifetime earnings of graduates from universities for two generations and their findings seem compelling.

“Dale and Krueger concluded that students, who were accepted into elite schools, but went to less selective institutions, earned salaries just as high as Ivy League grads. For instance, if a teenager gained entry to Harvard, but ended up attending Penn State, his or her salary prospects would be the same.

In the pair's newest study, the findings are even more amazing. Applicants, who shared  similar high SAT scores with Ivy League applicants could have been rejected from the elite schools that they applied to and yet they still enjoyed similar average salaries as the graduates from elite schools. In the study, the better predictor of earnings was the average SAT scores of the most selective school a teenager applied to and not the typical scores of the institution the student attended.” The Ivy League Earnings Myth - US News

They have lots of good data but it doesn’t get all that much press in part because it emphasized the importance of standardized tests, something not a lot of leaders in higher education wish to support, publically at least. There are lots of political landmines surrounding standardized tests and showing how they predict future success is not going to go over well with many in the educational community. In addition, many private schools market themselves as offering much greater opportunities that State schools or lower ranked schools. It’s one of the reasons so many people go into such debt with their education. They believe they are paying for a better future.

 What this study shows, however, is not that it makes no difference which school you attend. Instead, it shows that someone who is smart (at least as far as SAT performance goes) will do as well in life whether he or she attends an Ivy or not. This makes sense. A smart person will find at virtually any college or university bright professors and the chance to do interesting research fit for an undergraduate. They wioll often be a part of an honors program and this will open up many doors too. They often have an easier time finding a mentor because they stand out from the crowd. And, perhaps best of all, many earn merit scholarships too.

I have long argued that it does not matter which school you attend, but rather how you do wherever you go. The research above supports my belief but so does the research Malcolm Gladwell talks about in his chapter on education in his latest book David and Goliath. I have written a lot about this chapter as it demonstrates that it is better to go to a place where you will perform near the top than to attend a school because it has a high ranking. Going to a great school can expand opportunities but mostly for those who do quite well there. Going to a less than great school can do the same thing.

What I have not addressed but needs to be commented on is that is does matter which kind of school you do to. This seems to contradict what I have just written so let me explain. If a student is not particularly motivated and may not do well in school or on standardized tests then that student will not have an option of going to a selective school. Students who have not done particularly well in high school tend not to become stars in college. (Of course there are many individual exceptions to this statement). If you were to compare students who are not that great academically with students who are then there will be a large gap in lifetime earnings etc. 

In other words there are plenty of studies that show that going to a great school overall provides increased earning potential. The problem is they are comparing students who have earned a spot at a great school (Harvard just released its decisions today and the acceptance rate is 5.9%--most who got in are at the very top of the performance charts) with student who were not great students in secondary school. If makes perfect sense that great student going to great schools will likely earn more in life than ok or poor students who attend less than top schools.

Finally, the US is one place in the world that allows students many second chances. What I mean by this is that a student who did very poorly in secondary school will not have a choice to go to a great school. In fact for some the best option is attending community college. But here is the great thing. A student who turns his or her life around and does very well at community college (which are for the most part open enrollment—anyone can go) can, after two years generally transfer to the top state schools in the US. Most States have agreements to guarantee admission for students who do well in community colleges. This means that a student can go from attending what most consider a bad college to some of the top research universities in the US and the world. In cases like this a student will end up attending both kinds of school and this rarely happens in other places around the globe.

Here is a link to a story of such a student. He started at community college and is now getting ready to graduate form one of the top undergraduate business programs in the US. He has created apps that make money and has been a great innovator and motivational speaker. And he’s started some companies too.  In other places in the world he would never have had this chance to move up the ladder to a great school. He has given a TEDx talk and now teaches students in Northern Virginia leadership and entrepreneurship skills. He is 22 old.

 To summarize: forget the names of the schools for the most part and do well in and out of class, learn coding and soft skills, learn how to learn, and show people you can communicate effectively by writing and speaking well and then you will stand out  to employers and graduate schools.