Does a prestigious college make any person better off in life?

[SamH]

The short answer to your question is: Yes, a prestigious college does have a high probability of making you much better off in life, at least materially. Is it a guarantee? No, but it does help a lot.

I would agree with that completely. Your starting position when you enter the workforce is usually a step or two above that of a person starting from a “state college”. The problem you run into is that more is expected of you early on. If you don’t produce early and often the “shine” from your prestigious college tarnishes quickly. With expectations high just doing average could endanger your future as management will feel they “over paid” for the results they are seeing. The same person being hired from a lesser school will start out making less, but less is expected and may find their early career less demanding as they make their entrance in the working world.

However if you are up to the task well managed companies will evaluate your talents early and often and be quick to reward you with promotions and salary increases.

 

[Rach620]

I would agree with that completely. Your starting position when you enter the workforce is usually a step or two above that of a person starting from a “state college”. The problem you run into is that more is expected of you early on. If you don’t produce early and often the “shine” from your prestigious college tarnishes quickly. With expectations high just doing average could endanger your future as management will feel they “over paid” for the results they are seeing. The same person being hired from a lesser school will start out making less, but less is expected and may find their early career less demanding as they make their entrance in the working world.

However if you are up to the task well managed companies will evaluate your talents early and often and be quick to reward you with promotions and salary increases.

The problem is that this is not the case in the current economic climate. It is exceedingly hard for any recent graduate, from a prestigious or less-than-prestigious school, to obtain good employment these days without any work experience. A prestigious school will open up a good alumni network and potential to excel at a stellar graduate school, but my personal experience and that of many of my friends in the classes of 2008-2010 is that in hiring for entry-level/right out of college positions, employers don’t care all that much about the type of college you went to. A very small percentage of the people I graduated from high school with, and who went on to prestigious colleges and a variety of different programs, are actually independent and fully employed right now. Most are in grad school, others are living with parents again. That’s just how it is these days.

Since the OP seems to be graduating in the next couple of years, the advice I gave him (to transfer, excel at the state school, and definitely get a start on that internet business) takes that into account. If he graduates from college with a good and marketable combination of his degree and business experience, he should have no trouble succeeding in the “real world”.