To be sure, I am writing about a small portion of the Princeton community. This column completely ignores the issue of financial aid; I am talking about parents who are paying full or nearly full price. Without a shadow of a doubt, if you want to give your child the ultimate flexibility to pursue a wide range of opportunities during and after graduation, and they really have no idea what they want to end up doing, an Ivy League degree is an asset and a worthwhile investment. But, if your kid has a pretty good idea of what he wants to do, whether it is medical school, law school, graduate school in STEM fields or something that does not require a big name on his degree, it may be prudent to save the cost of an unaided Ivy League education.
While traveling to graduate schools for recruiting weekends last month, I could not help but notice that I was more or less alone among my fellow prospective students in my Ivy League background. Time after time, when we made introductions during icebreakers or small talk, I ended up being one of only a handful from any sort of “top-ranked” school. This got me wondering: How important is it to go to a “great” school as an undergrad? All of these individuals I met were experiencing their own personal success coming from a wide range of institutions.
It has been made increasingly clear to me that an education from a public university is not the anathema or consolation prize that it seemed to be while I was in high school but rather an effective, less expensive form of education. To think that you or your child will not get a good education if the name of the institution does not appear in the top 10 list of U.S. News & World Report constitutes an extremely narrow view of higher learning.
For many fields like engineering and science, the prestige of your undergraduate institution is not critical. The relationships you form and the experience you gain over the four years are what count in your future success, relationships and experiences that can be had at both public and private schools. Furthermore, in these disciplines, your advanced degrees — which often carry more weight than your bachelor’s — will most likely be paid for by research or teaching assistantships, making the cost of tuition at that institution less pressing. Logically, then, it makes sense to save money on undergraduate tuition if advanced degrees lie in your future.
Admittedly, there are certain career paths that become much easier to pursue with an Ivy League education. Rank and prestige carry a lot of weight in academia, finance and consulting. Choosing an excellent private school will, statistically speaking, vastly improve your chances in those arenas. However, if those fields are not your cup of tea, you might be equally served at a less expensive school.
A chief argument in favor of private higher education is the sheer concentration of smart, driven people at top-ranked schools. Regardless of how you spend your undergraduate years at a highly ranked private school, the likelihood that you will encounter very accomplished, legit individuals is probably higher than elsewhere.
But the lesser concentration of intellectual superstars who can be found at public universities does not preclude their presence at those institutions. Many individuals — both in the student body and on the faculty — are every bit as brilliant and accomplished as those in the Ivy League populate less-highly ranked schools. Although undergraduates at a public school would not necessarily be engulfed by the cerebral torrent that is the Princeton community, if they chose to put themselves out there and commit to their discipline, they can learn and achieve every bit as much, if not more. One can find intelligent professors and advisers everywhere, not just at the “best” schools.
I am convinced that if you are smart, resourceful and motivated, you can do well for yourself and carve your own path to success. The name on your degree is only a small part of the complete person. If foregoing the ponderous price tag on that small part does not harm your post-collegiate chances, that just might be the smartest decision.
Nathan Mathabane is a geosciences major from Portland, Ore. He can be reached at nmathaba@princeton.edu.
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