What is considered an elite university?
In our distinctions, “elite” refers to the approximately 75 schools with the most restrictive admissions criteria. These colleges generally accept fewer than 30 percent of all applicants and have a highly selective reputation to match. The most important question, however, is if an elite college is right for you.
What are the advantages of going to a prestigious university?
Attending top universities and colleges can help you build influential networks that open doors after graduation. Faculty members and alumni can help you obtain references and job leads, and you can build a large network of friends at a top college that could eventually lead to job opportunities.
Why you should go to an elite college?
Elite colleges can help secure amazing opportunities including access to awesome professors, inspiring classmates, top-notch facilities, and highly respected degrees. But elite colleges are also typically very selective, extremely rigorous, and quite expensive.
Does college prestige really matter?
In the final analysis, prestige definitely matters. But it’s not the only factor you should consider in making your choice about college. Sometimes you can get more personal attention from top professors at a less well-known university, especially if the school has an honors college.
What happens to low-income students who go to elite colleges?
The low-income students who do end up at these elite institutions are often treated as homogeneous in both policy and the scholarly literature, as if they all navigate these schools in the same way. This is one of the most important contributions Jack has made with his research—disaggregating the experience of low-income students at elite colleges.
Are elite colleges more elite because of their families?
Furthermore, the study found that 38 elite colleges have more students who come from families in the top 1 percent than students who come from the bottom 60 percent (families making less than $65,000 a year).
What are the advantages of an elite education?
The advantages of an elite education are indeed undeniable. You learn to think, at least in certain ways, and you make the contacts needed to launch yourself into a life rich in all of society’s most cherished rewards.
Do elite colleges encourage students to flatter themselves?
As two dozen years at Yale and Columbia have shown me, elite colleges relentlessly encourage their students to flatter themselves for being there, and for what being there can do for them. The advantages of an elite education are indeed undeniable.