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Advisors on duty
noon to 2, or
by appointment
Career Services
The College at Brockport
350 New Campus Drive
Brockport, NY 14420-2974
(585) 395 2468
fax: (585) 395 2708
101 Rakov Center
Web site:
rkincaid@brockport.edu
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The Worthless Ivy League? by Robert J. Samuelson (excerpted from Newsweek, Nov. 1, 1999)
We all "know" going to college is essential for economic success. The more prestigious the college, the greater the success. It's better to attend Yale or Stanford than, say, Arizona State....
The trouble is that what everyone knows isn't true. Going to Harvard or Duke won't automatically produce a better job and higher pay. Graduates of these schools generally do well. But they do well because they're talented. Had they chosen colleges with lesser nameplates, they would (on average) have done just as well....
Evidence of this comes from a new study by Alan Krueger, an economist at Princeton, and Stacy Berg Dale, a researcher at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation....
The theory was that admissions officers were ranking personal qualities, from maturity to ambition. Students who fared similarly would possess similar strengths; then, Dale and Krueger compared the earnings of these students-- regardless of where they went. There was no difference. Suppose that Princeton and Podunk accept you and me; but you go to Princeton and I go to Podunk. On average, we will still make the same....
The explanation is probably simple. At most colleges, students can get a good education if they try....
If you can't (or won't) take advantage of what Princeton offers, Princeton does no good. What students bring to college matters more than what colleges bring to students.
The authors' recommendation: attend the least costly school that offers what you want to study. And work hard- it will pay off, whether your degree is from Princeton...or from Brockport!
