| > Most of the people I know who turned down higher-ranked schools for lower-ranked ones because of money regret it. What do you base this on? What about people who went to higher-ranked schools that regret having 100k+ in debt when they graduate. College helps you get your first job, but after that I don't think anyone cares in most fields (true in engineering from my experience, as long as you have a technical degree and even then you can get by). A lot of the difference in outcomes is selection bias. You should look to see how someone who got in a selective school but didn't go compares to someone who got in and went. I've read that the differences are not that stark. > You will make a lot of life-long friends in college, and you will just be exposed to a different caliber of person on average at mit. I don't know. I went to a mid-tier state school and my friends were just people I happened to be lumped together in housing. Is it "optimal"? No, but I enjoyed it. My friend crew consisted of a stoner, a very religious dude, a meat head and a Brooklyn hipster. I don't know, I liked it like that. None of them really taught me anything (wtf does an 18 year old know), but it might be different in technical fields. Both have trade offs. > On the other hand, I think the differences in career outcomes on average are small, although I wouldn’t be surprised if the probability of starting a company with any given level of success x is 10 times higher for mit alum than Z school alums It'll probably help you raise money, but I think being ex-[FAANG] would be better at least now. And raising money is not the same as starting and running a successful business. FAANG has considerably broadened their outreach and hire outside of top schools. I have a non-technical degree from a mid-tier state school and interviewed with a few FAANGs, more than once. > In my opinion, the lifetime of friends and network effects is most of the benefit, and not to be underestimated. You only live once. From what the author stated, I think he would have more experiences from going to school Z with his friends and family. Unless he really wants to get away from everyone, which doesn't sound like the case. |
If you have a degree from Harvard/Stanford/MIT/etc, this is not true. Those name brands will help you for decades after. Plus they will also help your college friends, so your network will be much better than if you went to a state school.