Who like me did not go to an elite college but is doing fine anyway

[gabeana]

Get tired of the view that the only good college is an elite one, I went to JC, transferred to 4 year State College and then went to Grad school at another state college. Because of the loving support of my family and the foundation provided for me, I was the 1st to graduate with a college degree, thank god for the state colleges and for people who helped me along away
Didn't feel that I missed anything by not going to IVY league or another elite college
Americans with our addiction to image,

I am referring to the college admission fraud story that broke today

[fleur-de-lisa]

1. Me too.

[Blue_Tires]

2. If it's any consolation I went to an elite college and my life is shit

[deurbano]

32. That IS reassuring. (But I hope you're kidding about your life being shit.)

[Polly Hennessey]

3. Me, too.

[CurtEastPoint]

4. I showed my dad the Georgetown info. He saw the $$ and said, 'You are going to Chapel Hill.'

Which I did. And proud of it!

[mathematic]

20. UNC Chapel Hill is an elite university

Nothing wrong with that of course but just saying that when people talk about elite schools, they're talking about schools like Chapel Hill too.

[CurtEastPoint]

22. This was 50 years ago and I was in-state, a NC resident. Duke, Davidson, Wake elite. Maybe UNC now

[mathematic]

46. Oh wow, that's pretty cool

I was tempted to put in a caveat about how this might not have been true when you went there but UNC has been seen as a top university for decades and I figured, what are the chances this guy went to school there 50 years ago? Pretty good I guess!

Nowadays UNC Chapel Hill is ranked as a top 30 university in the country and most incoming students have SAT scores in the 1300 & 1400s.

[CurtEastPoint]

48. It was cool. I think my SAT was 1250 or something but if you were a resident, easier to get in.

Even back then if you were an out of stater, we knew you were smart. or were an athlete (grrr). Or at that time, an undergraduate female was brilliant as they were expected (I guess) to go to UNC-Greensboro (at that time all women).

They times they do change!

[Yavin4]

5. If you're motivated to learn, the school you go to does not matter at all.

if learning is your goal.

[lark]

8. Exactly!

My sister and I graduated from an un-accredited elementary school when a whole raft of them were kicked out in our city. Luckily back then the state had std. tests for college. I scored well so was able to go to UF for 2 years for free. My parents and I weren't getting along, they didn't like that I had turned into a "hippie" and so they refused to help me get a loan for the next 2 years. I moved to CA (where Jr. College cost $100/semester at the time, prior to Prop 10), and went to school there. My sister got a 4 year full boat grant and graduated from a prestigious state university. Even though her educational credentials far outshone mine, we ended up making about the same amount of $$ because I negotiated harder and refused to take less than I felt the was deserved.

It's not just he learning but a burning drive and desire are critical as well.

[Yavin4]

10. Today, you can get a quality college education from watching YT videos

Books can be downloaded for free. There are discussion forums on any topic. Most universities offer low cost continuing education courses on almost every subject.

If you really, really want to learn, resources are out there and most of them are free.

[mr_lebowski]

6. Me too!!!

[genxlib]

7. Yes and no

You can be top 10% successful coming out of just about any school.

The chances of being top 1% successful goes up a lot if you have been to one of those elite institutions. Some of that is merit because there really are some exceptional young people coming out of those schools. But a lot of it is just getting a leg up based on reputation and the collective opportunities available from the rarefied air that your fellow alumni occupy.

Think Washington DC and Wall Street.

But if you are like me, that is the kind of success that I have no interest in.

[erronis]

50. It's just branding. Period. And networking with others that wear guccis/etc.

There are top-tier educators at many schools and horrible ones at the "top-tier" schools.

Cliques. Class-based society. Wealth. Change your name to Rockefeller or Carnegie. Probably not Bush, Cheney, Trump, ...

[MineralMan]

9. Sure. I went to a state university in California. Twice.

I took a four-year break in between. Like you, I was the first in my family to get a degree. It was a pretty good college, but the reality is that you get what you put into your education, not what the college teaches you.

Colleges are just places where you go to get direction in what to study.

[Dave Starsky]

11. Education is what you make of it.

You can go to the very best University and fuck around and party, and you will never learn or gain anything. You can go to two years of community college and two years at a modest state school, bust your ass to learn the material, and your instructors will not only thank you for it, they'll help you out wherever and whenever they can when you graduate..

Far more important than all of this is money and connections. Those born into the right family can disregard the first example and don't even need to consider the second.

Moral of the story: If you're not rich, study. And it probably doesn't matter where you do it.

That having been said, the most valuable things I learned from going to college had nothing to do with the actual coursework.

[malaise]

12. Me

A few of my siblings and their kids did the Ivy League thingy but none got there via fraud.

[BigDemVoter]

13. Me too

[Kurt V.]

14. state college. my great nephew is going to Ithaca college next year. Anybody

know anything about it?

[geardaddy]

49. Ithaca's a good school

According to U.S. News and World Report's rankings, it's #9 on the regional north colleges.

I went to college not far from Ithaca. The area is beautiful.

[DavidDvorkin]

15. Same here. I got my BA at Enormous State U

And my MS at a different Enormous State U.

Similar story for my son, who got all of his degrees, including a PhD, at various Enormous State Us, and is now doing scientific research.

[lkinwi]

16. My bachelor's and master's degrees at a state university worked quite well for me.

[Aristus]

17. I attended the University of Washington.

It's highly-respected, but I don't know if it qualifies as elite.

[TlalocW]

18. I got a full-ride at a smaller state college

And I took them for as much as I could. Technically, the most they got from me was $360 over 4 years because I stayed in the dorms all 4 years (partly so I didn't have to worry about preparing meals) and paid for a single room. Then I majored in three things, and now they hire me to come back for every home football game...

And twist balloons for the tailgate parties.

TlalocW

[Jimbo S]

19. Checking in

Attended my state's flagship campus. Not a 1%'er, but never did aspire to be. I'm doing all right.

[TruckFump]

21. University of California grad.

Never thought I wanted to go to Stanford or USC. Why waste the money! My public university education did me just fine!

[deurbano]

36. Go Bears! Screw University of Spoiled Children (and that other college you mentioned)!

[rufus dog]

66. PAC 12 grad also. Actually back when it was pac 10

I have often thought about making t shirts stating My two Favorite teams are whoever is playing Insert Rival school and whoever is playing SC.

I think is is universal we all don’t like our rival and SC the only exception seems to be UW and Oregon. And having been to games at Husky stadium, playing my school and having sit next to some horrible Oregon fans at my school, I would have to say Oregon HAS to be the problem in the Husky/Duck fight.

[CrossingTheRubicon]

68. Go Bears!

[FiveGoodMen]

23. Went to community college for two years

Got good work programming.

Been at it for three decades.

[AJT]

42. Me too. A.A. degree and went into systems programming.

I did it for 35 years.

[FiveGoodMen]

45. !

[erronis]

53. Never graduated (even from HS) and have worked in IT since 1970.

Bill Gates and many others have shown that Lady Luck and perseverance are much more important than a fake sheepskin.

(Systems programmer [OS], database designer and developer/user, pre-internet ARPA as well as web developer, statistician and now loving machine-learning.)

[AJT]

63. IBM mainframe.

[safeinOhio]

24. Long story..

Freshman in 1968 a big State U. Took a few JC classes in the meantime and got my degree in 2000, two years before I retired.

My family were all over educated. Dad Phd and professor, mom had 3 Masters and a teacher. Brother MBA and various other degrees.

But, after I found out I suffered all those years with ADD, my shrink got me to go back and I ended up graduating Magna Cum Laude and had the highest under grad GPA in the family.

Retired from my union blue collar job, that paid for my school. My life really straightened out. I have a wonderful life now. Seems the strange road I went down was the very best for me. Buy and sell antiques, flip cars and about once a month I haul cars for a shop down the road. Perfect life for one with ADD.

[ProfessorPlum]

25. yes - public high school in small rural town, state university (on scholarship)

and PhD from U of California school.

and I've had more success than I ever imagined I could have, growing up in a small rural community

but I have NEVER forgotten what my society has done for me, the opportunities it has created for me, the way it has supported me.

Very grateful for my opportunities, and very much in support of making opportunities for everyone.

[GulfCoast66]

26. Public High School and A State Flagship and Landgrant University.

Exactly the same as the wife but different states although Perdue, where she went, may be considered elite now.

We have done well.

That said, getting into either University we attended is much more challenging and way more expensive today than in the early 80’s.

[onecaliberal]

27. State University. Not a single thing about it I would change.

[BeyondGeography]

28. The best thing about most of America

is nobody knows or cares where you went to school. It’s about the quality of your work and your relationships.

[snowybirdie]

29. Graduated

from a small lib arts college at age 38 that was a mile away. I'd drop off the kids at school and go to class. Then head home to do housework, etc. Homework was done after kids bedded down. Weekends meant doing office work for hubby's new small business. Ended up a well respected expert in my field, quoted in the press and travelled extensively for the firm! No elite schooling, just hard work. Perhaps these rich kids could benefit from the hard work it takes to really want an education.

[kairos12]

30. I went

to Army Ranger School. Admission process was open and transparent. Push ups, sit ups, and 2 mile run. I recall a diverse bunch of knuckle heads.

[gabeana]

33. And what is great

Where I teach we have a great veterans program for our vets and reservist. Men and women from the program are always great students always a pleasure to have in my classroom
The GI Bill has changed a lot of lives for the better

[kairos12]

35. Thanks for helping Vets.

[panader0]

31. School of Hard Knocks.

And I got in on my own merit!

[47of74]

34. I went to a local one for my undergrad and am currently in a school....

...that is by no means considered elite.

I'm doing fine anyways.

[irisblue]

37. 🙋 Hey over here! 🙋And I earned more money with my Comm College Degree

Then I did with my BA.

And for the record, I have no freaking recollections of my SAT or ACT scores.

[ooky]

38. I did 4 year military stint to earn GI bill. Used it 1st 2 years at community college, transferred

to in state university to complete Bachelors degree. By then I had a kid and had to go to work.

[Poiuyt]

39. I think it depends on what you want out of life

Graduating from an Ivy League school will probably open more doors at the top levels, but that may not be what you're looking for in life. Not everybody wants as much money as possible. There are other things in life and going to a regular college may be the perfect fit.

I graduated from a small, liberal arts university with a major in chemistry. I got a job out of college as a research chemist, but decided after six years that that wasn't what I wanted in life. I'm now retired, but I was successful in doing things that didn't involve chemistry at all. I'm still grateful for the education that I received from a liberal arts school because it taught me how to think and how to adapt.

[iluvtennis]

40. Id venture to guess over 80% of us with college degrees didn't attend

elite schools. Those schools can only handle a small fraction of students. So everyone else came through a different route and we/ America are doing fine. It’s not the educational institution you attend, it’s what you make of the education available.

[doompatrol39]

41. Yeah, none of the successful people I know went to elite colleges...

My wife went to a small state school and is a very well compensated corporate executive. Her counterparts at her level went to mid level private colleges and one even graduated from the dreaded Bob Jones university.

I once had a guy report to me at my job (I was middle management) who was 5 years older than me and graduated from Harvard. He was smart as hell but had zero people or project management skills.

[murielm99]

43. I went to a quality private college and was happy there.

I got a good education.

Later, I took a couple of computer classes at our local JC. I was favorably impressed with the courses and the school.

A few years later, I wanted to go to grad school. I had a couple of deficiencies on my transcript. I went to the local JC to take the courses. I was impressed with the quality of the teachers and what the classes covered. I was impressed with their library, too, which is very important to any institution of higher learning.

My kids chose their own colleges. One went to an elite school. Two did not. They all received quality educations. I was favorably impressed with Iowa State when my youngest went there as an undergrad. I was impressed with University of Wisconsin when my oldest got a master's degree there. She also received a master's degree from Carnegie Mellon. Both were great programs.

I am sorry about the admissions fraud. This is so unnecessary.

[George II]

44. I attended an excellent, very small private college on an academic scholarship. They conducted....

....their own admission exam, the SATs were the third criteria they used (behind their exam and high school transcript)

[smirkymonkey]

65. Same here, but I didn't have a full scholarship.

I had a small scholarship for my SAT scores and that was about it. It was a good, northeastern, private college. Small, well known in the northeast. I basically had a good time. It was like a four year cocktail party and I was able to study abroad. I did ok, but I was not very studious. Sometimes I wish I had tried harder, but I have always been kind of a slacker. I still managed to do alright, but I regret not living up to my abilities. I feel like I could have done much better in life.

[George II]

70. All students accepted for admission were given a full academic scholarship...

It's a very small school, only 125 admitted each year (back in the late '60s/early '70s, may have changed) and only about 90 graduated after four years.

We weren't poor, but if I wasn't accepted to that school, I wouldn't have gone to college at all.

I too wish I'd tried harder, but I was really getting sick of school. The beginning of my downfall was that the Mets won the pennant in my junior year and then the World Series. I missed just about all of those two weeks, and it went on from there. I know exactly what you're talking about in your last few sentences. I did fairly well myself, but when I see what some of my classmates went on to do I'm envious.

If only we could go back in time and do it differently, huh?

[Caliman73]

47. I am doing fine.

I went to a University of California school for undergrad and got one Masters through an accredited online school and and working on my second Masters through another online school. I have a well paying job helping my community, which is what was most important to me.

The thing about elite schools like the Ivy League and Stanford is not necessarily that they have better instruction. They do however, have access to professors who are at the top of their respective fields. The school I went to was not elite or Ivy league but it has a reputation and pull regarding professors. As such we received lectures in my field, psychology from Albert Bandura and Joseph Wolpe, who are legends in the field of psychology. They were however guest lecturers. The elite schools are more likely to have people like that as regular instructors. There are also the connections that are established when at an elite school. You meet the district court judges, and alumni are on the Supreme court and so if you are pre-law, you have access to people who have clerked for those people.

Obviously, unless you are very rich and connected ala GW Bush and Trump where you fail up you can still turn out to be a loser even going to an elite school, but the resources, opportunities, and connections are what makes the schools elite and they improve your chances of getting into plumb jobs.

[nini]

51. California State University

I'm doing fine.

[AllaN01Bear]

52. clifornia public schools . columbia jr college columbia . 10 years ,

got a hotel management certificate ( nothing came of it , but knowledge) columbia ca. where i live , its not what you know , its who you know .

[catrose]

54. I did a study in graduate school (1980), looking at the careers of men and women in academia

Conclusion: Going to an elite college made a difference in a man's career, but not in a woman's. Sadly, in those days, a woman wasn't going to have much of a career no matter what she did or where she went to school, at least in the Deep South.

[Igel]

55. Elite schools get you in the door at some places.

1. You can get a good education at a "lesser" school. You can get a crappy education at an elite school.

Odds are that the elite school will net a better education. Preparedness, expectations matter. Also a willingness to work. A lot of degrees require little study and time outside of class; they're box-checking degrees.

Like a high school degree, a college degree is fairly often mostly a matter of signalling. Not the case for some fields, but certainly the case for a lot of liberal arts degrees that lead to fairly random, non-content-specific degrees.

Once you're in the door in law school, in a career, what you make of it is up to you. Think of that elite degree as a key not the entire damned building.

2. "Elite" has a lot of referents. If you go to Harvey Mudd or Steven's Tech, those are, well, elite schools. But most people here will have never heard of both of them; some will have no idea about either. But if you're in the Jersey/NY area in engineering you know Stevens Tech; if you're from So-Cal in engineering, you know Mudd. In Houston Rice University is a big name; as far as friends in some other parts of the country go, Rice University and the local Lone Star Community College are indistinguishable.

3. Not every job requires a high-prestige key. There are millions of jobs out there. There aren't millions of jobs that look for elite-school degrees. And depending who you're interviewing with, that University of Oregon degree saying you're a duck may count for more than being a graduate from Duke.

4. I've met people from Ivy League schools in grad school and in academia. Very often the difference in palpable. Very often the difference isn't the school attended but the person attending the school. It's easy to forget that whether it's a successful high school (or a failed school), whether it's a high-power Ivy League degree or a lowly Sul Ross State University, it's largely the students that make the school.

5. That applies to undergrad degrees more than to grad degrees. For grad degrees, it's really a department-internal affair where the university really provides background and funding sources, not academic chops. UCLA, for example, had some loser grad programs in the '90s; it also had some top-5 programs. The "UCLA" brand didn't work for grad programs.

[Shoonra]

56. No fancy college for me....

I am truly pissed that my parents did not link up with this racket 40 years ago. I went to third/fourth tier colleges and grad schools and, altho I now have a job I enjoy, I am really chafed that I didn't go to a prestige college -- the kind that says that just getting in is proof that I am worthwhile.

The parents involved in this scam were mostly nouveau riche, the first generation with serious money. Families with money that goes back a few generations get into the prestige schools as "legacies"- that's how George W. Bush got into Yale. Where a parent didn't attend the prestige school, they can do what Fred Trump did for Donald - and 'donate' a huge sum to the school to buy his kid a spot (usually that costs a million or more, and the parents in this scam could only afford a half-million or thereabouts). And, yes, when they get their kid in as a legacy or with an endowment, some more deserving kid is turned away, but those parents are not facing prison for what they've done to sneak in their mediocre offspring.

We are not told how the kids involved did in these schools but I wouldn't be surprised if they did well. Just because they didn't have sparkling SATs or high school grades doesn't mean that they might not be stimulated by college to show their brilliance.

[MaryMagdaline]

57. wasn't so critical back in the 70's

I went to a small school; we actually read books and talked in class and even after class. I don't know if college is even fun now, except in the drinking til you drop sense.

[akraven]

58. Brevard Community College and

while not wealthy, doing great in retirement!

[broiles]

59. At the college level, what you get out of it correlate with what you put into it.

If you sit on your butt
and never open a book, I don't care how elite the school you are a loser. If you work hard, study and complete the assignments you will get what you put into it. The exception being some of the rip-off for profit scams like Trump university. I went to state universities and one excellent private college, many of my professors were from top tier schools and some from state schools.
I couldn't tell much difference in where they came from.

[Golden Raisin]

60. SUNY.

Dad got cancer and died when I was in High School (age 16). I had previously had my eye on Wesleyan or Brown but Mom ever so subtly (NOT!) played the poor old widow card and I opted for a state school where I got a terrific education, despite being the height of late 1960s hippie/druggie fun and games time. No regrets. Never looked back. Retired now and doing fine.

[Hekate]

61. "Elite" universities are another hereditary networking mechanism, like fraternities and sororities

Sure you can also get an excellent education in the Ivy League if you apply yourself, but if you really want to know why a preponderance of presidents and other top leaders are from Harvard and Yale, look at the bonds forged there.


The Ivy League has always practiced affimative action for wealthy WASPs, especially legacy students. Fine, they are private schools and as long as they aren't taking government money (i.e. taxpayer dollars) they can do what they want. But they gradually dragged themselves into the modern world by working on diversity, starting with a small quota of Jews.

There's a reason some people covet a place there for themselves or their kids. They're ambitious.

My family had no money, and my parents were both clueless about that networking thing anyway. I went to a community college and then a state university, and got a good education. So did my husband.

[OriginalGeek]

62. not "fine" but OK for a guy with a useless HS Diploma

from an unaccredited christian school, a couple years at community college and some Vo-Tech and specialized training in my current field (and the was mostly OTJ).

I taught myself enough about computers to get a peripheral job in IT and luckily that was with a Not-For-Profit company that thought highly of training and cross-training and paid for many of my classes and certifications. It's one reason why I loyally stay here - 19 years this July - even though what I do could net me a little more in the private sector..

[nitpicker]

64. Many universities have changed since the 70s and 80s

Public State U used to be happy to give grants (and Pell scholarships as needed) to B students.

Of course, that was back in the days when they were happy to hire retirees to teach.

Towards the end of my time, they hired a Big Name to "teach".

Fast forward three decades...

Now you have to be an A student to get in.

Or have good grades from community college to transfer in.

Did I mention that with the efforts to hire big names, it now costs FIVE figures a year to attend??

[rufus dog]

67. I use it as an advantage

I am often involved running meetings at client sites. Often I comment, not sure about that (or that sounds like a great plan ) but then again I went to a State school. It is an easy way to get the majority of people around the table at ease.

[honest.abe]

69. Phd from U of Arkansas

Not elite at all but it gave me the foundation for a good career.

[ellie]

71. I went to a state college

and then transferred to another state college and graduated. I am fine. I missed nothing. And I have a good job, going on 20 years.

My husband went to a state college and then went to grad school at another state college and he, too, is doing well. He has his dream job. He missed nothing.