Are the ivy league schools really worth the extra cost?

Is an employer really going to pay that much more money to someone with a degree from Harvard, compared to someone with a degree in the same major from, say, LSU?



If not, then why do people 'need' to get into the Ivy League schools?

Are the ivy league schools really worth the extra cost?
yeah, but tomato ketchup doesn't have personality. If you have a much more likable personality, you can get a job over any Ivy league grad.



As far as LSU, the kid at LSU is going to have alot more fun. Nothing like the student section on a Saturday night game at Tiger Stadium packed with 90,000 fans. beat that harvard.
Reply:Going to Harvard over a state school might get you an interview easier, but nobody wants to hire someone with the personality of a brick (which a lot of Ivy League kids are like). That is where you can beat them.



The sad fact is, most people who attend Ivy Leagues already have rich, well connected parents, so getting a job isn't anything they actually have to try that hard at. They coast through life with an undeserved sense of accomplishment.
Reply:It's all in the name...there's a lousy stigma in the northeast that the Ivy Leagues are the best, which is not true. In fact, several non-ivy leagues are just as expensive (Bennington, MIT, Duke, etc...)



The Ivy League schools are solid but you can get just as good of an education at other institutions in the country. The only thing the Ivy Schools have is a guarantee of snobbery and arrogance from a majority of the students.
Reply:Ivy League schools carry with them brand recognition, more or less. There are plenty of schools that offer an education as good or better than the Ivies, but they may not carry the same clout when you drop the name on your resume or into conversation--everyone knows Harvard, not everyone knows that the University of Akron may have a better program in Continental Philosophy or UNLV-Reno offers a better degree in Forensics (and I'm totally making that data up, by the way).



When it comes down to the brass tacks of employment, I think the usual rules of consumption apply: if you could get Heinz ketchup and generic ketchup for the same price, you'd probably go with the Heinz. If you and another job candidate have equivalent credentials (same degree, same work experience, same GPA, same evidence of professional preparation), the nod just might go to the guy with the Ivy League pedigree. If your credentials trump his, it probably goes to you.



***This is just the raw perception, of course. Different schools may offer you different networking opportunities, and those may open doors for you regardless of the institutional affiliation.

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