Costs and Benefits of an Ivy League Education

Chances are if you're reading this article you're not one of the privileged few who by right of family wealth, family connections, or social status have an "in" to an Ivy League school. While the benefits of attending an Ivy League school are numerous, the costs over the long term make them more than worth it.

Yes those attending an Ivy League, or a Cambridge or Oxford type of school will receive a challenging and valuable education, but the real value here is networking. That's right networking, making connections. Few people realize while they're in college that they should be making connections with their fellow classmates that will extend beyond the classroom and serve them throughout their life. When you attend Yale, Harvard, or Oxford, your classmates (that's right, even the ones doing naked keg stands last night and every night in school - think George W Bush) are the future captains of industry, CFO's, Cabinet members, and international business tycoons. Befriending and staying in touch with these individuals over the course of your career is the true value of attending an Ivy League school.

When you are still in school, find a group of people that you can become close to by joining the lacrosse team, fraternity, acapella group, or booster club, whatever it doesn't really matter, and get to know the people (and their families) well. When you leave school make a concerted effort to stay in touch,. In five to ten years, your former college friends will have spread throughout the country/world and will be in a position to assist you with finding a job, securing a no-bid contract, or participating in a business venture.

Your Ivy League education will serve you in ways that aren't able to be tangibly identify or even be aware of. The CFO who is interviewing four similarly qualified applicants will likely give preference to you if you attended the same alma mater, and at the least, it will give you a common ground to discuss during an interview. Sure it's an "Old Boys Club", but the only people that call it that are those on the outside looking in. Those on the inside can use their diploma, connections, and resources to secure favors not accorded those on the outside.