So Many Choices for College!

From class, Sutherland had us read seven pieces that answered the question: "Will you have a better life if you graduate from an elite school?"  Some of the pieces claimed that by going to an elite school, the salary of the student would be higher than one who went to a non-elite college, while others claim just the opposite.

The piece that most convinced me of its point was the piece, "Graduate School Matters More" by David W. Breneman.  This piece was particularly convincing, since it considered and talked about most of the more important aspects of colleges and universities, like attention for students, whether they put more attention and effort to undergrad students or to research and graduate education.  The piece also discusses how a person can consider what university or college to go to based on whether they are planning to attend a graduate or professional school after the undergraduate degree.  Depending on the undergraduate school a student chooses, some schools give them a better chance of getting into the graduate or professional school of their choice.  Breneman realizes how people all have different personalities and ways of learning, and explains how it is better for a student to perform very well in a not as distinguished and well known than in a school where they are lost and confused in "a highly selective institution."  He talks about finance as well, which helped to convince me of his point, which is to just choose a school that fits your personality, and you feel like you'd be able to learn in, rather than one where it would be hard to be successful in.

The piece that confused me the most and answered the question the most poorly in my opinion, was titled, "The Specialization Trade-Off" and is written by James Shulman.  To me, this was the worst piece because Shulman didn't even answer the question.  He focuses on sports, and sport scholarships for athletes at elite colleges, but for someone like me who isn't the least bit interested in getting a sports scholarship, or in getting into an elite school with mediocre grades, but instead with really good sports skills, it doesn't appeal to me, and I can't connect to it.  After reading Shulman's answer to the question, it just made me question whether it's really worth it or not to get into an elite college, because there will be students who aren't at the college for the good education to get a good business job or whatever, but to play sports.  So I'm now concerned about how good the education at an elite college with a strong focus on sports teams will be.