The College You Attend Doesn’t Matter As Much As Your Drive

// March 27th, 2009 // Personal Development

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I spent far too much time in high school worrying about whether I would get into an Ivy League school. I felt horrible the first time I received a B on my report card. I felt I wouldn’t be successful unless I went to a great school. I wouldn’t be able to make the money I wanted to make, I wouldn’t have the opportunities, and I wouldn’t have a great life. By the time I graduated I knew Ivy League was out of reach, so I went to the University of Oregon. I was disappointed to not achieve that dream, so I set my sights on an Ivy League law school. I have recently decided I don’t want to be a lawyer anymore, so I will never attend an Ivy League school. I finally figured out something though. My golden ticket to a wonderful life doesn’t lie in an Ivy League school– it lies in me.

I think that the most important decision is to go to college. Go to any college, because it matters more if you go to college and it matters less which one you go to. You are likely to have a higher earning paycheck and a better life if you attend college. The statistics seem to agree on this, but which college you attend doesn’t make a huge difference in quality of life. The difference it will make in your life most likely will relate to where it is located, if you like the school, the students and other factors. You should find a school that you like, not one that you think will make you the most money. You have to spend four years there, so if you enjoy it then you will do better.

There are some good qualities in an Ivy League school

I will admit that Ivy League schools do have some qualities that make it beneficial to attend them. They provide you with a lot of potential connections that might be useful one day. You will get contacts everywhere though and sometimes they might be better. You are more likely to have a larger amount of special events in an Ivy League school that could benefit you. Top lectures will go to Ivy League schools; you might get to meet some very important people. Who wouldn’t want Steve Jobs to talk at their (Stanford) commencement? The school will have more money, because the school is a business. It has to make money and it does a great job at it. There are a few times that an Ivy League on your resume will give you a foot in the door, but the important part is that your abilities are the thing that gets you the job, not the school. It can give you a small boost, but it is what you make of it.


Where do Nobel Laureates go to school?

The last 10 Nobel laureates in Chemistry attended University of Nebraska, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Berea College, Augsburg College, University of Massachusetts, Washington State University, University of Florida, University of California, Riverside, and Harvard University. As you can see Harvard appears twice which makes sense since they get to pick from the elite individuals in the country. However, these are not all Ivy League schools. It shows that genius can come from anywhere. It depends on the individual more. Another example the WSJ compares the top CEOs of the biggest corporations. “Most CEOs of the biggest corporations didn’t attend Ivy League or other highly selective colleges. They went to state universities, big and small, or to less-known private colleges.Wal-Mart Stores CEO H. Lee Scott, for example, went to Pittsburg State University in Kansas, Intel CEO Paul Otellini to University of San Francisco and Costco Wholesale CEO James Sinegal to San Diego City College.”


The individual is the one that succeeds


Those that do succeed in Harvard and do make a lot of money did it because they have the ability to succeed. They were selected because they showed they had the drive to succeed. The question is would they have still be successful if they hadn’t gone to Harvard? Some people just have the ability to do great things no matter where they go. You would be able to find extraordinary people in any university, because they choose to succeed. So, if you really want a golden ticket to your life then take advantage of your opportunities and have a drive because that is what will set you apart from the rest. Your ability will be far more important than the school you attend.

Current high school students:

Don’t worry about the school you get into. You can make the best out of any situation. I know people that will try to challenge themselves in a simple class because they want to do the best they can. There was a student in my literature class last term that chose to do an essay on a book because the professor warned us that it would difficult to read. He didn’t try to take the easy way out; instead he did what would challenge him in order to get better. You don’t need Harvard to challenge you; there are many opportunities for you at any university. Go above and beyond the expectations. Don’t take the easy way. Finally, don’t worry about getting into the best school. It caused me tons of stress in high school, but now that I have gone to the University of Oregon those grades really don’t matter. I worked hard for my high GPA, yet it doesn’t matter now that I have gotten into the university. They didn’t get me a scholarship; they didn’t get me into an Ivy League school. The one good thing they did was prepare me for college. I didn’t struggle the first term, instead I earned all ‘A’s. Don’t worry about the college you go to, worry about the challenges you will take in college.




Photo by CarbonNYC

6 Responses to “The College You Attend Doesn’t Matter As Much As Your Drive”

  1. Mnemosyne says:
    March 27, 2009 at 2:37 pm

    Thank you for this entry! As an Augsburg College student, I appreciate your intuitive understanding. Peter Agre, the Nobel Laureate who attended Augsburg, is just one example of how a small, or relatively unknown school (in that it’s not an Ivy League, or pseudo-Ivy League school) like Augsburg can produce extraordinary people. It is, as you say, all up to the individual. Why, just last year, Brian Krohn, a current Augsburg student, received enormous national attention for discovering a new, inexpensive method for producing bio-diesel.
    Again, thank you for this insightful post.

    Mnemosyne (Alison)
    Augsburg College Homemade
    http://www.augsburg.edu/homemade/

  2. Philip says:
    March 28, 2009 at 9:43 am

    Augsburg College sounds like a really great college. I haven’t had the pleasure of hearing about it. I was checking out the website, and I noticed the cost. The school I attend uses quarters(or terms) instead of semesters. There seems to be a big difference how credits are. Also, does the school charge differently depending on if the student is out of state or from inside the state? My school charges more to out of state students.
    It sounds like a wonderful school where students achieve great things.

    Thanks for the comment!

    -Philip

  3. Henry says:
    May 3, 2009 at 6:34 pm

    I have been very stressed and depressed through high school. Ivy-league was all i can think of and so did my parents. i felt if i didn’t go there i would let them down. every time i received a B in a class i would go into depression mode and think about how disappointed my parents and i would feel. i have always dreamed about having a good paying job that allows me to sit on a big chair behind a big desk, that could help support a big house and have no financial worries. i guess in a way, i feel like i didn’t work to my full potential and that if i did, i WOULD have gotten into the school of my choice…i don’t know i feel lost. I try to look at the situtation like you did but i feel like there is only a handful of people that apply…

  4. Philip says:
    May 3, 2009 at 7:36 pm

    Hi Henry,

    I know the feeling, trust me. I think I stressed out about school more than anyone else in my graduating class. I received two B’s through high school and each one of them hurt. I wanted to be the perfect student, but it just wasn’t possible. I ended up graduating with a good GPA but that didn’t guarantee me a place at any Ivy League college. I guess I thought it would all work out if I just got the grades but sadly I wasn’t able to get the scholarships too. I focused too much on my studies that I didn’t do community service or anything like that. I think if my GPA was lower but I was more involved in things such as being president of a club or volunteering more. These things that look better. Sometimes it doesn’t all depend on grades, so even if you did work to your full potential it doesn’t mean it would have gotten into a school of your choice.

    I ended up at a decent university, which I am happy with. I will admit I didn’t want to go there at first, but it was the nicest for in-state tuition. I now see that it isn’t the university that makes success, it is you. I wanted that big house and I really wanted to have no financial worries and I thought that the only road to that was through a nice school, but even a nice school doesn’t assure success. I suggest that you use any resources that you have. I assume you are at some school now? If so, use the resources you have such as clubs, teachers, programs. If you want to sit in a big chair behind a big desk then figure out how to do it. I would guess that you would want to be in a business, so look for business clubs, talk to professors that were in business. See what it takes to get your way in. You have potential, all you have to do is work. You haven’t failed, don’t worry

    I hope I helped a little. If you have any questions feel free to contact me. I am glad to help, and thanks for commenting.

  5. Tony says:
    June 12, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    I applied to 4 colleges: UCLA, Michigan Ann Arbor, Georgia Tech, and MIT. I got into the first 2, got a scholarship on the 3rd, and got rejected on the 4th. I ended up with the 3rd. To this day, I’m still “irked” primarily because (1) GT girls weren’t that great and (2) I love bragging rights. I love to say, “Oh yeah, i earned a huge scholarship,” but less is always more, so it’s simpler to say, “i’m from MIT.”

    anyway, i suppose it’s not that bad, since I did graduate GT debtless, then started working for NASA immediately after, which — from a logical point of view — is much better than graduating MIT with a $80K debt and maybe/maybe not working for NASA.

    I think also that…dreams require ambition, alot of getting back up, and alot of money. You mentioned “traveling” in your blog, which requires $$, even if you travel on cheap, which is why mostly older folks (>45) travel to Antarctica Cruises since they have that $8000 to spare.

  6. Philip says:
    June 12, 2009 at 1:29 pm

    It sounds like it ended up well for you. It is nice to have bragging rights, but would MIT have opened many doors for you? I assume that NASA was the job you were aiming for since you didn’t mention any other places. If that is the case then I am glad it worked out well for you.

    I think the biggest advantage was graduating without any debt. You are able to save for goals and not have that debt hanging over your head. The money that you would going towards those loans is going towards something you really want. That seems to be a big plus to me.

    Also, Dreams do require all the things that you mentioned. If you are creative enough and hard working then you will find ways to achieve your dreams. I am taking a trip this summer because I worked for it and saved for it. I had more advantages then some people that have more bills, but I didn’t buy needless things in order to save for it. I think it is possible at a young age, but it is harder.

    Thank you for your opinions, they are very good points.

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