A happy life is all about managing expectations. If you matriculate at Harvard, great things are expected of you. And if you don’t do great things, are you a disappointment?
Education has been on my mind a lot lately because of my new jobs as a high school tennis coach and as a stay at home dad who is worried about not providing proper guidance. I’ve seen first hand the grind my student athletes go through and I sometimes wonder whether it’s all worth it. Supposedly my high school is one of the best in the city, yet not every graduate goes to a university like Harvard.
I pick on Harvard because it’s the most well known university in the world and also costs about $63,025 annually in tuition, room, and board if you receive no aid. I’m assuming if you went to Harvard, you won’t be offended by this article because you’ve got the golden carpet rolled out for you compared to a field littered with land mines for the rest of us. But you can substitute any elite private university in the title, and the point is the same.
Using the word “nobody” is admittedly harsh, but I come from the viewpoint that for at least 13 years after college, I was a nobody, busy working in banking. Yes, banking is an integral part of making an economy work, much like oil is to a car engine. However, at the end of the day, all I was doing was helping institutions get wealthier. Sad, but I’m trying my best to improve. Yet, still, I am a nobody.
If you attend a school like Harvard, you must go on to do great things. With an acceptance rate of only 5.4%, you aren’t allowed to retire early and waste your potential, be a stay at home parent before age 32, work the same job as someone who went to State U, or morph into some highly opinionated personal finance blogger who enjoys stoking the fire. Now that you can learn everything online for free, the stakes for achieving greatness have never been higher!
The purpose of this article is to:
1) Challenge our unhealthy desire for prestige and money
2) Reassess the pressure cooker environment we put our kids through
3) Discover what actual Harvard graduates do for a living
4) Encourage our smartest people to do more productive things with their lives
5) Give folks who’ve been rejected from elite universities and coveted jobs hope that anything is possible
6) Go beyond the act of giving money by spending more time helping people directly
7) Encourage schools to encourage their graduates to broaden their career prospects
Profiles Of Those Who Went To An Elite School
We only hear about famous people who went to Harvard. You know, people like the 43rd POTUS George W. Bush, the “inventor” of the internet Al Gore, Chairman of the Fed Ben Bernanke, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Academy Award winner actress Natalie Portman, former First Lady Michelle Obama, the 35th POTUS John F Kennedy, unabomber Ted Kacznski and NBA basketball player Jeremy Lin.
But what about the thousands of graduating alumni Harvard spits out every year? What do they do? Let’s find out through a semi-random sampling of LinkedIn profiles online. To get my search started, I chose one person I know who went to Harvard and then clicked forward to see what her fellow classmates ended up doing.
My sample set is admittedly biased as someone with a finance background who therefore knows more finance people than average, but let’s see where the rabbit hole goes. I’ve changed some of the dates and tidbits to protect the identity of these random folks. If you think I’m talking about you, I’m not!
Profile #1
Harvard College
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Occupation: Investment banking and private equity before b-school, private equity tech investor at TPG after b-school
Thoughts: She mentioned to me during a summer associate internship that she was not going to b-school for the main purpose of making money after I asked whether she’s going back to private equity after graduation. With an air of nobility she said, “Sam, life is not just about making money you know?” She then decided to go back into private equity and is now a VP making even more money. This career profile is the quintessential and stereotypical pedigree of an elite private school graduate.
Profile #2
Tufts University
Harvard MBA
Occupation: Clorox marketing manager, Twitter marketing manager, self-employed, brand strategy at a Willamette Valley vineyard
Thoughts: Not many people think about working at an old-school consumer products company after getting a Harvard MBA, but Clorox has one of the best management training programs. But if you think about it, how excited can you really be marketing a toilet bowl cleaning wand as your career? She joined Twitter soon after IPO, but since the stock has done poorly, the company went through several rounds of layoffs and I suspect she was a casualty given her year of self-employment afterward. But now, she has a pretty cool job marketing wine and living a relaxing life!
Profile #3
Harvard College
Dartmouth MBA
Occupation: Goldman Sachs, CLSA MD
Thoughts: Another standard career path for those who attend Ivy league universities. He was a great guy who caught an error in my resume when I was interviewing. I got the dates mixed up. I’m just surprised he’s still working since he was at GS for years before GS went public in 1999, and has worked for 25+ years now. I wonder whether he went through a divorce or something else is going on.
Profile #4
Philips Academy Andover: Prestigious northeast private high school
Harvard College
Occupation: McKinsey Consulting analyst, VP of Operations at failed e-commerce startup, founder of clothing startup that needs funding
Thoughts: McKinsey is one of the hardest places to get a job after college due to their infamous case study interviews and brainteasers e.g. how many jelly beans can fit inside a Boeing 747 and why? After McKinsey, he spent five years working at one of the biggest flameouts in e-commerce history where the company raised over $300M and was valued at over $1B before getting acquired for less than $30M. Good for him for utilizing what he learned to start his own e-commerce company. But without another round of funding this year, it’s highly likely his business will dissolve and he’ll end up burning through lots of his own cash. Running in place for 10 years is tough.
Profile #5
Yale University undergrad
Yale University Masters
Harvard College PhD
Occupation: Analytics for a startup, analyst for a mobile gaming startup, director of growth for a startup, head of growth for another startup, venture capital, self-employed
Thoughts: I’m absolutely blown away by his resume. I was strongly considering getting a PhD after I left the private sector in 2012, but realized I was too dumb and impatient. The weird thing is, after all his education, he went on to join companies that have nothing to do with what he learned. I can do analytics and growth marketing with the best of them since I run my own site. His path makes me feel that getting a PhD is too costly a career move today. With his resume, I would be seriously disappointed with my career so far.
Profile #6
Yale University
Occupation: Forbes 30 Under 30, Started a social media advertising company that rebranded after six years because they needed a change in direction (code for things aren’t working as planned)
Thoughts: I’m always impressed with the Forbes X Under X crowd. Yale has a 6.3% acceptance rate and is right up there with Harvard in terms of prestige. The advertising technology space is very hard because the margins are so thin and Google and Facebook are the oligopoly players. I tried creating my own online advertising network and did OK for about two years before I got undercut. It doesn’t look like her company will ever get acquired, which stinks b/c for six years, I’m sure she and her co-founders weren’t paying themselves a market rate salary. They could have worked in tech, banking or consulting and probably made 3X more in the same time frame. But all the same, props to anybody who starts a company and makes it last for over six years!
Harvard graduates expected starting salary looks similar to all other graduate starting salary expectations
Profile #7
Harvard University: Math major, Phi Beta Kapa
Occupation: Co-founder of the social media ad startup with the Yale main founder, but left to start his own fintech company providing cheaper retirement plans for companies. Y Combinator backed.
Thoughts: After he realized the adtech startup wasn’t going to flourish, he applied to the famous startup incubator, Y Combinator, got in and launched his own fintech company that serves to reduce 401k administration fees. He raised a $3.5M seed round in 2016, and we shall see what happens! I’m completely biased for people who start a company, get into an incubator, raise money, and try and create something out of nothing. The vast majority fail, even with smart backers, but it’s still impressive all the same. I just wonder whether it’s necessary to go to Harvard or Yale to start a company?
Profile #8
Punahou: Hawaii private grade school
Harvard College
Occupation: TV anchor at Bloomberg
Thoughts: Punahou is the school I’d love for my son to attend if we move back to Hawaii. It’s K-12, which makes it much more convenient once you get in compared to schools in SF where you’ve got to reapply for high school after K – 8. The cost is about $20,500 a year, which is 60% cheaper than private schools in SF and NYC. This Harvard graduate is doing a bang up job as the anchor of Bloomberg West. I like her profile the most, probably because she always has a cheery disposition, kind of like your Facebook friend’s curated pictures.
Profile #9
Harvard College
Harvard MBA
Occupation: Credit Suisse before b-school, McKinsey after b-school
Thoughts: Most graduates just stick to the finance path or the strategy consulting path. So it’s rare to see him try both. It feels like he’s still trying to figure out what he really wants to do in life given he’s still in his 20s. Understandable, but once again, I’m left wondering how we can encourage the smartest people on Earth to do more to help other people rather than to chase money.
Profile #10
Greenwich Academy: Private high school
Harvard College: Majored in Art History
Occupation: Reporter at The NYT, founded a subscription based tech news site
Thoughts: Pretty neat to have worked for The NYT and then do something entrepreneurial in her field of expertise. Subscription based news websites are tough because most of the news you can read for free or can be shared for free. But all you need is 10,000 subscribers paying $100 a year to earn $1,000,000 in revenue, and perhaps $500,000 a year in take home pay. I’ve just decided to go the 100% free model because there’s only upside when you’re at the bottom! I really like people who take what they’ve learned from their day jobs and try to do something on their own. I wish more people did this because there’s so much inefficiency with larger corporations.
Profile #11
I’olani School – Private high school in Honolulu, main competitor to Punahou
Dartmouth College
Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Occupation: venture capital fundraising, private equity fundraising, account executive for a software company (8 months), consultant for a small CRM company (9 months), business development manager at a food delivery startup.
Thoughts: I’m thoroughly disappointed. After 19 years of private school and $600,000 in tuition, the guy ended up at a company that has already raised a Series D round. Even if the company goes public, he’s unlikely going to make a large amount of money joining so late in the game. Food delivery companies have come under siege lately (Bento Now went under, Sprig went under, Munchery laid off a bunch of workers etc). If his company was figuring out how to deliver food more efficiently and profitably to help feed people at the bottom of the pyramid, that would be amazing. But it’s not.
Profile #12
Phillips Exeter Academy
Harvard College
Stanford University Masters, Computer Science
Occupation: Goldman Sachs (1.5 years), international gaming company (3 years), Blizzard Entertainment producer (3 years), founder of own game company (3.5 years) before it shut down, founded another game company (4 years) but its game is still in beta.
Thoughts: I went to middle school with him and thought he was a great guy. His parents were wealthy and he was super smart. He had a great gig at Blizzard, the producer of the mega hit game World of Warcraft. He could have stayed and got paid extremely well. But he decided to go the entrepreneurial route, which is always admirable. Because his family is wealthy, he can afford to go for seven years without making much money. This is one of the key competitive advantages of the wealthy, being able to take risks without financial ruin. But frankly, it’s a disappointment that after almost four years, his game is a bust. Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart.
Overall Harvard Alumni Snapshot
Now that you’ve read my not so arbitrary 11 profiles of Harvard and other Ivy League alumni, let me share with you the Harvard graduate data provided by LinkedIn. It’s a good idea to type in your school of choice and read their snapshot before attending. Let’s take a look.
LinkedIn profile of 201,507 Harvard Alumni
There’s a lot of misinformation in the graphs due to mislabeling, but we learn the following:
* The Boston Area is ranked first in terms of where most Harvard alum end up working. So you’ve got to wonder why Boston isn’t more of an economic powerhouse like New York City, London, or the San Francisco Bay Area. Boston is relatively cheap compared to other major international cities.
* New York City, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles are the main cities of employment for Harvard alum.
* Google, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, IBM, BCG, Morgan Stanley, Amazon, and Bain are the most common employers. All the others listed in the employers column have to do with education.
* Business Development is the most common role. Business Development basically is a catchall phrase for those who try to build new business partnerships with other companies to grow revenue, profits, and exposure. For example, the Business Development role at Financial Samurai may entail building new advertising relationships with products in the retirement space. Biz Dev requires financial acumen, social skills, negotiating skills, and product knowledge. It’s a good role to be in before you start your own company. I’m surprised Education is higher than Entrepreneurship, since everybody wants to be their own boss.
In contrast, take a look at the graduate profile on LinkedIn of my alma mater, William & Mary in Virginia. There’s a definite geographic bias towards the East Coast and it looks like consulting companies are the main employers. I’m proud to see Education and Community and Social Services right up there in the What they do column. Check out your school’s profile as well.
William & Mary
Be Somebody
One of the most peculiar situations I found myself in was rejecting Harvard University and other Ivy League applicants for summer internships or financial analyst jobs at Goldman Sachs between 1999 – 2001. Goldman made all employees, regardless of their seniority, actively participate in the interview process in order to maintain our tight culture.
Here I was, a guy who absolutely would not have gotten into Harvard if I applied, rejecting guys and gals who would run circles around me in school. I’d most likely whip them on the tennis court, but tennis wasn’t a prerequisite to get a job in banking, or was it? There’s something to be said for hiring well-rounded individuals instead of robots.
Google, McKinsey, Microsoft, Amazon and the likes are all amazing companies with plenty of elite university graduates. But at the end of the day, what exactly are you doing with all that education and your top 0.1% brain? Is your life’s purpose to figure out how to best optimize an online ad? Is your calling to provide senior management reasons why they should fire 25% of their work force to optimize profits? Are you seriously pumped to wake up each morning to figure out how to best improve on demand food delivery times? Come on. There’s got to be more to work than making lots of money.
Haben Girma, a legally blind and deaf Harvard Law graduate who is fighting to make America more accessible to the roughly 49 million disabled
The most fulfilling work directly helps someone in need. Compared to someone who works mainly for money and prestige, you will never feel burnt out and will never burn out as long as you are making a difference in someone else’s life. Helping people in need is what Haben Girm, a legally blind and deaf Harvard Law graduate is doing. She has dedicated her life to making the workplace, technology, and life in general more accessible to the roughly 49 million disabled people in America (~15% of the population).
The joy I observe from my fellow teachers is next level compared to the joy and excitement I witness from my finance, consulting, law, and techie friends. I wasn’t lucky enough to realize this truth until I was in my 30s. Better late than never.
Although it’s nice to donate money once you’ve made enough money, the people who are most inspiring are the teachers, professors, social workers, and non-profit advocates of the world. They are the ones who often help the most, but curiously get paid the least. And then there are the research scientists and doctors who are actually utilizing their incredible intelligence to give people hope.
If you didn’t get into a school like Harvard, be thankful! Once you’re in the vortex, it’s almost impossible to break free. And if you did attend Harvard or the like, major props to you. Utilize your intellectual gift by doing something the rest of us could never imagine!
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WOW I LOVE this post!! I didn’t even apply to Harvard because I knew I wouldn’t get in. I really admire those who go to top universities and those who don’t but still excel in life. It takes a lot of dedication and willpower to achieve something most people haven’t.
Ibanking and consulting were the only two career tracks I was obsessed until I was a sophomore. Financial Accounting and Financial Theory put an end to my Finance career path. I’m perfectly happy where I am now, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I had stuck it out for longer. It does make me feel like a failure sometimes giving up on something i desperately wanted to do. Maybe I’m just not smart enough. Oh well, life goes on. >_<
Hi Sam –
Interesting article and approach.
Taking it down a level further, in addition to what institution one attends, what are your thoughts about what DEGREE level and/or study area one obtains? Do you think similar pressures exist?
I’ve seen the same pressure mindset also based on:
1. What level of education is acquired
(undergrad, masters, PhD, etc.).
2. What the major or area of study is in (business, technology, liberal arts, etc.).
Being a “liberal artist” working in financial services (middle / back office functions) from a large public state university, I felt pressured to have to prove myself to business and management majors when I joined the industry 10 years ago. From my perspective, it seems this has been less important as I’ve progressed in my career because experience and work results weigh more heavily the longer I’ve been out of school.
Thanks.
I went to one of the “elite” colleges you mentioned and would like to offer my perspective.
Harvard or other elite colleges is not the be-all and end-all all that some people make it out to be. However in finance, as you know, while Wall Street firms reject plenty of Harvard applicants, they also typically only interview at a few select institutions. Getting onto Wall Street without going to one of those colleges is extraordinarily difficult.
From the medical school perspective, I would argue that it is no easier to get into medical school from Harvard or other elite colleges then it would be from your state school. Like at all colleges, Harvard and other elite colleges have many graduates who aspired to become physicians as freshman, only to be weeded out by the premed process. I have found that medical schools give little weight to the college you went to.
-WSP
Hi Wall Street Physician,
Regarding your second point (paragraph 2 – med school) if I knew I would have done it differently looking back. But, there is a purpose for everything in life.
Thank you for providing advice to a 25-year-old. I hope you can continue to provide good advice.
I went to a large public university and at least for me, after you get into a position at work, nobody cares where you went to school. If anything those that lead with where they went to school get made fun of. It’s almost like grow up, nobody cares where you went, I want to know what you can do now. So in my organization we don’t have a ton of tolerance for those that try to play the elite university card.
I went to a public state university for both my undergrad and MBA – I think the biggest thing coming out of these elite universities is the alumni network, something I don’t feel is as strong coming out of a public school that graduates so many more people.
Yay for low expectations!
Sam,
I don’t disagree with your thoughts and opinion, but Ivy League schools wouldn’t be what they are without the track records their graduates have produced over their histories.
One thing that needs to be included in this analysis is the intangibles that come with any advanced degree. Some of these would be:
– Alumni network (Apathy Ends mentioned this in a previous post)
– Carrying weight of that institution on paper. If we look at the available jobs from, a macro standpoint, we have been in an environment where the employed are leaving for higher paying jobs. Career experience and where you received your degree(s) carry weight when it comes to the resume vetting process. Most won’t admit it, but this happens regularly.
– This is more of a mushy one, but one thing to consider would be parallel universes. If one hadn’t gone to that school, they may not have met their spouse and had the children they have, or the jobs they have, or live where they live. This is a stretch, I know, but I met my wife in college and we have two wonderful girls. Was the $120k education for both of us worth it? Considering our jobs and the parallel universe theory, I would say absolutely.
Thanks for posting and making FS enjoyable!
Max
Hi Max,
If I went to an Ivy League university, I would never have met my spouse either, and I would be forever sad because of it. I enjoy my alumni network, but it is my job network (finance, media, entrepreneur) and tennis network that are way way more important than my school network.
I don’t know anybody who cares for the weight of their institution on paper, except for new grads, current students, or folks who feel lost or have not gotten on a path they want yet. Those are the people who tell you within 7 sentences where they went to school when first meeting. Then I try to slip away.
Regards,
Sam
I don’t mean to sound callous but – if you never meant someone, can one really be sad about that? I can see wondering maybe who else is out there – but sad??
I love reading your insightful work product – thanks for putting it out there.
No, but I’m responding to a hypothetical with a hypothetical. How about you? What educational and career path did you take?
“The most fulfilling work directly helps someone in need. You will NEVER feel burnt out and will NEVER burn out as long as you are making a difference in someone else’s life. I wasn’t lucky enough to realize this until I was in my 30s. Better late than never.”
Mostly true. I think if you make very little money the financial stress can cause you to burn out. I’ve seen this happen to social workers.
I went to Michigan (BA Psych), Duke (MBA), and Villanova part-time (Masters in Comp Sci). Even before I FIREd, I never felt pressure to be a somebody. I do remember after I graduated from Michigan that I felt I was ENTITLED to be somebody which was a really bad attitude. I learned the hard way that I was entitled to nothing.
I know in engineering you have a massive advantage coming out of school if you have a degree from an elite university. If your resume says MIT you are getting an interview. However, I worked with some engineers from MIT and while they were good engineers I never saw them shoot laser beams out of their eyes. Not really fair for me to expect them to but based on everything you hear about kids from these schools you do create unrealistic expectations.
“The most fulfilling work directly helps someone in need.” I love this.
I went to a very small, liberal arts college where we studied a Great Books program. Four years of no textbooks, only original text great books with Socratic method classes, Euclidean proofs on a chalk board and a Senior Thesis we had to defend in front of a panel of professors.
I jumped from there into a job in business and have found a fascinating career! My employer took a risk on me by hiring a liberal arts major with no business experience, but they saw the benefits of the critical thinking training and the ability to analyze and communicate well. It was a far cry from an Ivy League pedigree, but it has paid itself back + a lot in my 5 years of working so far!
Has to be Saint John’s College–I went there too!
Now I work in tech sales and am having a lot of fun.
A surprising amount of Johnnies from my time have ended up in some pretty prestigious jobs, but — most of them came from old money families who could afford to send them to get a master’s at one of those schools that Sam is talking about. The College is a backdoor into grad programs at those Universities–if you can afford it…
But wow was that a great education
Wow! This post is really making me second-guess some things… I have an 18-year-old that got excepted and is going to Boston University. That private school is almost as much is Harvard… But for what? Not the same league as the elite schools. My husband and I have saved for years for our kids education, very very important to us as we both have secondary degrees and my husband has his own business. We are in Chicago & my daughter wants to spread her wings elsewhere. She got invited as part of the university to study abroad in London her first year.
We have 3 kids total. Advice?
Given he’s already decided to go to BU, the only thing you can do is manage her expectations. Maybe don’t tell him it costs and arm and a leg, and have him do research on LinkedIn like I’ve done to see the areas, industries, and companies alumni are in.
What an opportunity to go to London her first year already! It depends on your family finances. Can you afford all this? If so, might as well give your kids every educational opportunity possible.
If you feel stretched, please focus next on U Mass instead of Boston U! Because if the Harvard kids are routinely rejected from the top jobs, it’s more the same, and then some for the none Harvard kids.
Thank you!!!!
You are right about the pressure on kids nowadays. I see it all the time, sports etc.
I went to a small liberal arts college for my BS & MS degrees in Education. My doctorate is from a larger private university that is highly regarded in our area. I originally thought my doctorate would take me further along the more “defined” path in education – building level administration to district level administration with maybe some adjunct college teaching along the way. But right after I got my doctorate in 2011, I found the financial independence/early retirement movement and realized that the financial habits we had in place would allow us to retire early in a few years. My focus shifted from using my doctorate in a traditional school setting to allowing me to take professor positions in different universities for a few years – just to try something new and have fun. I can also teach online for universities with the doctorate (which is required by most accredited institutions.) But now I realize that my time and giving back to others are what I want most. I need to take care of myself first to do that though – and I haven’t always been good at putting me first. My hopes for my kids? Attend “good enough” colleges – and to find jobs they enjoy and while enjoying life too, (while keeping focused on not working forever.) As a side note – I’ve interviewed hundreds of teacher candidates. Our committees rarely took into consideration what college they attended…
As someone who goes through applications and hires people now for my job, I don’t care much where people went to school. Granted I’m in a creative field, but college is one of the last things I pay attention to. I went to a very average state school in Michigan that most people never heard of. I never had problems getting a job really because of where I went to school (save for during the recession). Perhaps making something like 400k or higher is not that important to me. Just one person’s thought!
I think there may be a slight aversion to people who graduated from Harvard in the Bay Area. I am not sure why but I have seen it a few times. I had a good friend who started a company here and hired a couple of Harvard grads that all turned out to be duds. After that, he was less apt to hire them. I also know a community college grad who has gone on and is building a successful company. Goes to show you schooling isn’t everything, but the connections you make there can definitely help later in life.
I have a feeling it has everything to do with expectations. The hiring manager probably had very high expectations, and when he realized the performance was just like everybody else (fine), then their performance might actually look terrible. After all, they went to Harvard. Surely they must be able to do something more special than everybody else in the workplace.
I just want to point out that Boston is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in, and in the top 5 in the US. It’s also the most expensive city in the US to visit. I’m not sure how that changes your analysis but it’s an assumption on which you missed the mark.
The Boston median home price is about $560,000, or 60% cheaper than San Francisco’s median home price and 70% cheaper than Manhattan’s home median price. These are big differences. Do you disagree?
I do like it when readers focus on very specific details of a post, so let’s get deep on this one! Thx
You said that Boston is relatively cheap compared to other major international cities and that since more Harvard alums end up there, it should be more of an economic powerhouse when compared to those cities. I don’t see where you dispute that Boston is among the top 5 most expensive cities in the US, and wonder if you’d dispute that it’s among the top 5 economic powerhouses in the US. I guess I struggle with what your conclusion is – Boston is not Manhattan, for sure, but are you suggesting that it should be, given how many Harvard alums are here? I’d argue, instead, that Boston punches far above it’s weight class in the characteristics you mention. The fact that Harvard is in the Boston area, and that therefore it’s logical that many settle here as a matter of circumstance, is a confounding variable that you didn’t address. If you agree with this variable, then the smaller subset of Harvard alums are producing a far greater impact than what your conclusion suggests.
What’s even more amazing is that San Francisco is one of the cheapest international cities in the world, making Boston dirt cheap on a global context. See:
The Cheapest International City In The World
Why Is Property So Cheap Compared To The Rest Of The World
What city do you live in and what is your educational background. Thanks so much for sharing to get some perspective of where you’re coming from.
Boston is not dirt cheap on a global context. Boston is dirt cheap as compared to a tiny subset of cities for which several variables make them expensive. I’m even more confused by what your conclusion is, now. I thought that you were trying to conclude that Boston hasn’t benefited economically from its higher proportion of Harvard alums than have other international cities and that you’re using metrics like those of an “economic powerhouse” and cost of living as a yard stick. Let me propose a different way of looking at your analysis. If Harvard wasn’t in the Boston area, by what factor do you think it would affect its economy? I’d suggest that it would be far greater than that of other cities. The fact that Boston leads the world in biomedical research and is either 1 or 2 in venture funding in that industry is almost wholly attributed to Harvard. The conclusion I submit to you is that Boston punches far above its weight class by any of your measures and your analysis supports the fact that Harvard has a big role in this.
I’m not sure what my educational or geographic background provide in terms of context to the discussion, but feel free to let me know how it helps support or refute this data.
Have you never traveled outside of the country? Boston is cheap compared to so many other international cities like London, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai, soul, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, etc. There are at least 100 other international cities that are much more expensive than Boston.
Try to travel more and you’ll gain a broader perspective. Harping on something where are you are absolutely wrong is stupid, especially given your background.
I’d say the crappy weather and the rise of cities like San Francisco over the past 20 years, (and the west coast in general, I.e. Seattle & Portland), have resulted in Boston being the second or third choice for many. On the east coast New York is…well New York; and if you’re interested in government or public policy, DC is the obvious destination.
I went to a state school mostly because of money but it also had a good track record of placement in the workforce. If you have family money, going to an ivy league school is the obvious choice (if you can get in) and it will pay dividends down the road.
For most people, I think state schools are the obvious choice. Especially for a Bachelor’s degree you can’t beat the ROI of a state school. Will you have the connections of an ivy league school? No but if your family can’t afford to send you to an ivy college, you will be saddled with an obscene amount of debt that will hold you down for years to come.
Another part you left out is the career services of schools.
If I take a look at my school (Villanova) vs where my brother or wife went to school (Small schools in NJ) – the difference in career services was night and day. We had every major investment bank come for on campus interviews, as well as every defense contracting company in the area, and tons of other great companies (J&J, etc).
For my brother and wife – they had no such opportunities.
Also – if you are surrounded by high achievers – it makes you become a high achiever ala keeping up with the jones’s affect. When I saw my classmates getting jobs up to 6-8 months before gradutation – it was really pushing me to do the same. I was freaking out by not having an offer 6 months before graduation. Ultimately this pushed me into finding a good job way ahead of time.
These two things you will get at a ‘better’ school, and Villanova isn’t even a top top school (Top 10 Undergrad engineering atleast)…
You can obviously have a very fulfilling life no matter where you go to school. But you won’t have the same amount of debt… I was lucky enough to escape undergrad and law school with pretty minimal debt and a good job, but lots of people weren’t so lucky (and it really was in large degree luck–people who were smarter than me and harder workers just didn’t end up with a job for some reason…). I went to a regional law school, where all the students are competing for a much smaller pool of potential jobs, so even though I gambled with less debt, my chances of getting a job were much lower. For people going into the “normal” prestigious careers, like law, finance, etc., I wonder if most would be better off just starting their own businesses. I doubt many people graduate and feel completely fulfilled with their job as a corporate M/A lawyer… But maybe I just have a jaded view–law has certainly opened a lot of doors for me financially.
You still face risks of not getting a job, even going to a prestigious school, but you know for sure how much debt you’re going to graduate with. It’s like being massively levered on a piece of real estate. If everything goes well, you’ll have a great return, but if not, things won’t be so pretty. Good luck to all the students graduating with a hugely unfair (in my opinion) weight of debt!
Hey Sam, I really like the approach and insights of this post. Especially the last few paragraphs. Having graduated and been working for the past 7 years, I finally started thinking more about what’s my “life’s purpose”? I work in finance (for a fund to be specific), there’s gotta be more than chasing money and helping fund managers get richer.
I went to an elite college (Remin University) in Beijing, and was completely disgusted by the competition and lack of passions. I later transferred to a tier 2 college in the US, and more and more I am thankful for that experience.
My goal is to live a more fulfilling and purposed life. The short-term goal is to focus on my family and relationships. I believe the Asian culture tend to focus a lot less on family and rather being caught up in the rat race. It’s all about the prestigious schools and high-salaries. I am hoping to change that a little starting with myself.
Thanks for the post and the inspirations.
Who said you need to go to Harvard to come up with such a clever name? Great name!
人民大学的学生有没有对北京大学的学生有所嫉妒？我大三的时候上了北京师范大学。当时，北京只有三环路。我还记得跟我的同学只找到车到故宫去顺便停在马路旁边吃羊肉串跟喝燕京啤酒。这是1997年的时候。没想到北京会通过这么快的发的。我有点后悔大学以后没有去大陆创业。
Haha, thanks Sam.
人民大學出了名的就是很多可能能進北大或清華的人,因為不敢冒險所以選了人大.結果後悔一輩子,甚至一輩子走不出這個陰影. 其實是很可悲的.
北京發展的真的很誇張.我很幸運地在2008當北京奧運的志願者,看到很多幕後花絮. 有時候我也會有點後悔沒待在國內發展, 但是我還是覺得很幸運能來到美國. 西方的思想還是跟東方很不一樣. 你自己也很厲害尤其能給我們大家這個多的資訊和新的思維. 我很為你驕傲也跟很多國內的朋友說要跟你多學學.
请问您是到了美国之后学繁体字的吗？
哈哈 我是台灣的 不過我12歲的時候就搬到上海了！
> The weird thing is, after all his education, he went on to join companies that have nothing to do with what he learned…With his resume, I would be seriously disappointed with my career so far.
You do not understand the point of a PhD. The point of a PhD is to learn how to independently approach and solve unsolved problems…regardless of one’s specific field.
Getting a PhD is certainly not cost effective because you can make plenty of money solving someone else’s solvable problems.
Thanks for sharing. I thought that was the point of the MBA.
I don’t have a PhD, therefore I cannot speak for those with PhDs. I can only read feedback from those with PhDs in my PhD post. Do you have a PhD? If so, in what field? And has your PhD helped you solve problems more efficiently? What type of problems did you solve or are looking to solve?
Thx
> Do you have a PhD? What are looking to solve?
Yes, and I’m now a professor. I choose my own problems to solve.
> in my PhD post
You should have a False Benefits category that includes everything in Benefits except for Education and Community.
Most PhD students will not achieve what they dreamed; they will instead feel as though they struggled and failed. Credibility, Prestige, and Opportunity are all then tinged with that sense of struggle and failure.
Very cool, and props to you for getting your PhD! Truly, it is no easy feat. Given what you say about this appointment, do you recommend people get their PhD’s today? What are some specific ways your PhD has helped you think better than before you got a PhD?
I know my MBA has given me very critical thinking skills that I’ve always tried to make me take action. Because with no action, what’s the point?
I think one’s degree of success in college is usually more important than the name of the college. I’m a surgeon, and I went to a small liberal arts college and graduated with a high GPA. A few high school buddies of mine went to Harvard and Harvard-equivalent colleges and graduated with significantly lower GPA’s (my friends are probably smarter than me, but Harvard is obviously a harder school and more competitive than where I attended). I was accepted into several medical schools, both state and private, and my friends weren’t accepted into any medical schools out of college … they had to get master degrees, spend years in research labs, etc, just to get into medical school.
And again, how well you do in medical school is more important than the name of the medical school (medical education is regulated so all med school grads receive basically the same education. Therefore, I chose the more cost efficient state medical school route). Residencies after medical school are very competitive. Graduating from the top of your med school class will greatly increase your odds of getting into a competitive residency program and the name of your medical school really doesn’t matter. So the #1 grad from a state med school will have a better chance at a competitive residency program than a doctor graduating from the middle or bottom of an Ivy League med school.
I’m with you on this, but I feel perhaps it has to do with the medical field? I’m a pharmacist (got my Doctorate at USC) and did well at a public University (UC Riverside) while my peers did mediocre at top schools like UCLA, UCSD, Berkeley, etc. I got into every pharmacy school I applied to while many of my peers didn’t get in or were wait-listed. But I’m also sure it had to do with the fact that I was a more well-rounded candidate than a typical candidate that was a Bio major and worked in a lab as extra curriculars.
I met a few pharmacists that went to Ivy league schools for their bachelors and I always felt like they wasted a ton of money. IMO, for the medical field… it really doesn’t matter what school you went to. It may only help initially with your alumni network and getting your foot in the door with an employer… but after a few years, experience/skills will matter most.
School is important but isn’t everything. I like the stories of high school dropouts who go on to achieve great things (such as Richard Branson). If you stay motivated and focused in your adult life you’ll have a chance no matter what your education was.
Looking back to high school… I was always in the middle camp where I was too dumb to hang with the Honors / AP students, but was smarter than the average student. Instead of always feeling dumb with the smart kids, I dropped all my AP classes and just coasted through the regular curriculum.
I’m 34 now and feel further ahead than most of my Honors/AP peers. Hard work and drive will always take you farther than an unmotivated, lazy smart ass.
George W. Bush went to Yale for his undergrad and Harvard Business School for his MBA. In my view, the article implies “if you go to Harvard” as in “if you go to Harvard for your undergrad” and not either/or.
This calls into question the overall Harvard alumni snapshot chart – are those LinkedIn profiles reflecting Harvard undergrad or both that and the Business School.
Anecdotally, my experience is that HBS is really good at picking students that will be successful regardless of where they did their undergrad.
Food for thought – thank you to the Financial Samurai for compiling all this.
More food for thought: is going to Harvard undergrad better than going to Harvard for graduate school? It seems that if one is a pedigree snob, one only looks at the latest degree they have achieved.
If given the choice between Harvard undergrad and Harvard grad, it seems obvious Harvard grad is the better option because jobs after grad school pay better (on average, across fields) and undergrad is generally viewed as a first filter of ability and conformism.
Thought-provoking post, Sam. I have a two-sided perspective on this topic as a graduate of one of your named state schools and an Ivy League doctoral program. Many of your observations are spot-on in my experience.
When considering post-graduation outcomes for graduate schools, it also seems appropriate to assess the type of graduate program as their cash, opportunity costs, and career pathways will differ tremendously. An MBA ($200k cost and 2 years away from full-time work) versus a PhD in a STEM area from a top school (value of $300-400k over 4-5 years between waived tuition, annual stipend, and health care) expectedly have a very different calculus if you’re examining the value of a given education using just cold, hard numbers. Ivy programs have extremely well-worn paths to the top consultancies and investment banks, and observing my colleagues and their placement rates suggests you don’t need to try that hard to get in…one could argue that this speaks as much to an individual’s risk profile as it does to their ambition to have a truly impactful career arc.
I will say that your point on expectations rings true far more with the Ivy pedigree versus my state school experience. The conversations about prestigious pathways and being a world changer start long before graduation at the Ivy. Interestingly, I’ve found there are many administrators and faculty who are vested in students pursuing specific pathways due to legacy building, which may partially explain some of the outcomes you outlined from your LinkedIn data pull. I chose a path (entrepreneurship) that is a double whammy because that is a non-traditional path for graduates in general from the school and certainly unusual for doctoral graduates, who normally go on to academic careers at an alarming rate.
If anything, Sam, I think that if you did your PhD, that would quash once and for all your dalliances with going back to the private sector and working for someone else. My PhD experience came with weird hours, but allowed me to spend more time with my family than ever before, thus cementing my desire to have a career that gives me the flexibility to be anywhere I want, anytime I want.
My oldest son graduated from Yale about 10 years ago. He did well there and works in finance ( of course he does). As one commenter noted, these elite schools attract the big companies to campus. His initial plan was medicine, but he realized he hated blood and needles and switched gears his sophomore year. I am sure he was influenced by the campus culture to go into finance as well. Even many of the engineers wound up on Wall Street. I was upset that he chose money making over contributing to society. He is super smart and could have gone on to do something amazing- but he likes his job and his life so who am I to argue. He did have a few friends who didn’t have any career goals and they did flounder awhile but that Yale degree does open doors .
Thanks for sharing, and congratulations for us and getting into Yale.
I’m glad he’s enjoying what he does, because many people secretly or openly do not, especially in the banking and strategic consulting fields. Burn out is high. Comparing yourself to a colleague who got a bigger bonus or a faster promotion make people miserable.
The good thing is that you should be making enough to become financially independent at an early age if he saves and invest wisely. Then he has options to do other things if you so choosers, including something that is more beneficial to society.
As a parent, what were some of the things you did to help get him into Yale?
He was always very bright, even in nursery school. We chose to live in a good school district, made sure he was in a school that “tracked” kids who were bright, e.g. allowed them to take advanced track classes, that led to AP classes in high school. He had music lessons, and went to some really interesting summer programs. I was always investigating summer programs for “bright” kids.. So he attended summer science camp at the age of 14, went to a Johns Hopkins summer program at 15 (was classmates with Mark Zuckerberg, we still have the program directory !), went to Cornell summer college, then participated in a local summer science research program summer before senior year in high school. So I guess you could say we spent a lot of money on his summer experiences. We did the same for our 2 other children as well. In addition, it was funny, but all of the moms of the “high achievers” kind of stuck together and mentored each other about the ins and outs of high school and applying to college. I also helped him edit his college essays, and my husband schlepped him around to look at colleges from age 16 . Helps to see the prize at the end of the journey. Luckily we had the means to let him go wherever he wanted to, but he did not need much pushing; he was highly motivated.
Got it! So another words, nurture accounts a great deal! That’s good to hear, because as responsible parents, we want to know that our efforts actually make a difference.
Why didn’t he go to Harvard? :-)
He hated it! Felt that Yale was more focused on the undergraduates. Honestly, he was number 3 in his class, (number 1 if you unweighted for APs), had good, not great, scores (700 math, 760 verbal), tons of leadership positions at school, won a lot of high school awards, 34 on all ACT sections, played clarinet well, etc. etc. He probably could have gone almost anywhere (maybe not MIT or California Inst, of Tech). He applied early decision which helped a lot too. The night he got accepted, I cried, and told him he had the golden ring, and his life would never be the same. He would probably agree. Has many amazing friends he is still close to (one started a magnet school!), and has had success beyond anything we could have imagined. He is a real saver, and probably could retire early, but he really likes his job as of now, so who knows. He is still single also, so if he marries, and starts spending a lot of money on houses, kids, etc. he may keep working. Thanks for the blog, I really enjoy reading it.
Very interesting post and follow up here. Ellen, congrats on getting your kid into Yale and the elite level of USA success. Your story here is a neat summation of why critics attack the US college system as a perpetuation of elite-level success and a near guarantee of rampant income inequality. I was doubtful of that criticism, but your case — sorry to single you out, but your story is so “Exhibit A” — provides such stark evidence to support it. No wonder why students from families outside the richest top tier feel they have little hope competing against students born on third base like your son. In fact, Sam’s article suggests that the privileged smart kids who get into Yale (and the rest of the elite colleges) should feel more of an obligation to help the less fortunate as a way to make our society better for everyone.
I am not a big fan of brand name in anything, whether it’s material possessions or schools. I truly believe that what a person can do comes from that person’s ability. Hence, if you are smart enough to get into Harvard, I think that you are smart enough to be successful in any school. So why not save the money and use it towards something else more meaningful.
Exactly! Kinda tired of the elites telling the elites what’s the Best ‘success’ path in life. I worked super hard in school at a state school. I have been successful at fortune 50 companies because I make smart decisions daily not because of what school I went to. But I did do exceptionally well in college and had a career path vision I was able to articulate to recruiters. So did my friends who Also hold degrees from good schools that aren’t Ivy League. We all ended up ‘rich’ according to all of Sam’s financial success charts. If you are mediocre at school you will be mediocre in life. Basically, People see who you are and how you represent yourself and respond accordingly. Sam: quit worrying about school and investment banking and who did what and the ‘right’ path. It’s frankly nauseating
Unfortunately, a parent’s worry never ends. You might have to stop reading for at least one year so I can get all these questions and concerns out of my system! But before you go, are you a parent? And what are your thoughts about sending your kid to public or private school?
Agreed. The hard part now is trying to find a good (and affordable) public school that’s worth it. When I talk to people I am far more impressed by what they do after graduating college than I am where they went. Too many people try to get a position based on their alm mater’s name and then have nothing to show on their CV.
If I had known then what I know now I would have never gone to school. At the first university I was heavily discriminated against and other students were trying to sue the joke of university because they were hiring unqualified professors who were either not certified or licensed – and TWO were exposed for stealing student work to pass it off as their own. I trust no college and see no need for many degrees now. If you’re poor you are most likley just getting into debt that will hold you back. At the second college I went hungry, struggled to find work, and slept out of my car. I worked much harder at that college than at any time period previous to getting accepted. I lost weight, got very ill repeatedly, had illegal immigrants employed by the school commit medical fraud in my name, credit card fraud – and the cops didn’t care due to the Recession and the name of the college.
My own experiences were the stuff of nightmares and if I had to chose again I never would have gone to college because I was too poor and being intelligent gets you nowhere if you still make bad decisions. I had the debt from the first university paid off after working three jobs, seven days a week for just over a year. My life was so miserable and the area where I worked forced people onto welfare due to corruption. If I had just worked those jobs a bit longer I could have moved to a much better area instead of wasting part of my life at another college that just wasn’t worth it. Hindsight may be 20/20, but after a friend told me to “just go to business school” I had to counter “With what?”. Barely making a living and being a U.S. citizen now gets you rejected. I’m going to record the next call with the racist admissions officers and student employees at the University of Texas and send it to him. To me an MBA isn’t worth it at all because you’re stuck in school, getting more debt, and not gaining the experience that people find to be more important.
I was just looking at expected tuition for 529 planning purposes and it turns out with our income, we would get no financial aid from MIT or Harvey Mudd (72k/year!), but Harvard would only be 34k/year for room and board. If we keep saving at the rate we’ve been saving and our oldest wants to go to Harvard, we will have saved too much in the 529s. So… Harvard would be a pretty cheap option for at least 93% of us.
My DH does use his (ivy) PhD in industry.
I didn’t go to an Ivy but managed to go to a highly ranked public school for undergrad and a tier 1 b school landing a job in a MBB consulting firm. I personally think it’s one of the most surefire ways to reach FI. It’s not an easy path, but very doable.
Sam, as you think about your child’s life, are you thinking about relaying your wisdom about career paths? Would you be happy if they followed your steps?
I think about this a lot, and because I never had such guidance, I teach my kids as much as I can about different schools, career paths, and other things that I think will be helpful.
I went to Johns Hopkins undergrad. Sometimes I look around and think I should be “doing more with my life” because of that fact, and the comparison game.
But if I really think about it, my professional accomplishments actually ARE very impressive to 99.9% population. I also am not super impressed with the fates of my classmates when compared to accomplished people in my social circle who went to a variety of schools, but again, I think the bar is just very high because a lot of money is being spent and expectations get inflated. We have to get out of our bubbles. The profiles you list as disappointing aren’t exactly people working minimum wage.
I also skipped the PhD after a masters intern experience where I was doing the same R&D work as PhDs. PhDs are for aspiring professors. The value proposition to go into the private sector doesn’t make it worth it (in my field).
The thing is, all the profiles I showed are on LinkedIn, which by definition or people with jobs who are highly motivated to show what they’ve done and network for new business or job opportunities. Another words, they are the top graduates. I’m sure there are plenty more graduates who don’t bother because they are out of the workforce, unemployed, or are just not proud of their achievements.
Well done going to Johns Hopkins university. That was the school I considered it when I lived in the suburbs of Virginia, but I knew I couldn’t get in and I also knew that paying that type of money was on affordable to us at the time. Were you able to get any scholarships? What is it you do now for a living?
Hi Sam,
There are a lot of intelligent folks on this planet, far far more intelligent than a Harvard graduate. Their circumstances do not let anyone else recognize them. Given the right environment and privileges, mankind is a lot more competitive and intelligent than a Harvard graduate.
You are one such example.
And the boy who studied under street lights and got admitted in IIT (harder to get in than Harvard), with no food, is another example.
College is important. Very important.
But it is not the end. It is a start.
It is a start for a kid into the world of adults. The reason why parents emphasize on college. But if the kid is passionate, or talented in a certain field (say, figure skating), then parents pursue that as well. The kid must show signs of their passion, or parents remain clueless.
Personal Finance, Savings, all these articles, mean a lot different to parents than a non-parent.
Welcome to the club!
Interesting thoughts but I don’t quite agree. I think you’re conflating your value proposition (most fulfilling work is directly helping someone in need) as universal value proposition. I’d argue that there are a diversity of extrinsic and intrinsic value drivers that orient people towards being your “somebody” versus a “nobody” in say business development.
For those people who aren’t driven by helping others, I think it’s okay that they be those “nobodies.”
Also, you mention that Harvard students represent the top .01% in terms of brains and I see that as a slight mischaracterization. Sure, getting into top schools requires plenty of academic chops but admissions also considers a number of other factors. That’s why you’ll see kids with perfect scores getting rejected and s forth. It’s not all about academic ability. Moreover, I think there are a lot of great students, who for whatever reason, don’t attend top schools but have the ability to thrive in them. So some talent is at your local state univeristy, etc.
I guess my main issue is that the article comes across as a Harvard degree being a sufficient condition to doing amazing things on later in life and that’s not the case. What is more likely true is that being remarkable in some way is a necessary condition to getting into Harvard as well as doing something great later on.
Thoughts on why people bother to spend so much money and work so hard to get into Harvard? Perhaps it’s because I’ve been spending a lot more time with academia, teachers, and parents but I feel that there is this huge obsession to getting into a good school.
What was your academic path and what do you do now for a living?
The definition of “nobody” is entirely subjective and purposefully provocative for this post. Everybody somebody. Our definitions will always differ.
I graduated with minimal debt. Retired early. A Harvard degree would have me still working to pay off loans, or to keep using my high cost degree.
I would take the community college option, followed by a state 4-year school, followed by a graduate degree paid by an employer. Then followed by early retirement.
Sounds like a good plan to me! I love, love the 2-year community college option and then transferring to a 4-year state school to save money, develop maturity, and get a better idea of what you want to do with your life.
I wish I read this comment when I was choosing my college. I jumped straight into a 4 year private university and thought I was set for life as long as I don’t flunk out. $40K and a paper degree later = much regret for years after.
It’s like what do you want to do?
Do you want public or pvt school? Can you afford pvt school? $20-65k annually. But holy did you check out some of their curriculum STATISTICS, SPEAKING MANDARIN. Which public school teaches you those two great subjects. Imagine getting taught MANDARIN and STATISTICS every yr of your life growing up, that is a gift.
Then do you want elite schooling for business development for a mega corporation, or a startup? Can you even stomach working for under market rate, 80 hrs with a startup you don’t even really believe in or love passionately. Your wife and kids will divorce u lol.
Next do you want family work balance, or none?
Each move locks you in on a different course for a decade of your life. And what you want your son might not want the same as you.
So helping people doesn’t burn you out? Tell that to all the burnt out social workers, teachers and nurses out there – I suspect the percentages would be as high as investment banking.
I was talking to a hippy the other day, about my work history, which I won’t get into for anonymity, but I did mention drawing the line on an offer from a company known for killing villagers in developing countries, so as you can see that bar is set pretty low. The convo did make me think I could have made better choices with what I do for a living, but at the same time I like having a reasonable standard of living and the option of early retirement, which is not an option for most teachers and social workers.
Helping people is not for everyone and people’s definition of “helping” can also vary dramatically. Some of what Google does is incredibly helpful, and VCs may also be helping shape our technological landscape.
No, not even close relative to careers with the main purpose of making as much money as possible.
I don’t need to tell, I asked. I spoke to a couple dozen teachers (remember, I work as a teacher now per my first paragraph), and the level of excitement and joy is astoundingly high compared to my friends in finance, consulting, tech. I’m talking different level high.
How about you? What where did you go to school?
But the teachers in your social circle are (relatively compared to other teachers) highly paid private school teachers. There are many that live off yearly contracts and barely make more than the minimum wage. Poorer areas also mean more violence and behavioural problems from the kids. Many of these teachers who struggle to feed themselves leave the profession. I agree that these teachers may love their jobs, but unfortunately that’s not enough.
I went to the equivalent a state school – was not my first choice, but I did not try very hard in school, and still don’t really.
All I got was a measley associates degree from a community college :( And it was in business administration which did absolutely nothing for me. Lucky for me though I think it cost me about $7k to get that degree so I never had any debt.
How did not going to a major university affect me? Cant say for sure but what I do know is that I make more money then almost all my friends that did go to college. I know money isnt everything nor does it define success but I do think people can make something of themselves and accomplish what they want even without a college degree or education.
Graduated High School at the bottom of my class (bottom 10%). Went on to a local Community College and obtained my Associates degree. Went on to be accepted to a private University in Philadelphia. Graduated with a BS and went on to work at one of the big consulting firms. Now work in management for a leading Pharma with colleagues much more impressive than I in the intelligence area … also went to much better university than me.
Shawn Achor, during a TED talk, had an interesting perspective that I think applies here (paraphrasing):
90% of your long-term happiness is predicted not by your external world but by the way your brain processes the world. If you change your formula for happiness and success, you can change the way it affects reality. Only 25% of job success is predicted by IQ …. research shows that 75% of job success is defined by (1) optimism level, (2) social support level, and (3) ability to see stress as a challenge instead of a threat.
Great points.
By the way, Shawn Achor received both his bachelor’s degree and masters degree from Harvard!
Its not so much about what school you went to (or how much it cost for you to attend), but more about what you do with that degree. Working hard and graduating early was my goal. Mission accomplished from a large university, but even more imporatnt was the internship and job right out of college that helped me along my investment path. College is also on my mind a lot with my two young boys. How to save for their school was something readers helped me with tremendously!
I was a high school dropout, then went on to get degrees from Emory, Stanford, and Harvard. In my experience, all were great places to go to school, with interesting, well-rounded students from whom I learned as much or more than my professors. These universities also taught me skills I now use daily in my work, as well as critical thinking (on a good day at least). Well-funded schools like these also have great financial aid, which makes cost comparisons difficult.
Having said that, plenty of other schools can offer equally good education and experience, and may be more appropriate for a particular child. I certainly understand parents obsessing over where their kids go to school, but I suspect it just sets the kids up to feel like a failure if they don’t go to the “right” school.
Although, of course, The College of William and Mary is actually the best place to go…
Tell us how you went to those three excellent schools after dropping out of high school. That sounds like a fascinating story. Did you take a break and then finish high school later and then go to college? What degrees did you get?
I dropped out of school the day I turned 16 (the legal minimum in my state). Left home, lived on the streets (voluntarily–a big difference from today’s homelessness). Went back to finish high school a couple years later, then worked in a factory for a year–the most boring thing I have ever done. That convinced me to continue in school, so got a BA at Emory (the only school that accepted me, if I recall), MA at Stanford, and MD at Harvard (finished residency age 40). Lived and worked abroad for a few years in between degrees.
Definitely not an efficient career path, but worked out fine. I kind of feel I have had some of my retirement earlier in life, doing exactly what I wanted to do, which is good. But keep the finance articles coming–financial savvy is not something that comes easily to me, so I could use the help.
Wow! That’s quite a journey. I’m glad everything worked out. I do believe that everything tends to work out in the end.
What if your kid goes to Punahou and ends up a nobody? Wouldn’t that be even worse than going to Harvard for college since Punahou is $260k all-in (no room and board) compared to a Harvard undergrad degree or MBA?
What’s your obsession with Punahou and how is that any different than others’ dreams to go to an Ivy League?
Sam, if you really want to change the world, start with your kid and put him or her in an underprivileged school district, so that both you and your kid can start affecting change in the communities that need it. Teach tennis there. Work to implement rigorous STEM programs. Tell kids who have no concept of higher education that they can dream big.
Thank you for your kind thoughts and suggestions. There’s definitely a chance that my son could turn out to be a nobody after 13 years at Punahou. He probably won’t even be able to get in. He also may or may not have a learning disability as I wrote in this post, but it’s too early to tell. All I know is that I love him so much and I want the best for him, which is why I’m constantly thinking about this topic.
Being somebody after all that time and education is something I think about a lot, which is why I am undecided on whether to go to private school route. I’m just not that impressed with the alumni. It seems for the most part, they all pretty much end up in the same positions as kids who go to public school.
I’m thinking it may be better to invest the $20,500 a year for 13 years, and another $50,000 a year for four years that would’ve gone to private school tuition. I have a feeling many of our children would rather have that money and work hard instead at a public school if they had a choice.
Regarding your comment about my “obsession” with Punahou, why do you feel I am obsessed? All I did was write an article about whether private kindergarten through 12th grade is worth it several months ago using it as an example, and then mentioned it in this article because that’s where the folks profiled went to school. I’m always looking for feedback on myself and my writing. So any specific advice is welcome.
I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts about child raising, education and the topic of this post.
Please keep the advice and constructive criticism coming! I really enjoy it. If you could also share your thoughts on the topic of this post that would be great. Oh yeah, and Go Bears!
Thx
Hi Sam,
You and I are very similar which is why I really like your blog. Quick background on me: Catholic elementary and high school, Berkeley undergrad, University of Chicago MBA and (surprise!) I work in financial services as a VP in Investor Relations. I guess you can say I’ve experienced the gamut of education, having done both public and private. As someone who was tiger-parented, I followed the academic path and did the best that I could.
However, I want more for my son who is 3 years old. I want him to be truly extraordinary and to me, that means taking the road less traveled. Truth: I would rather he not go to college and start his own business, or work for a startup, or do anything other than what the mass population does. I remember Peter Thiel questioning college and why people think they have to go down a certain path to get to where they want. If you know what you want, just do it! Don’t let other people tell you that you need to do this and that first in order to get there. That has really resonated with me. So when my friends talk about sending their kids to college, I am the one rolling my eyes. If that’s what my son wants, that’s fine. But I am not pushing it. I’m also not saving or funding any education past high school. If I could pay for college on my own, back when I was brought up by middle-class parents, then my son who has way more privilege than I will ever have, can suck it up too. I’m not putting money into a 529.
I plan to inculcate this message into his head: absorb all you can now. I will make sure you get the best education possible, but after 18 years old, you are truly on your own. I have high expectations for you and I know that you can do it because you’re smart and fiercely independent. Now go make me proud.
As for Punahou, I guess your comment “Punahou is the school I’d love for my son to attend if we move back to Hawaii” made me think that your obsession with Punahou isn’t any different than any tiger parent’s dream of their kid going to Harvard.
I am fascinated with a 2-year college profiled in the NYTimes that is very small (less than 30 students total), in the middle of nowhere, completely free, where the kids have to work 20+ hours a week on the farm, but get a great education and are expected to prepare for a life of service. Almost all of the kids go on to transfer to the best colleges. https://www.deepsprings.edu/ If I’d known about this place when I was in high school, I would have applied, except I wouldn’t have gotten in as it’s male only.
Thank you for responding to my comment!!!
Hi Catherine, it’s interesting you’re not pushing for your son to go to college. I kind of feel the same way, because everything can be learned for free nowadays online and four years of college is a lot of time to spend. Hence, another reason for writing this post and thinking about the irony of spending so much time and money on education know when everything is free.
But college was it an incredible time for fun and learning. I wish I could’ve gone for another year, but after taking Golf and one economics class my last semester, I realized there was no need to stay for a fifth year anymore.
I’m glad you had a son and he is now three years old! I had read your other post about the difficult times conceiving so I’m really happy for you guys!
When the time comes, it’s going to be very interesting to see whether you’re willing to take the risk of going to college or not. And the other interesting thing is, if you have the financial means to pay for private school, whether you’ll be willing to let and go to public school or not.
What I’m finding as a parent now is that many parents are willing to take a risk by not spending on everything possible if they can afford to. There’s just a lot of fear and guilt of not doing the right thing, so I figure I might as well get everybody’s input before I get to that stage.
Thx
I find this fascinating and I’m not sure what to think of it. There’s a move among educated, usually successful people to devalue college in favor of independent learning or entrepreneurship or something more hands on (every urbanite wants to farm now). I actually sympathize a bit. I love the idea of forging one’s own path.
BUT
(everything someone says before “but” is bullshit, acc. to Ned Stark)
I also realize that it’s a luxury to talk about it this way. You don’t find many parents who have struggled for years to move to a better socioeconomic condition saying, “Hey, don’t get into college. Learn all you can online and stay in your community to be connected to all the other people who are struggling.”
To people who live paycheck to paycheck and know the risk of getting into a situation you can’t get out of, the decision to eschew college on principle seems odd. I guess my question for Catherine would be, is there an implicit safety net for your child if the non-college path doesn’t work out? And what does that say about the path?
I hope that doesn’t sound snarky, I genuinely want to understand the trend, among some, away from higher ed. I’m in the same situation, with young kids that will have way more opportunities than I did, and wondering how to make sure they have drive and work ethic.
As for the farm … growing up on a farm I can’t help but chuckle now that farming is idealized on Netflix and Top Chef. The farmers who bring organic squash to high end restaurants are not typical. These are the Peter Thiels of farming. The majority of farmers are undereducated, weather-beaten, and hanging on by a financial thread, doing hard labor until they retire with back problems. My father told me when I was 16 that if I wanted the farm, I could have it and he’d help me. He loves the land. BUT … then he said, “I don’t recommend it. It’s a hard life. You’re smart — you should go to college.”
Here are the reasons I can think of:
1) Cost. If you go to private school K through college, we are talking $500,000 – $1,000,000. If that money was invested at a 5% compounded rate of return, that might very well be a better trade. If we’re just talking private college, that’s still about $200,000 – $250,000. Yet, when everything is now free online, as opposed to before the internet, this cost is even more egregious.
2) There is an implied safety net. For me, it’s a real estate property portfolio, my online business, and my savings. I can teach him everything there is to know about real estate and online media without having to go to college for four years.
3) Value. I had the time of my life in college. So fun to meet new folks, learn, and study abroad. But I only keep in touch with a few people there, and none of them have helped me in my career. They are friends scattered around the country. College was valuable for maturity, and due to the $2,800/year in tuition cost. Now, there are so many great programs i.e. incubator programs, that focus on precisely what someone wants to do. The alternatives for learning are endless.
I want my son to go to college at this moment. I don’t know what college will look like in 18 years when he finally graduates high school. Could be still an important education milestone. Or the entire system might be turned on its head after a huge student loan crisis. Who knows!
What I do know is that with proper tutelage, mentorship, and all around nurture, a lot is possible without college today. If he or I are not big on trying to be a banker, consultant, techie or lawyer, maybe college isn’t that great after all.
If the non-college route doesn’t work, then the safety net is to go back to school or simply try another path/career. Or if someone thinks it’s too risky to dismiss college altogether, then go part-time or take night classes.
I’ll admit that personally, I could not have gotten my job out of college as an environmental consultant if I didn’t have intense biology and chemistry labs. And I got my current job because my employer came to my graduate school to recruit.
Our children will make their own choices as to what is the best route. I’m just saying that I’m not one of those parents who’s going to force my kid to go to college, which is what most parents do.
Ahh Ned Stark, a wise soul who got his head chopped off.
I love the last piece of your response, well said Catherine! Self segregation by wealth plays a huge role in education, the rich live in rich communities with ample resources to better their child’s educational experience while lower income and poor communities go through the exact opposite experience. They may either feel discouraged or may just be unaware of potential opportunities to better themselves.
Although I would never encourage someone to send their child to a school that lacks resources (it’s why many families in San Francisco send their kids to private school for tens of thousands of dollars), it would be highly beneficial to society to encourage children from multiple economic backgrounds be taught together.
To be a “Harvard Nobody” means you came from a well to do background or had many opportunities presented to you that put you in the right position to succeed, financially speaking. If you came from a family that averages $30k of income, it’s hard to see yourself as a failure for getting into Harvard, regardless of what career path one chooses.
Not everyone starts the race at the same point, and for that matter the end is different as well.
Thanks Ryan. I’ve always been aggressively focused on hanging out with people of all stripes, which, by the way, is why Burning Man is so awesome. Back when I entered college, I shied away from the Filipino group because I already know about my own culture and had a ton of Filipino friends. I wanted to befriend people who were different from me. Berkeley was a great melting pot for me to do that in, plus the socio-economic range was vast, with a contingent of us complaining about filling out financial aid forms, and at the same time doing roadtrips down to SoCal as we oohed/aahed over some of our friends’ homes. I feel really blessed and want the diversity I cultivated for my son as well.
Sam is too nice to say it, but your comment is so bitter.
You went to University of Chicago and work in investor relations at Wells Fargo Bank of all the terrible places in the world you could work. How are you guys spinning the scandal where you guys took advantage of millions of customers by signing them up for fake accounts and charging them for it? How do you justify the head of the department receiving tens of millions For poor oversight?
Here’s the latest if you don’t know what’s going on at your company, and just one of a number of scandals over the past 10 years.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/12/wells-fargo-fake-account-scandal-may-be-bigger-than-thought.html
How can you feel good about this? But do whatever makes you happy. For me, I’d rather spend time with my daughter than work for a bank that tricks their customers for profits. Money is not everything.
It’s funny you should bring up Wells Fargo, b/c I wrote an article about seven years ago why I’d never bank w/ Wells Fargo due to a scandal back then! It’s crazy how egregious this latest scandal is. It pisses me off actually, much like people who put my e-mail on a distribution list and when I click to cancel, it asks me to put in my e-mail to cancel. But what Wells Fargo did is even worse, and I’m shocked nobody has been thrown in jail for it.
If I’m going to go back to work full-time during my child’s first four years of life (before pre-school), the job better be damn amazing with flexible hours and a purposeful mission of helping others. Otherwise, it’s trading my time away from my baby who will only be 1-4 years old once, for money. That time is too precious.
I’m not blind to the scandal and think it’s horrible. The company is working to rebuild trust and not only reaching out to customers to make it right, but advising customers to come in and speak with us for any reason. Of course, if you think a company is unethical, then steer clear of their services.
As for me, this isn’t just my employer, but my work family—some of whom are close friends who came to my destination wedding and who supported me through multiple miscarriages. I respect my peers and the current leadership. We are all working to correct our mistakes. Also, I’ve worked for several employers, and no other employer has come close to matching the flexibility I have to volunteer and donate (with school donations 100% matched by the company).
Corporations aren’t perfect, just as religion and humans aren’t perfect. I reiterate that I feel sick about what happened. Affecting change won’t happen if I quit. Instead I’m sticking around to help solve problems, as I’m passionate about the industry and about helping people (both through my blog and yes, through my employer).
You’re right about Wells Fargo not just being your employer, but your family after spending a long enough time there. And you nor most employees are to be blamed for the scandals.
Everyone will reach a certain point where they will no longer feel motivated or have that passion to work for their employer. Props to you for sticking it out with Wells Fargo.
I hope you guys can help affect positive change and improve the banking practices. after the latest news that 800,000 Wells Fargo auto borrowers were improperly charged for auto insurance. It’s just so tough being a financial consumer nowadays. I personally feel like I’m always getting charged hidden and unnecessary fees, which is often why I like to hoard cash or not investing.
“Nobody” is a very subjective term and unfortunately the whole article wreaks of one person sitting at a computer judging everyone’s life choices. It still makes for vicariously good reading but lets not say its an objective or good analysis of anyone’s life choices.
It still makes for good reading, and I take it for what it is, anecdotal evidence with a hypothesis made by one individual who has already retired! :)
*reeks
Indeed. Tell us about yourself and whether you have kids and what educational and career path you took. Maybe I am crazy, and I’m the only one who thinks about this stuff so intensely for our children. At the end of the day, this is a happiness blog that can largely be determined by managing expectations.
Tell us about yourself and whether you have kids and what educational and career path you took.
Another great post, Sam!
I know two people who by their own accounts fall in this category. They both attended elite Ivy League universities and ended up with over 180k of debt apiece from undergrad alone.
The first one struggled to get a job for 4 years out of school because he felt that most entry level positions were beneath him.
The second one still gets paid less than me, and I went to a public university. The ROI is not always there!
Hi Ava – I can totally see how after graduating from a school like Harvard, you become much pickier with what job to choose, and therefore could end up underemployed for 4 years! I also know many, many employers who don’t want to hire folks free these schools b/c they just job hop ASAP for the next opportunity and aren’t willing to put in their dues versus the state school employee.
You gotta feel good about your public school degree!
Hi Sam! Interesting article!
I never went to private school. But I did manage to graduate valedictorian in my high school class. I was in a very rigorous academic program, IB ). There are times where I wonder if I will be a somebody. But that is a whole another topic.
I want to comment on the ROI perspective…
I’m 27 and work at a fairly big megacorp. Our interns started this summer. They are all from MIT, Stanford, Duke, Dartmouth (I’m probably missing a few schools). Point is they are all from fairly top schools, surely paying top dollar, and are older than me. All probably in the 28-32 age range. If they get hired, they will come in at a lower paying position than me (still fair compensation)
Somehow my in-state education (undergrad + grad) got me to the same place as they are currently.
Nothing against their accomplishments. I would have loved to go to an ivy league school. I didn’t. And now I’m more focused on FI than paying for more degrees.
So is the money worth it if we ended up in the same place?
In my mind, from the FI perspective, I’m glad I didn’t go into $ of debt for my graduate degree. Hey maybe, once I’m FI, and the school pays me to get my PHD, I will consider it. After all, my university paid for my undergrad and graduate degrees.
Props to you for being valedictorian! What were the reasons why you didn’t apply to the ivy league or other elite private institutions? With your profile, there’s a high chance you would have got grants. I could never get straight A’s, no matter how hard I tried!
I’m asking b/c I’m wondering how much parental guidance and encouragement plays a role in a child’s decision to go to school. I also wonder how much family wealth plays a role.
Just some thoughts…
I had no guidance. My parents are immigrants who don’t speak english. I had to figure out everything on my own. I was lucky I had some great teachers.
I did apply to a couple of elite institutions. Actually the valedictorian two years before me ended up at an elite institution. I had a great profile. AP scores of 5’s and 4’s. IB. Varsity cross country, varsity band freshman year. Looking back I missed a few things and it was due to not having enough guidance.
1) My personal essay. I was not honest and raw enough. I grew up in a family where you never talked about your challenges or problems or anything really. So at the time I didn’t know how to communicate the challenges I had growing up and their effect on my life. Honestly, people knew very little about me, even my best friends. Hell, I still cannot talk about it.
2) My ACT/SAT scores were shy a couple points. I could have scored higher, since what I needed was to refine my test taking. If I taken a Kaplan SAT class, or received some private tutoring specifically around the test. But my family had no money.
3) Communication skills – You have to go through an alumni interview process. I did go through it. But at the time I was so shy. My parents are complete introverts and terribly socially awkward. I was afraid of my own shadow. I was so afraid. I was afraid to talk. If I had just shared all the struggles I faced in life and what I had to overcome. I didn’t communicate properly.
If I had the knowledge I have now, I would have aced it. But can’t regret things in life. I received a full scholarship to a great in state school, which covered my bachelor’s and master’s degree. I had a phenomenal experience in college. I learned so much! Finally broke out my shell. Received great mentorship and pushed myself. It helped I was finally away from my parents. I started taking graduate classes my junior year (which technically was my senior year because I graduated in 3 years) Seriously. AND I did meet the love of my life at my college.
There’s my essay Sam!
Congrats to you, Savvy. Really enjoyed seeing your input and how you’ve done so well without an “elite” college. Your story also shows how elite schools really cater to the uppermost income bracket and don’t do enough to recruit — and then support — low-income, first generation students to their great universities. Most students at elite schools come from the upper 10% of the income tier. Then the megacorps, as you note, get their interns from the same schools, perpetuating the disparity. You’re an exception who has accomplished much more than most who attend the elite schools.
Heya Sam. Good article. I’m not sure where I fall on this because a lot, in my mind, depends on someone’s personal drive for self-actualization. Sorry to use pretentious Ivy-esque vocabulary.
I grew up working on a farm. I got straight A’s and was valedictorian of my high school class of 300 kids. My parents supported college, but I got ZERO guidance on where to go or what to study. It’s a Midwestern thing for parents to shrug, “Well, none of my business what you do, just do your best.” So I decided to go study theology in a tiny college instead of shooting for the Ivy League or an international scholar program.
My college and grad school educations were dirt cheap. I ended up taking 4 classes at Harvard during grad school without paying Harvard’s prices, through a Boston-area grad school consortium. I LOVED it. Mostly, I wanted to prove to myself that I could make the grade there. But I also loved the guest speakers and all the interesting extras that go with being on an Ivy League campus.
So I’m torn on this. I ended up with a career I love and I work alongside plenty of Ivy Leaguers, making the same salary without the school debt. My route was unconventional, and I clearly didn’t need the Ivy League. That said, in terms of self-actualization, I know I didn’t challenge myself in college or grad school nearly enough.
When I was a kid, I didn’t dream about going to an Ivy League school. I felt it was out of reach. I do wish someone would’ve planted the seed, because to me there’s an aspirational aspect to it, especially for those of us that didn’t grow up on the coasts.
My last point would be this concept of being a “nobody”. You’re putting it in terms of career outcome, as in what did these people accomplish considering where they went to school. They should be ruling the world, right?
But to me, this is misleading. From the outside, to strangers or internet observers, almost everybody is a nobody. But from the inside — one’s view of oneself, one’s family and social circle — nobody is a nobody. And even though I may have ended up in the same career, I would have loved to be the first in my family and in my town to go to the Ivy League. I want my kids to know it’s an option even if they decide not to pursue it. –Rich
You make a good point of a parent’s duty to show what’s possible. I didn’t have the “it’s possible” to go to any of these elite private schools myself growing up either. Part of it was because they cost so much, and my parents were not rich as government employees. The other part of it was not believing I was smart enough or good enough. The final part of it was I felt guilty if I did go to private school, and didn’t want the pressure the comes w/ spending $100,000+ at the time.
As for the term “nobody” in this post, it’s not so much the career progression, but what they do with their careers. Nobody is a social worker, educator, doctor, non-profit organizer. All work in banking, consulting, and tech due to money and fake prestige. Our brightest students are encouraged by our most elite universities to use their brains to focus on wealth. Maybe they can expand their purpose.
I think going to an Ivy can put too much pressure on you to aim toward a very limited definition of success. An interesting book on this is Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life. It’s about how if you graduate from an elite college, it’s really (as many of the comments say) gearing you up to a lucrative though not necessarily meaningful job.
I went to an elite magnet high school and then a big state school. I will say I’m incredibly proud to be associated with the kids who went to my high school who were brilliant, kind, curious and passionate about whatever they did whether it was prestigious or not. It was a very formative experience. If going to an Ivy is like that, then I would absolutely support my future kids going.
The most important is for the individual to make an impact in a field that he is interested on, regardless of social pressures and demands.
Unfornutately, our educational system is set up in a way that pushes students to make life changing decisions early on. Very often, they have to make those decisions at an age where they do not have enough life experiences and maturity to know who they are, what really drives them.
After succumbing to social pressures, you end up in a corporate job, keep chasing the promotions and the money, but you are left empty inside. Again, while this is not true for everyone, it has been my personal experience.
Very true. I agree wholeheartedly and I’ll add this to the post. I don’t want people reading this getting too bent out of shape because at the end of the day were all somebody.
Here’s a great article that was just published on 7/20 in The Atlantic after this post was published about cultural dynamics, prestige, and whether you want to be in a small pond (lower tier school) but be a big fish (top performer), or be in a big pond (Harvard type school) and be a mediocre to low performer. It seems as if my article addresses all these issues. Coincidence? Or being finely in tune with the thousands of people I’ve spoken to, or who have written in? You decide!
“But being in a big pond (top tier school)can be a double-edged sword. Wu’s mission is to better understand the cultural distinctions that help explain these decision-making patterns—insight that is particularly relevant in the age of globalization and might help the growing numbers of Asian students in the U.S. better navigate the country’s higher-education system. In the last decade, the international-student population in the U.S. has grown by 85 percent, with the majority hailing from Asia.
In vying for big ponds, many become strained by the pressure to succeed, overexerting themselves to the point that they get swallowed by mental illness or resort to cheating. Meanwhile, the percent of senior Fortune 100 executives with Ivy League degrees has declined since 1980, while the percent with public-university degrees has increased. And a Gallup poll from 2014 of nearly 30,000 college graduates found that attending a prestigious college has no bearing on an individual’s happiness in life and work.
“At the end of the day,” Wu asked, “is it worth choosing the big pond in a cultural context where big frogs in small ponds can also succeed?””
I’m not smart enough for an elite school, because on the intelligence scale I’m fairly average. I can see the stress and pressure one would feel going to an elite school Harvard though. In the Korean community, “Harvard” is a big deal. Koreans don’t know any of the other schools. Maybe UCLA, for some reason, and Harvard. None of the other Ivy League schools though. It’s a badge pretty much. Personally, I feel fortunate to not being caught up in that vortex. I don’t think I have the mental and emotional aptitude, lol.
Tim you need to give yourself more credit just like Sam. I think you’re doing pretty darn well being VP of your company.
I’m around average intelligence too (for an Asian :p) but my biggest weakness is just a case of lazy and fear. My husband is super smart but lacks emotional intelligence. I know life is a lot more than Harvard or Princeton. Although this post makes me day dream the day I could send my child off to Philips Academy in Andover too…man…the history and alum at that school is ridiculous.
Bill Gates middle and high school is about 5 blocks from our house. It’s for gifted children and I work for the woman who sends her son there…it’s just impressive I get so green eyed. I wish I could be half as capable as her but I’m just a housewife. I would like to be a fly on that wall to see what they’re learning after growing up in lackluster San Francisco’s public school system :)
Your post is referring to Harvard University as a whole, but I am (perhaps one of the few) who thinks it should be mentioned that George W. Bush went to Yale and Michelle Obama went to Princeton. I would have to look at the list again for the other names. Typically, if you ask someone where they went to college, they will of course state their undergrad. If they went on to obtain advanced degrees, they will name the other schools.
This is a technicality but I wanted to mention. In every instance I have seen, people will say, “I went to Michigan State and then HLS” or “UPenn and then HBS.”
I live in Boston and typically “Harvard” refers to Harvard College. Michelle Obama went to Harvard Law School, which is the same university but technically a different school than Harvard (College). Anyways, perhaps unimportant to some, but when people read this and if they do not know any better, they may not be aware that the two aforementioned went to Yale and Princeton for undergrad. Easy enough to learn with a quick Google/background check, but worth mentioning.
I went to a very expensive, private university here in the states that currently has about 12K students (combined grad and undergrad). My professors knew my name and actually expressed concern if I missed two classes in a row. I loved it and my parents paid. I am not here to judge anyone’s decisions because I do not know their individual backgrounds or what they may have been going through, but if one has the opportunity, I would say to go to the best school you can, so long as it is what you want and not what everyone else except you wants.
Money is not the be all end all. Yes, people can learn things online for free – and learning will also come with life experience, travel, etc. – but my school, for instance, strongly emphasized the critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills that were absent in high school. My degree is in philosophy and my professors were not just brilliant, but so wise,l. I still have my books and the memories. Don’t want to ramble, but nice article. I would like to do more to help people and love to tutor and make a positive difference when possible. Thanks Sam.
I can add in parentheses all the institutions each of the Harvard related famous alumni have attended if you would like? I thought I made it clear that I’m referring to Harvard as a whole, and Harvard like universities with the various examples I’ve included in this post.
But yes, a couple people have brought it up to me that they have a default assumption that when someone is talking about university, they are talking about undergraduate. I guess because I have a masters degree, I treat graduate degrees in a similar regard because they are hard, if not harder to get into then undergraduate programs.
I read your comments and wanted your opinion since you’re from the Boston area you mentioned. My 18 year is going to attend Boston Univ. soon- got in to their study abroad program 2nd semester of their freshman year- they are sending her to London to study, only 300 freshmen were chosen to do this program. Is BU worth the high dollars? We are an upper middle class family that has saved for college since our kids were babies because we wanted a great education for them. But all this talk about Harvard…I wonder if I’m spending too much money on a 2nd tier education?? Thoughts?
Nice, though provoking post. I noticed that your profiles are heavily biased to business. I’m willing to bet that there are many Harvard grads who go to either medical school or law school. There’s also probably another good portion who are in the sciences. My perspective is that Harvard undergrad may help you if you are average at Harvard, but then want to apply to graduate school. The Harvard name may compensate for an average GPA. However, I really think graduate school is more important than undergrad. Do well at any undergrad and get into the best graduate school you can.
Good article. My profile:
– European
– London school of economics, HEC Paris, MBA Insead
– Goldman, Macquarie, Boaml, UBS
— burn out, autoimmune disease
Currently running my own small asset mgmt firm
So a complete fail / nobody as I did not monetise opps. Luckily I have a safety net and drive. Am not done yet.
You describe a linear track, but life seldom works like that. Elite schools taught me that I am competitive. The rest is discipline, risk mgmt and some luck.
Those qualities are not necessarily a result of an elite school education.
Hi Sam
My favorite post thus far! Thank you.
A wise man once said “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
-JC-
Unselfish service to others is the greatest freedom.
I am not in the same league as any of you, Ivy or not. But it is quite an interesting post as are the comments. I would love to sit down and talk a while with many of the commenters here–fascinating stories and views. It is worth noting the plethora of perspectives from which people view this post.
Sam, some people’s goal really is to make money, hang the “helping people” idea. I agree with you, that the most fulfilling work is directly helping people. But many certainly do not see it that way. (Btw, it’s easy for people to say “It’s not all about money” if they don’t have to be concerned with how they will manage to pay the electric bill this month.)
Some comments here reflect an angst about education and/or careers that have been chosen. I am a great one for getting lost because all I usually see are individual trees around me rather than the forest as a whole, but it’s helpful to step back and look at the big picture.
What are your goals? How will you reach them? More important, are the goals worthy goals?
So if one’s goal is to attend Harvard, why? Is that a worthy goal? What is the goal beyond that makes Harvard essential? Or if it isn’t essential, should one follow a different path to that “beyond goal”?
My “achievements” will never even be on the same chart as most of the commenters (zero fame, zero community acclaim, and negative income), but my job has been vital–at least to the ten children I have birthed and home educated. As that job winds down (3 years to go after 30+ years behind me), what shall I do for a second career?
One further comment. I’m puzzled by the comments about schools not mattering much *other* than the alumni network or *once* you get into the job market. The comments greatly minimized the significance of those two factors, whereas others gave the proper credence to their importance. Of course, your employer cares how you do your job and not where you went to school. But how did you get the job? How did you get the interview in the first place? How did connections help you along the way? You cannot say those do not matter.
Did you say you birthed 10 children? If so, that is amazing! Was it an intentional call? I’m struggling with raising just one, seriously. What is your partner do for a living?
How is the cost of raising 10 children?
Though a college grad (we met in college), my husband worked in manufacturing for 20 years, moving into management the last 2. When the company was sold, he was “laid off” with several others; the next year the new company closed the plant. He’s worked at libraries, for a cable company (tier 3 customer rep), another factory job at manufacturing plant…”Retired” now, working part-time. You can see why I say we’re not in the same league as other readers. (The cashed-in paltry retirement account kept us afloat during the 2-year post-layoff unemployment.)
Cost of raising 10 children? God always has provided our needs. We can’t provide in the way some of the readers have been provided for or provide for their children, but we’ve never gone hungry because we have no food. We have owned our home for 15 years (no mortgage) and I cannot recall the last time we had a car payment.
For those interested in digging into this topic a little further, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a pretty interesting book, David and Goliath, that touches on this subject. I just went through this dance with my daughter. She chose Penn State over Wisconsin-Madison, University of Washington, Michigan State, Arizona and Florida. She starts in 4 weeks.
https://www.businessinsider.com/malcolm-gladwells-david-and-goliath-2013-10
I’ve never read the book or the article, but it’s pretty funny that we’ve come up to the same conclusions and have even use the same institutions Eh Google and Goldman Sachs.
I think my article is better because I provide 12 real life profiles with some thoughts and analysis, as well as overall data. But then again, his book is probably better because it’s a book!
It’s true, if you go to an elite institution, you’re always going to compare yourself to your peers. And there’s a high chance that some of your peers are just gonna really crush it out of the ballpark, making you feel miserable in comparison.
I agree with you. I loved your real world examples. I’d also make another point that once you get to college you need to really think about your activities outside of the classroom. I went to a school that is listed among the Top 25 Public Universities but I was a C+ student, not because I was an average student but because I spent a lot of time outside of the classroom involved in a multitude of clubs and student government, including VP of the Student Body my senior year. When asked by recruiters about my grades, I pointed to my extracurricular accomplishments and discussed all of the activities and lessons learned outside of the classroom and how those better prepared me for the real world than an accounting or econ class ever could. According to our placement office, I was offered one of the best starting salaries of all business majors my senior year and even better than several of the other higher profile colleges like engineering and architecture.
Just to also prove my point about my academic capabilities, 25 years later I went back for my MBA at a decent school in Chicago and finished at the top of my class, just to prove I did have it in me when I was so inclined to make academics a priority ;)
Enjoyed the article – I went the Ivy League way (Exeter, Penn, Wharton Grad) but no way could I get in today – You don’t mention the herd effect, where the people at great schools head into businesses that have worked for the last five or ten years – but where the future prospects are diminished. I spent the last 19 years as a Private Equity investor. The returns on a go forward basis are at best high single digits if everything goes right, which inevitability they don’t. On the other hand, I’m an active investor right now in public equities because I really enjoy it. If one does for the money, it is a miserable existence. I also know plenty of Ivy League graduates who got great places on the starting track but didn’t finish because they were check the box types or arrogant or both
Impressive resume! Did you make a killing in PE? Why do you think people in PE make so much when the returns are similar to the S&P 500 or less? Leverage?
Interesting perspective. I thought this was going to go in a different direction. One more focused on (1) the hedonic treadmill these universities place you on, and (2) why you should have to do anything with your degree (why not just be lazy?).
I went to one of the military academies for undergrad, and a top 3 MBA for grad school.
#1. From my perspective, each time you place yourself in a cohort (e.g. an undergrad class), you are by default placed onto that group’s hedonic treadmill. Some treadmills are better than others. The military guys spend time being ‘manly’, discussing leadership, focusing on physical prowess, and being interested in being a bad ass. The MBA class placed me squarely into a group of people pretty obsessed with power and money (oversimplification for brevity.).
Now you can step off these treadmills, but it’s HARD. It’s a much better idea to do your research, and either avoid treadmills you don’t want to be on or have a plan to get back off of them.
#2. Why can’t you just do whatever you want? This post kind of implies that “with great power comes great responsibility” to do something meaningful. Maybe. But this position is part of the hedonic treadmill. Because I chose to strive, and get into this select cohort, I now have pressure to either be wildly successful (in something) and/or ensure that I continue to work as hard as possible to make a meaningful impact.
What you lose is the ability to choose all options. What if you no longer want to be a ‘striver’? What if you want to do something that doesn’t have a large impact or make a lot of money? Is it inherently wrong or “disappointing”, or should less type-A decisions be an option, even if you’ve been through Harvard?
Thanks Eric. What is it that you’re doing after your MBA?
My timeline:
– seven years military
– two year b-school (trying to get IM/HF, which didn’t happen. Interned in ER at BB bank)
– After a long search, pivot to RE – 1.5 yrs in commercial RE at a REIT
– ~6 months in an ER firm.
– Finally accepted finance was not a personal fit, and asset management is a shrinking industry.
– Vendor Mgmt /Biz dev at a top tech firm.
– Now product management at same firm.
Enough false starts post-MBA to warrant a lot of reflection. And plenty of lessons learned. No idea on long-term trajectory. I’m trying to rebuild my self confidence by holding down a job for a few years.
Leaving NYC helped (a little) with the hedonic pressure, but it’s there. Especially when I’m around MBA types.
Living in lower cost areas makes it easier to not jump to jobs your hate so you can make rent (Equity research is the worst.).
Hi Sam,
As always, great writing. Been a reader for years now. I am one of those elite college graduates you mentioned, having gone to Duke. My first few jobs out of college were marketing internships, before I ultimately landed a full-time job at a fin tech startup (which failed) and then spent the next 2.5 years at a family office.
The finance track is hard to move out of for elite graduates. I’ve definitely felt the pressure to accomplish a lot in my career because of where I went to school. And I still do, but I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. It is a privilege and it opens up a lot of doors for me.
That being said, I want to use that privilege to help people.
Last year I quit working for someone else and started working for myself (not the best financial decision, but my happiness is paramount), and am freelance consulting (finance, sales & marketing) while I also build a career as a musician and writer. A big goal of mine is to create a holding company that allows me to focus on my own interests and make change in the world.
I am learning that finance can be an effective tool for social change. One of the more interesting projects financial modeling projects I’ve worked on recently involved a juicing enterprise in Africa that proposed providing benefits to smallholder farmers. I hope to do more projects like this, as well as to inspire through my music and my writing.
This was a post I needed to read. Cheers!
Congratulations for taking a risk and pursuing something more than just money and prestige! If it doesn’t work out, you can always fall back on the money. But at least you’ll know you will never wonder what if.
It’s definitely disappointing on a human scale that so many of the supposed brightest go into the finance field. There are so many human problems that deserve smart, innovative attention. I went to one of those small liberal arts colleges you mentioned. I now own a business that is for the public good. I don’t have the weight of expectations on me that an Ivy League may have offered. I want to do good and I do.
Fascinating post. I graduated from UVA a couple years ago and have since been working at Treasury. I would have to agree with the old saying “its not where you go, its what you do when you are there that matters.” My high school is one of those boys prep schools in the DC area. One of my best friends was our valedictorian and he went to Princeton. College didn’t go so well for him because while he was naturally/book smart, he was not ready for the independence and necessary discipline of college. He coasted through high school but hit the wall in college. He struggled through and graduated late. He managed to get a typical web development job at a company in DC.
The Ivy League is no guarantee.
I read something about a guy who went to an Ivy League school and had friends who did also that were very unhappy in their finance, law and other prestigious professions. He got out and started doing work that helped others. He said he is happier and more fulfilled while his friends are miserable. He said do not chase money but focus on being useful and helping others. I agree with him. The reason I started a finance blog was to help others. There are no guarantees in life. Even if you get an excellent education. But doing the right thing and helping others is its own reward. Putting the smile on a child’s face: priceless.
I’m 64 years old and retired. I graduated from an elite, private university (little Ivy) with a degree in general engineering. I didn’t do well there academically, but I got heavily involved in the college radio station and spent my entire career on the technical side of the television broadcast industry. I spent about half my working years as a technician/drone in union-represented positions. Due to a high savings rate, I am now comfortably retired. I left full-time work at age 60 and worked a few years part-time before calling it quits completely about eight months ago. When I see the alumni magazine from my college it makes me wonder if I didn’t spend my entire career under-employed.
Hi,
Thank you for all your posts, first of all. I enjoy reading them. It’s always food for thought.
Regarding this topic, I saw many comments containing the phrase “it doesn’t matter where you go to school.” Well, there is a book called “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be” by Frank Bruni that I would highly recommend. As far as my humble opinions are concerned, I think prestige does matter to an extent for graduate schools, but undergraduate education is more about finding a good fit for the student and the family (academically, financially, culturally, etc). For some, Ivy League/consensus elite schools work just fine, but they are neither the be-all-end-all nor paths to some guaranteed success in life.