Education creates opportunities that last a lifetime. As such, college enrollment in the U.S. has skyrocketed. According to a report by Statista, the amount of Americans enrolled in a university, either private or public, has gone from about 6 million in 1965 to nearly 20 million in 2019. Competition for acceptance into schools of higher education has been more competitive than ever, and the debate over whether the reputation of the school that one attends or not matters has come into question. Although attending any university should largely revolve around the programs, both academic and social, that it offers, the reputation of the school will ultimately be crucial when it comes to applying for high salary and well respected jobs.

There are several reasons why the name of a university matters. One of the most dominant reasons is credibility. Take for example the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, run and funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Many of its scientists, engineers and top executives are graduates and even former professors from renowned universities such as the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Stanford, and Yale. While having an education from such schools is an impressive feat in itself, it’s the rigor of these universities’ educations that makes a graduate attractive to hiring employers. At the bare minimum to receive a degree from Caltech, irrespective of degree, students must take a minimum of five science and math courses in their freshman year. This doesn’t include additional classes that will help guide students in their particular majors. 

When employers choose to hire a graduate from Caltech, they understand that the person has undergone a rigorous application process to their university, and endured an even tougher experience getting an education from highly intelligent professors and interacting with other bright minds in their classmates. As such, graduates from schools such as Caltech are much more likely to be trusted with high stress and complex tasks, as they have been accustomed to such an environment already. 

Credibility goes beyond reassurance in the creation of individually intelligent graduates. With a history of former alumni who have achieved great success, universities become increasingly attractive to prospective students who want to achieve that same success. When Harvard has Sal Khan attesting to the quality of its education, or the University of Pennsylvania has Elon Musk to use as proof that they fostered creative genius, students are naturally attracted to these notable schools. The results of one’s education from a well-reputed university speak for themselves in the achievements they are able to have.

However, it would be naive to state that the only way for one to achieve success is by attending a well known university. Steve Jobs dropped out of his university after just one semester, yet still went on to create Apple and bring the world into the age of the modern cell phone and personal computer. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard before getting a degree, but his natural talent and passion for computer programming meant he was still able to create the first microcomputers with his friend Paul Allen. While graduating from a university can be and is extremely important to ensuring economic stability, it is entirely possible to achieve that same stability and even achieve major success by simply pursuing one’s dreams and being willing to make sacrifices to do so. 

Despite this, not pursuing a college degree severely limits one’s job opportunities. Many jobs that pay a six figure salary annually, from agriculture to commercial aviation to resource management, require at minimum a bachelor’s degree. Furthermore, internationally recognized companies such as Boeing, Google, or IBM are more likely to hire individuals with educational backgrounds from more well known schools, due to the aforementioned rigor of those educational pursuits. While it’s not impossible to be hired by a high paying, well respected employer holding a degree from a less known school, it is considerably more difficult. Big name schools often have programs or connections that expose their students to the working world before they even graduate, thus giving them a head start on being prepared for being part of the workforce. Recognizing this, employers are more likely to hire graduates from such schools due to the gained experience.

University names don’t mean everything in life. You don’t need to have attended an Ivy League school to earn a well paying job that provides a stable lifestyle for yourself and your family. However, name schools will always hold the advantage over less recognized universities in the competitive hiring environment, and the success that their alumni have had speaks volumes to the significance of receiving costlier, more rigorous higher education.

Photo courtesy of UNSPLASH.COM