My number one rule for selecting institutions of higher learning is, when the rankings gap of the intended major of study between universities and/or colleges in consideration are not gigantic, choose the school that has the highest overall rankings. Why? In the real world, a highest prestigious school have the means and determination to be world-class at everything they do. For example, the Ivy League schools were originally heavily focused on the arts and humanities, not much different from many liberal arts colleges at the time. In the years since, they have poured in billions in funding to “catch up” with the public and the technological-focused schools which many would say they have mostly succeeded at. MIT which is one of those technological-focused schools I described above, have poured billions to catch-up on arts and humanities. Some Ivy League and Ivy Plus schools may even have cross-registration arrangements for their respective students to be able to take classes at each other’s schools.
The major versus overall ranking debate can be visibly illustrated by looking at the status of new school divisions a decade or two after their creations. Take the brand new business school that was established by a certain Ivy League school in the 1970s. It took maybe two decades for the school to be considered a top 20 business school and about four decades for it to be firmly included into the top 10-15 business school lists. Many university and college ranking systems are based on reputation, selectivity metrics, employment prospects for graduates and research output with some also emphasizing on affordability, gradation rates and alumni giving rates. The schools with the most resources and established reputations will likely excel in most if not all of the criteria listed above. I see education as a long-term investment. The reality is, new graduates, regardless of which schools they attended, will need a few years to be firmly established in their professions if they do not change professions at all. The truth is many students at institutions of higher learning do sometimes change major and the major they studied may not even be the corresponding field of work that they engage in when they graduate or work in their entire career. That is another reason why overall reputation of a college or university usually take precedence over the rankings for a specific major in the eyes of many employers with some exceptions. In all honesty, most employers probably don’t look at the ranking of each school of the prospective job applicant as much as they rely on their previously conceived perception of the reputation of a said college and/or university. In this day and age, interdisciplinary cooperation and applied use of technologies increasingly require employees to deepen their breadth of knowledge and experience with almost everything. There are probably many English majors from the Upper Ivies working in Wall Street. From a long-term perspective, the overall reputation of a university will usually mean more anyway. The employers that don’t hire Ivy Leaguers aren’t alway doing this because they don’t want to but some may be not doing this for more practical reasons like money and turnover rates.
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How to select the most suitable universities and colleges to attend.
Prestigious universities are actually no more expensive or frequently cheaper than the not so prestigious private schools because of scholarships and grants often given to the most gifted prospective students. Many prestigious universities are heading toward the tuition-free model. Ivy League admissions standards are quite high hence the vast majority of applicants will not get admitted, yes, even the ones from wealthy families may not get in. Legacies and other types of perceived loopholes in admissions standards at top colleges and universities are closing gradually. In the long-term, to get in and graduate from established colleges and universities regardless of rankings will take financial resources, time and effort. A well-functioning society needs the common person as much as it need the elites in various fields to innovate and create employment opportunities for society. A top-rated education is still by far one of the best ROIs in life especially in terms of upward mobility for the members of the non-wealthy class. Obviously, grade inflation may be a perceived issue at some top universities, however, regardless of that, working toward a high GPA along with student leadership experience and internships is still one of the best indicators for employers to find the most suitable employees for their organization.
Should I attend an Ivy or an Ivy Plus school? That sounds like a title for a future posting. I will say that with the embracement of interdisciplinary and STEMS fields, a top school is a top school regardless of its “league.” Which college and universities ranking system/list should I use when selecting prospective schools and how do I use these lists to find the best schools for me? Again, a topic of discussion perhaps in a future post but here are some points regarding this topic. The best resources including attending the top universities will still be the best money could buy when one could afford it. The sticker total cost of attendance price increases for these elite schools, already expensive for many people, will likely greatly exceed the pace of inflation unless the prospective student is one of the few gifted students who will be the best among the best of the 5% or so self-preselected applicants who even dared to apply in the first place and who even got in. Probably only an extremely small percentage of the 5% if students who were actually admitted into these schools will get offered a significant scholarship or grant. That 5% already basically include inventors, scientists, geniuses and even smarter geniuses. I foresee resource constraints related consolidation will occur in the tertiary education system due to slowing in population growth in much of the world, a changing society especially demographic changes, technological and geopolitics shifts and with significant decreases in international students in the West.
Significant private school consolidations will likely occur especially in the liberal arts segment. This will mean more applications to top schools, net reduction in the number of majors offered by colleges and fiercer competition for the top schools. The consolidation and reduction of majors may mean choosing colleges and/or colleges more carefully including what to major in while in school make a world of difference. Consolidation and reductions in the industry are happening with real root causes. There are four major colleges and universities ranking list that people frequently use. One in the US, one in East Asia and two in the UK. I may discuss this more in-depth in the future but I will say these rankings have their own unique attributes and are respected by different crowds though there may be some overlaps. Without going into the specifics, a balanced, weighted-average approach is probably the most logical when one relies on the rankings as a significant element during the college selection process. Sometimes people will say this college is strong in this region or within a certain field, I think it is best to choose a school that has global appeal now if you are able to and in the future if you are not able to but is a believer in the process and can afford the wait. The tangible and intangible infrastructure requirements for schools with a global reputation is vastly different than that of the regional ones. Having a license to sell something but electing not to is vastly different than not having the license and not being able to have the option to perform a certain action even when doing so maybe advantage or even required for survival purposes. Getting a license and sometimes multiple licenses for something require a lot of resources and prep work sometimes decades in the making. That is all I will say on that.