Are Elite Colleges Even Important?

When it comes down to choosing a college for any student, it becomes somewhat of a challenge to select the best college out there. People seem to think that if you go to an elite college, you will somehow have a better life, while others tend to disagree. Between seven debates, I came to a conclusion that there was one response that was the most persuasive and one that did not seem to persuade me as much as the rest.

The response that stood out to me the most was "Skip the Admissions Game" by Kevin Carey. He states that if you have the money to go to an elite college, then it wouldn't be such a bad idea to attend, but if you simply just don't have the money, it's okay if you do not attend an elite college.

"If you're among the small handful of students who have stellar SAT scores and parents with several hundred thousand dollars to spend, you should seriously consider going to an elite college or university... But most students -- about four out of five -- attend colleges that have modest resources, are easy to get into, and are relatively obscure. Lacking any other way to distinguish among these choices, these students usually attend whichever college is cheapest and closest to home."

It only makes sense that if you are lucky enough to attend an elite college, that you should go, no question asked. But if you can't for financial reasons, then it's not the end of the world. Elite schools will only look good for instance, on a job application, but at a non-elite college, students might get the same education.

The response that was the least persuasive to me was "The Specialization Trade-Off" by James Shulman. To me, he honestly made points that were irrelevant to the subject. He mentioned sports which I thought was unimpressive.

But if you’re a school that is trying to beat Yale in swimming, then selecting someone on the basis of her potential in the 100-meter butterfly is a rational investment for the college; the trade-off is that although recruited athletes will go on to have great opportunities, they are likely to perform academically below what their preparation would predict.

The question was not asking about sports being incorporated in elite colleges. Shulman could have made a stronger debate if he would have stayed on the subject instead of heading off into another direction speaking of sports.