到底去不去常春藤？！精英教育的好處到底是神馬？

Intended Benefit: Connections to Faculty and their Work

Real Benefit: Connections to Alumni and their Work

The work of university faculty members, although impressive and influential in their respective fields, is frequently only significant in the world of academia. It is the alumni of these universities that are the real results of Elite education. Now, these are not your typical washed-out alumni still hanging around campus, far past graduation. These graduates, formerly hand-picked students, are now global powerhouses. Their achievements in business, medicine, politics, and all other fields are fueling our world.

And current students respect their work. They are eager to use these alumni as mentors for their own lives. Many of the world’s most successful people, former Elite students, recognize that they, too, were struggling through college just a few decades ago.

Now, they are willing to help young hopefuls by encouraging them to work hard, helping them avoid pitfalls, showing them that success is within reach. In the short term, these top students have a gift of wisdom that will push them ahead of their peers and prepare them for post-graduate life. In the long term, Elite students will use this wisdom to forge legacies of their own.

Intended Benefit: Collaboration with Other Bright Young People

Real Benefit: Socialization with Other Bright Young People

At most schools, students are forced to collaborate for classwork. This factor holds true at top schools as well. Whereas most schools, and most sectors of life, allow you to choose the people you spend time with, top universities have already narrowed down your peer group for you. This is a subliminal way of forcing an intellectual environment in all parts of the students’ social life. Whether it is just having a drink or forming a lifelong friendship, the relationships students form are crucial to their education. Because amongst top students, it is not just “having a drink.” It is having a drink and casually discussing the controversies surrounding the World Bank.

And it is not just “best friends forever.” It is forming business partnerships for life, based on years of trust and mutual respect. Elite universities are a breeding ground for this type of social outcome. When the brightest, most creative young students are intentionally placed in such close proximate, brilliance is sure to result.

It is expected that the students who attend these Elite schools will put everything they have into their studies. But in exchange for their dedication, these top students are rewarded with priceless benefits. Often, the critical public sees only the high monetary price of a college education but misses the value. However, the access, connections, socialization opportunities for students found at Elite universities, although sometimes misunderstood, will continue to create a demand that defends all criticism.