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| Shawn Berry |
Top 50 Universities |
When people call me about SAT preparation, the first thing I say is: "A Bachelor's degree is not a Bachelor's degree". Practically every Top 50 University has a successful alumni network and a large endowment (more than $1,000,000,000 USD). The schools use their money to attract the top professors and the top students, often with scholarships. These bright professors and students create a serious culture of learning, which helps most students earn a Bachelor's degree in 4 years. Then these students typically gain the job opportunity or graduate school opportunity of their choice. Most runner-up universities lack the alumni network and endowment needed to weather a recession. Worse, the focus is split. During daylight hours Monday through Friday, education is primary. On all nights and weekends, partying and drinking is primary. This is not to say that you can't spend those hours productively, but the culture of these colleges isolates people who don't party and drink. A third of these students drop out. Another third take 5 or 6 years to graduate. Recruiters value the Top 50 Universities (when I earned my MBA at Duke, there were more companies recruiting than students graduating). At the Top 50 Universities, leading firms pay $50,000+ base salaries, signing bonuses, and end-of-year performance bonuses. Many top consulting firms, financial firms, and technology firms recruit only at the Top 50 Universities. In four years at a Top 50 University, you can expect to find your passion and develop yourself into a successful young adult. With the best career opportunities, you can increase your 40-year career earnings by $1,000,000. Simply put, the higher ranked your university, the greater your increased career earnings on the same fixed-cost investment (4 years tuition & 4 years forgone wages, typically $250,000). That's right: college is a quarter-of-a-million dollar investment in yourself. Invest wisely. Of course it's not just the money, a Top 50 University enables you to: follow the career of your choice (the top companies will be there recruiting) and do challenging work that interests you. In sum, a Top 50 University can dramatically improve your career and your life.
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