I think the higher education market is in for a reality check just like what the credit market is going through right now.
1) Because of the deluge of college students. Many college educated people get jobs at Best Buy and retail outlets. Some of my high school friends are in situations like that. They assumed they would get a good job out of college, but that's what they get by getting a liberal arts degree and partying for 4 years. A 30,000-40,000 per year tuition, all down the drain.
2) Because a lot of job performance is measured by the market (i.e. startups). Getting a prestigious college degree doesn't necessarily get you the job needed and a lot of times you'll get beaten out by someone at a "less prestigious" school.
3) Many people getting a college, medical, or law degree should realize that if they're not at the top of their class, it's not necessarily guaranteed for them to get a great job. For a less prestigious university, it's even more so the case.
4) All of this will lead college counselors and the next generation of parents to advice people to get the most value for their money: i.e. a good education for a good price (i.e. not going to Harvard for Engineering, etc).
3) Many people getting a college, medical, or law degree should realize that if they're not at the top of their class, it's not necessarily guaranteed for them to get a great job. For a less prestigious university, it's even more so the case.
If you get an MD you are pretty much guaranteed a job, even if you go to a Caribbean school. As long as you can get a license, someone will hire you.
a good education for a good price (i.e. not going to Harvard for Engineering
Do you seriously think going to Harvard for engineering is a bad idea? Why do you think so? Would it still be a bad idea if the student enjoys Harvard's financial aid and is paying just a few thousand dollars a year (earned through part-time work) to attend Harvard?
(I'd really like to know, so I'm inviting any onlooker with knowledge of this issue to reply.)
The SEAS (School of Engineering and Applied Science at Harvard) is a actually surprisingly decent. The one thing that gets some people is that CS is taught from a very mathematical bend - about a third of the CS classes don't require any significant work on a computer (besides typesetting the problem sets in TeX). I actually prefer it that way - I'd rather focus on theory in class, I can pick up the idiosyncrasies of the tools and languages on my own time.
I understand that Harvard's Math department is pretty impressive too (near the same level as MIT/Princeton/etc).
Depending on who I'm talking to, I've heard that Princeton, MIT, and Harvard are each the best in the world (for undergrads). I'm not really in a position to judge, so let it suffice to say that all three are fairly impressive.
Princeton is first and Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Berkeley are tied for second. Harvard is always mentioned as one of the top Math depts. more so than MIT in my experience.
I don't the decision should be evaluated just as a yes or no decision. There was a piece of research that looked at applicants to Ivy Leagues and applicants to magnet schools. For applicants of High School Magnet schools, the leading indicator was not whether they got in, but rather if they applied. For people who got into Ivy Leagues, the leading indicator was if they "chose" to go somewhere else and get an education there instead.
There's an inmeasuable quality of ambition that cannot be quantified on paper. I personally know many of my friends who have gotten into "prestigious" Universities who are not doing as well as some of my other friends.
It's the same reason why Nobel Laureates come from various universities. If the measuring tool to get into Ivy Leagues were a perfect indicator, these professors would be considered a fluke.
I've come to realize more and more that tests are inherently flawed.
1) Because of the deluge of college students. Many college educated people get jobs at Best Buy and retail outlets. Some of my high school friends are in situations like that. They assumed they would get a good job out of college, but that's what they get by getting a liberal arts degree and partying for 4 years. A 30,000-40,000 per year tuition, all down the drain.
2) Because a lot of job performance is measured by the market (i.e. startups). Getting a prestigious college degree doesn't necessarily get you the job needed and a lot of times you'll get beaten out by someone at a "less prestigious" school.
3) Many people getting a college, medical, or law degree should realize that if they're not at the top of their class, it's not necessarily guaranteed for them to get a great job. For a less prestigious university, it's even more so the case.
4) All of this will lead college counselors and the next generation of parents to advice people to get the most value for their money: i.e. a good education for a good price (i.e. not going to Harvard for Engineering, etc).