The Cost of College Part 2: Do Expensive Schools Equal Career Success?

During the month of November, UniversityChic.com's college writers will be exploring how the costs of college really add up. From sky-rocketing tuitions, to luxury dorms, to overpaid educators, each student offers her own unique take on how these factors will eventually impact the price you pay for YOUR education.

When applying to college, a lot of factors influence each student’s choice: Is the university small, large, or medium sized? Is it far from home? Is it a research university or a liberal arts college? Does it have a varsity athletics program, a school newspaper, or a radio station? While all of these are important considerations in deciciding where you will spend your life for the next four years, cost remains a significant concern for many students and families.

A college education can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and while some students are lucky enough to earn scholarships for good grades or are awarded generous financial aid plans, many families have to bear the burden of a significant slice of their student’s tuition. This is where cost may factor in to an eighteen year old’s college choice. Perhaps a state school offers a 4.0 student a “full ride,” free tuition and free housing for four years… but she has also gained admission to an Ivy League school and has received no aid to contribute to a fifty thousand dollar annual tuition fee. This is a difficult decision for a student to make––and is often even more difficult for parents, who wish for the best possible education for their children but must maintain financial responsibility.

But is the two hundred thousand dollar undergraduate education really worth it? Is the value equal to the exorbitant cost? This is a difficult question to answer. I attend Harvard University, a school that is historically respected as one of the best educational institutions in the world. It is, by all means, a great place to live and learn. Yet, is it fifty-two-thousand-dollars-a-year-great? I work in admissions, giving tours and greeting prospective students at information sessions, and generally we report the cost of a year at Harvard at just that, $52, 000, when you add up tuition, books, room and board, personal expenses, and travel. I absolutely love the time I have spent here and would venture to say that it is worth the cost. We have a vast array of class options, beautiful rooms and large common spaces, world-class professors, an architecturally impressive campus –– and are generally successful in finding high profile job and graduate school opportunities after graduation. In “purchasing” a Harvard degree, a student and her family is in some respect, paying for the Ivy League brand as is the case at many other top dollar, big name universities.

Many of these are listed online at CNN.com’s recent ranking of America’s 10 Most Expensive Colleges. Most of these schools cost over fifty thousand dollars for a year of enrollment. All are very diverse and vary in size and location. Some are large research universities, others are liberal arts schools concentrated in the east, like Wesleyan or Vassar, and still others are a bit further south, such as George Washington University or Washington University in St. Louis. While it is tough to compare value, within the list and to other colleges that may be unlisted, it is interesting to begin a conversation about the actual value of a college education at, say, a big name private college, and a much more affordable state university.

One of my best friend’s from high school is a sophomore at NYU, the number three most expensive university at $51,993 for the 2009-2010 school year. When I asked her to speculate about the value of her education, she made it clear that she loved her school and appreciated being able to attend school in the center of one of the most dynamic cities in the world. However, she did voice some frustrations about administrative delays and the difficulty of class enrollment. The lottery system in place at NYU makes it difficult to take all the classes you would like, at the time you would like, each semester. She also reported that it is difficult to find support to talk about study abroad, or plans of study. However, she does have a lot of positive comments about her school, such as the diversity of classes offered in the various undergraduate programs and the prime NYC housing. But how does this compare to a state school?

Another friend of mine is enrolled at University of California at Davis, a state university in north-central California known for veterinary studies and the sciences. In-state tuition at UC Davis is under twenty thousand dollars. My friend has great things to say about her school, and could not imagine transferring to a big east coast university. But who will have better job opportunities in the future? While grades are important, it may be easier for my friend at NYU to get her foot in the door because of the name recognition that comes with attending the college. There are certainly a lot more new NYU hires, or Ivy League hires, at coveted investment banking firms than state school hires. (Editor's Note: Having worked in NYC's media industry for over a decade, I've found the exact opposite to to be true: Ivy League grads or even those with a Masters Degree are somtimes passed over simply because of the assumed salary expectation that comes with their degree.)

In the end, it all depends on your definition of success. While some jobs are definitely easier to come by if you attend one of the more expensive, brand-name colleges in the U.S., hundreds of thousands of students attend state schools or community colleges, love their time there, and have no problems encountering desirable job opportunities once they graduate. No matter what a college counselor or an overzealous guidebook might say, a fifty thousand dollar fee doesn't automatically guarantee future success.

-- By Kylie Thompson, Harvard University

The Cost of College Part 1: Living The Luxury Dorm Experience