Will you have a better life if you graduate from an elite college or university? Why or why not?

There were two great pieces that persuaded me, but they I am persuaded by two pieces that puts forth opposite views. Until last year, I would have been convinced by "Numbers Favor Top Schools" by Richard D. Kahlenberg. First, Kahlenberg began by reminding us of the amount of effort we are using to fight for a higher education. The value of education equals a better trajectory in life. Why else would we boycott? Beginning with a widely known riot brings me to reality. It is a very credible way to start. Further on, he shows us that school is not only about education, but the people you will meet, who are as ambitious as you are. In the end, I found a flaw that made me disagree with him. He says: "Finally, selective and wealthy institutions offer unparalleled access to the leadership class in this country." He names a list of government leaders who attended elite colleges. I realized, Maybe going to an elite school would be fantastic if one wants to go into leadership, but for other careers it may not matter at all. Without any further research, this view seemed the most reasonable to me in previous years, but last summer we read a piece about elite schools that changed my mind.

David W. Breneman's piece, "Graduate School Matters More", was definately more comforting by relieving stress. His three points were: elite schools are not perfect for everyone and depends on personality, just as long as the college gives enough academically to allow students to succeed onto their professional school of choice after undergrad school, and finance consideration. I favored his second point most because he does not say that any college is alright, but a college that gives enough quality education is great- showing that working hard is still necessary. We need to look at the college's characteristics, instead of just the name is Breneman's view. He compares picking a college to a marriage, "Too many variables are involved to base the decision solely on the factors that a news magazine has selected to rank colleges. No one would pick a spouse in such a manner."