So here’s a question - which many would think a little silly, but - How important to your career is going to study at an Ivy League University? Silly because many of you are thinking, of course its important! Ivy League universities are some of the biggest brands in education. These institutions and the brand value which comes along with it - are truly exceptional. These are, however, things that may be missing at other good institutes. So, definitely, you say, its a good idea to go to Ivy League. And i agree. Ivy League univs and others like them (MIT and Stanford are not Ivy League) are a must-have - if your aim is for example to build a next generation search engine or become chief surgeon of Boston Childrens’ Hospital. But not so important - if your aim is to work as a software engineer or as a doctor in a normal hospital. Basically, you need to weigh the costs versus the benefits here.

In the industry, its your performance which gets you ahead. Your credentials only allow you to get your foot in the door. And Ivy League as well as non-Ivy League degrees are good for normal, even good, high paying jobs. It might also be worth your time to note the difference in cost between attending an Ivy League program and a less competitive alternative. Graduate education can be expensive anywhere, but you may end up paying more than $40,000/year for the top engineering, medicine and legal programs on Ivy League campuses. Public universities have lower fees structures.

There are a bunch of trade-offs involved in choosing between universities. Attending a top notch Ivy School means availing of a top notch brand, getting to know and network with top notch professionals, and so on - however, it also means that you may take many more years to come out of your educational debt. On the otherhand, at a lesser expensive alternative university, you can probably get done with your loans pretty soon, and get a good job too. In domains with a high amount of skilled-labor deficiency such as software in the US - people from non-Ivy League schools also manage to get good jobs. So it might make more sense to graduate at the top of your class at a non-Ivy League school rather than graduate as a middle-rung student at an Ivy League. Agree? Write in the comments…