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One of the more popular topics on WSO, from what I've seen, is the question of the true value of attending a target school, especially for the purpose of working in our industry after graduation. While some argue that it makes the recruiting process much easier, others argue that it's cheaper and easier to stand out to attend a non-target.
I am definitely thankful that I went to a target school and there's no doubt that it played some role in where I am today. However...
...this is NOT what this post is about. Here are 9 unrelated "other" reasons to go to a target/top university:
1. Free stuff
I understand that almost all colleges are good at giving away free t-shirts nowadays, but top schools are even more ridiculous. Aside from t-shirts, here an non-comprehensive list of items I received/got for free (because wealthy kids throw away so much stuff) during my four years of undergrad: jackets, mugs, a toolbox, cologne, hoodies, cups, a hundred dollars, sweatpants, sunglasses, drawstring bags, TVs. Did I mention lots of food?
2. Free booze
Continuing on the trend of freeness, the surplus of privilege in addition to wealthy social organizations (see below) make it much more likely that you won't have to pay for your alcohol. Sure, most of it is cheap beer, but occasionally you can get higher quality stuff with a room party or if you get invited to a members-only event at a club.
3. Unique social experiences
Secret societies, eating clubs, finals clubs. The history, wealth, connections, and most importantly, the fun, that you experience from being in these organizations is unparalleled.
4. Lots of money for funding
Maybe it's not like what it was before the crisis when you could have $200/week for your Jeopardy-watching club for "food and drinks" (but then again, what is?), but it's still pretty easy to get funding to start a club/have events if you have a good idea. I started a club from nothing freshman year and received several thousand dollars over the course of that year for our events.
5. Strong financial aid
I find it surprising that so many people on WSO talk about the price of these top schools as one of the main downsides. This seems to imply to me that all of these WSO members have family incomes well into the 6-figures, which would surprise me (and be unfortunate in this respect), because that's what it takes these days not to receive ANY need-based financial aid from many of these schools. It is not uncommon for a student from a solidly middle-class family to receive 60-80% of his all-in cost (tuition plus everything else) in financial aid at a top 10 school. And if you're lucky enough to go to one of the schools that only offer grants (these are becoming more prevalent in order to compete for yield), you'll be in even better shape.
6. Solidarity
Enough about money (sorry, this is Wall Street Oasis). This link (39 Unexpected Effects Of Your Ivy League Education) has been popular in the last few days. Going to these schools allows you to share very unique experiences that makes you build solidarity with other students/alumni very easily; this is huge, because we all know how hard making friends is after college.
7. Your sports teams suck
"Wait, but I thought these were reasons for going to a top school?" Well, the way I see it, this is just another way to build solidarity. And also, when your teams ACTUALLY do well, you are THAT much more excited for their entrance into March Madness, upsetting a ranked team, only losing by single digits to a state school, or whatever's else that is exciting only to students at these schools.
8. Diverse student population
This is really underrated, and in fact, I called BS on this before I attended my alma mater. It's not just racial diversity, which is what everyone tends to think about for some reason, but literally every form of diversity possible: socioeconomic, geographic, academic, sexual, age, religion, the list goes on.
9. Your campuses get featured/mentioned in media
Admission
The Social Network
Batman Begins
The Great Gatsby
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
The Da Vinci Code
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Gossip Girl
Half-Life
More here
Honestly, reason number 9 was enough for me.
...Now someone explain to me why you would need a thread dedicated to convincing an individual that a top school is the way to go
Lol come on, you have my argument all wrong...don't take it so seriously.
I wrote this because there's sometimes an unfortunate (imo) sentiment on WSO that all people care about with respect to top schools is the fact that they help them get prestigious jobs in finance. I'm trying to steer the conversation away from that to more light-hearted stuff, not actually trying to convince people that these schools are worth going to.
Revenge of the Nerds wasn't filmed at an Ivy.
You really think there's more free booze at Harvard as compared to say ASU or Wisconsin? Don't be silly.
Idk man, based on my experience, I've always had to pay for beer when I partied at state schools.
Probably because people know you can ;)
Nah but for real though - probably because you weren't greek.
Went to a school similar to those, and I have paid for booze once (out of probably 40 parties ive been to)
-
Unfortunately, a lot of target schools (some exceptions like Stanford, so I've heard) definitely have "goggles" :(
Solid post. Thanks for sharing. I really wish I read WSO in high school.
Added benefit: People assume you know a lot more than you actually do :)
I actually turned down Wharton BECAUSE Shia set foot on site.
Unless you're a freshman athlete hanging out in final club basements or an attractive young female, there's really no such thing as free booze at Harvard.
I definitely disagree with 7, how about Duke and Stanford?
I think OP either went to Yale or Princeton based on his remarks lol.
Shouldn't you attend a target school simply because its better? Given the choice between HYPSM and a non-Ivy, it should be a no-brainer to go for the former.
On the other hand... Girls at target schools are pretty terrible (read: http://fyuchicago.tumblr.com/post/16473867575/are-people-at-the-univers… lol)
prove it
subtle brag
Or Yale hockey, or Princeton lacrosse, or Cornell wrestling and lacrosse, or even sometimes Harvard basketball...
UCLA has 109 NCAA championships, Stanford has 104, and USC has 94. I think any one of those schools have more championships than the whole ivy league combined.
Harvard alone has 138 (as of 2010).
sup
Don't be retarded. Point #7 is "Your sports teams suck" not "Your sports teams don't win championships".
This.
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