Best Colleges and Universities: Does it Really Matter?

    

US News has come out with their list of best colleges and universities – again, and the list looks pretty much the same as it looks every year.  Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, MIT, blah, blah, blah … .  Yes, we all know some Universities stand out above the rest.  And we also know that if you have the money and grades to attend one of the top, say 10, schools you’ll have some prestige going into a job interview after graduation.  Most of us, though, didn’t go to Ivy League schools, and the fact is that while going to a highly ranked school will help at a job interview, it doesn’t help even a bit in keeping that job.  Incompetence is a universal attribute as common in Ivy League graduates as anybody else.  I’ve seen dozens of intelligent people fail this year because of sheer laziness or entitlement issues, neither of which is stanched by big time diplomas.  People, as a rule, succeed or fail as a product of their attitude, not their degree.  This annual best colleges list is entertaining, but not informative.  The University of Oklahoma (my university) didn’t make the list and, because of school pride, I’m a little sad; but just like a college football game, it doesn’t actually mean a damn thing in the big picture.        

College is Important If:        

The act of obtaining a bachelors degree is intended as a beginning, not an end, to education.  The real purpose of universities isn’t to crank out expert business people, linguists, engineers or philosophers; the purpose is to imbue those aspirants with the tools to continue educating themselves after they exit into real world.  For that purpose, a degree is meaningful.  What benefit is it, then, to go to a big time school?  Simple – to get a job afterward.  It’s not about learning or becoming a better person; that can be done at any respectable school.  A prestigious degree is for the practical purpose of finding a high paying job; the education therefore is a byproduct, not a motivation.  People attending Ivy League schools might even be less interested in learning than the general population.  They do however have the long term vision that enables them to climb the ladder more efficiently than their peers.  And, of course that’s a useful a skill, but it’s not a love of learning – that’s ambition.  The appearance of intelligence, to most people, is more important than actual growth.        

Keeping a Job:        

Long term success requires lifelong learning and growth.  I’ve forgotten almost everything I learned in College.  I don’t remember specific calculus equations or what the Krebs Cycle is (other than the name).  What I do know is that there is a lot to know, and I don’t know much of it.  As a business owner I would prefer to hire someone who could learn something from me and follow directions than someone who thinks they’ve learned it all and are entitled to my respect.  Even an engineer who’s specific skill set exceeds the understanding of his managers should have an open minded attitude towards his own education.  In fact if he doesn’t continue to grow, he’ll quickly become obsolete, and his managers will be forced, regardless of intelligence or credentials, to fire him and hire someone with a better attitude.  His ability to keep his job isn’t supported by the degree that was checked once upon his hiring and then forgotten.        

Teach your Kids to Be Educated, not Simply Ambitious:        

 A mind towards pure education opens more doors in the long run than simple minded ambition.  Successful people seek out other successful people.  To be accepted by them demands a level of mastery that isn’t obtainable with any degree, not even an Ivy League one.  Whatever your kid wants to be in life is open to him (unless he’s color blind and wants to be an electrician).  Success in his chosen field has very little to do with what university he attends and much more to do with his love of learning and his social skills.  The University is an important tool for the person who realizes he needs to learn how to learn, but it’s almost useless when actual mastery is the goal.  Only hands on, risky experimentation leads to mastery.  Doctoral students find mastery.  The rest of us must enter the work force, open our own businesses and do, for years, what we really love doing to find it.  How does a Harvard degree help me run a martial arts business?  How will Princeton teach me to be a successful blogger or run a PPC ad campaign?  It won’t.  What it will do is get me a job – keeping it and becoming competent are up to me.