Ever wonder why people send their kids to such expensive colleges? After all, the syllabus is much the same, the facilities may be better, but there is another reason. When you send your kids to Harvard, for example, it’s not the education that counts but the connections you make. Connections and influence are what you’re paying for.
Why Attending Harvard is More Important Than Graduating
Graduating is the end goal for all students. It’s what makes the four years of efforts count. At least with most universities.
But, if you send your kids to a more prestigious school, the prize it slightly different.
For example, you go to an interview…
“Can you tell us about your education?”
“Sure, I went to Harvard and….”
What Attending Harvard Implies
This opening sentence changes the relationship between you and in the interviewer very quickly.
“I went to Harvard….” implies many things.
It suggests you’re
- Successful
- Connected
- Trustworthy
And
- Elite
Note that I said ‘implies’. It doesn’t mean you are any of these things but it influences how others relate to you.
- Maybe they lean forward a little more when you speak or
- Nod their head when you make a point or
- Withhold judgment whereas with others they’d be more severe
Why is this so important?
The Bill Gates Harvard story
Bill was asked why he dropped out of college. He turned it around and said it wasn’t true. He’d taken a break. Suggesting someday he’d go back.
A HR friend said to me once that ‘saying you attended a prestigious college was often interpreted as graduating from the college, which may not be true.’
But in the listener’s mind, the fact that you ‘attended’ sets in motion a chain of events that influences how you are respected, trusted, and paid.
Is my HR friend right? Or are things different for you?
Image by patricia drury
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