When it comes to scoring that job fresh out of college, the college you attend matters. As a sophomore, I strive to get into the best college possible. The better the college, the better chance you have for your future. Though all colleges help take you further, elite colleges or Ivy League schools have more resources and can benefit your resume more than others. After college, Ivy League schools could have more job opportunities straight out of college.

Ivy League colleges have larger endowment funds, cutting-edge laboratories with more high-tech equipment, resources for student-run extracurriculars, and a more characteristic, historic campus. Ivy League schools have better education resources and better and more educated teachers than community colleges or colleges that aren’t Ivy League schools. Other schools lack funds and abilities to fund other projects or exemplary professors that students might need to advance their careers in certain areas further. The value students can obtain from these resources and professors by going to elite universities can make all the difference after graduating. 

Depending on your area of study, employers often look at what college you attended. Going to Ivy League schools or private universities can give you better opportunities in higher-end jobs that are often dependent on the school you attended. For example, law firms care about which university you go to and restrict their candidates to certain colleges they consider the most elite or prepared. Law firms see these graduates often have deeper connections and potential business to bring in, as well as being immediately marketable. As for medical professionals like nurses, employers tend to look for schools that are more recognizable to their staff.

Colleges can change how people perceive you. The recognition your school brings can help job offers and dictate how some see you as a person. The name of the school you attend can alter how people see you. Big-name Ivy League schools or elite schools are often more impressive and leave a better impression on people. More than 50% of women and 80% that are considered the most powerful list have attended Ivy League schools, according to Forbes.

The college you attend can set you up for professional success, and many more feats and connections. Attending an elite or Ivy League school brings more recognition and job offers than other schools would. Attending Ivy League schools sets you apart from the millions of others who are entering the workforce at the same time as you. 

Most people believe the reason to go to college is so you can get the best job possible once you’ve graduated. As long as you have met the requirements to get that job, the college you attend shouldn’t affect your likelihood of succeeding. For example, if you dream of becoming a real estate agent, all you need to do is take a 30-hour-long course and pass an exam. Whether you worked hard and spent all your time and money making it into an Ivy League school would not matter.

In most scenarios, the connections you make with people matter more than anything. If you have a clear goal in mind of what you want to do after college, or even if you know where you want to live, it may be best to get your secondary degree locally. In many jobs, if you went to the same college as your potential employer or met somebody who has a relationship with someone in a position of power, it would be much easier than if you applied regularly, even if you went to a more selective college.

College is extremely expensive, and typically the more selective a college gets, the more pricey it will become. This will most likely put you in a lot of debt. Investing your money wisely while saving $20,000 throughout a degree could very likely benefit you way more than getting into a “more difficult” college. The average student debt in Minnesota is around $32,000. That much money could change someone’s life and it is not easy to pay off in any way. The more you can keep that number down, the better. 

Most people want control in their lives, and there may come a time when you don’t want to live in one place or want to travel and figure out what to do with your life. If you go to a very selective college and put all that time and money into it, you may feel like you’re locked into whatever plan you set for yourself. And that super selective college, along with its debt left behind, is the chain holding you back from your freedom.

As a strong believer in going to college, people should make decisions about their future instead of the selectiveness of the school they attend. Go live your life and take a gap year, or make a decision that feels like it would most benefit you. Not what you think is most acceptable, or prestigious. The selectiveness of the college you attend does not matter, it’s what you make of it.