Gallup and Purdue University conducted a poll intended to measure how effective different colleges were at producing graduates who were engaged in their work and thriving in their lives, or more simply which colleges produced happier people. The results were surprising: they found no significant difference between expensive ivy league schools and state schools, although for-profit college graduates saw worse outcomes.
Factors that did correlate with the well-being of graduates were things like cost of attendance (and therefore level of debt after graduation), quality of teaching and depth of learning. Internships and having a professor take a special interest in the student were particularly responsible for imparting a greater depth of learning.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 10 2014, @05:11AM
There's nothing to worry about, because there aren't any jobs for college graduates!
(Score: 3) by AnonTechie on Saturday May 10 2014, @06:32AM
The reasons stated are quite obvious. As mentioned, cost of education should not be the only criteria for such a comparison. I believe that the real advantage of studying in a prestigious university is the quality of your contacts/friendships (the so called, old boys club). As stated, by someone whose name escapes me at the moment, "Happiness is truly within you or nowhere at all". I guess it was Hermann Hesse.
Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Angry Jesus on Saturday May 10 2014, @06:40AM
> I believe that the real advantage of studying in a prestigious university is
> the quality of your contacts/friendships (the so called, old boys club)
Is it really an advantage if being part of the old boys club does not make you any happier with your job or your life? If the debt burden of going to a prestigious school ends up making you less happy than you would have been with the much lighter burden of a state school?
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday May 10 2014, @11:14AM
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Angry Jesus on Saturday May 10 2014, @03:20PM
> Immediately? No. Eventually? Probably.
The data in this study does not support that.
While age is correlated with greater "happiness" there isn't a divergence such that older ivy leaguers are proportionally happier compared to the general population at any age.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 10 2014, @01:23PM
> If the debt burden of going to a prestigious school
I'd just like to point out that the entire Ivy League now offers need-based student loans. If you're smart enough to get in, you'll only have to pay what you can afford.
(Score: 1) by Angry Jesus on Saturday May 10 2014, @03:22PM
>> If the debt burden of going to a prestigious school
>
> I'd just like to point out that the entire Ivy League now offers need-based student loans.
Is there some other form of college debt besides student loans that I am unaware of?
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday May 11 2014, @12:10AM
And if you are the right race, you may not even have to be smart enough to get in.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1) by hendrikboom on Saturday May 10 2014, @01:34PM
The Hermann Hesse quote is probably
Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all.
I found it on the web at http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/09/21/ hermann-hesse-trees/ [brainpickings.org]
If someone finds a better origin for the happiness quote, I'd be happy to hear about it.
(Score: 3) by aristarchus on Saturday May 10 2014, @08:09AM
Because of all the affirmative action that private schools do (hint, it is called "legacy slots" not based on merit at all.).
(Score: 1) by Horse With Stripes on Saturday May 10 2014, @10:57AM
Buffy: Is this story true, Biff? We're not happier than regular folk?
Biff: This is nonsense, Buffy. And I can prove it!
Buffy: How Biff?
Biff: Buffy, do you remember when Yale beat Harvard?
Buffy: Oh yes, Biff. That was quite a day. Quite a day indeed!
Biff: Did that make you happy, Buffy?
Buffy: Oh yes, Biff. Nothing makes me as happy as when Yale trounces Harvard.
Biff: There you have it, Buffy. Do you think the unwashed masses feel that way when their club bests another?
Buffy: I don't see how, Biff. I don't see how.
Biff: Exactly. Now, where oh where did I put my martini?
(Score: 1) by Magic Oddball on Saturday May 10 2014, @11:03AM
It sounds like the people doing the study assumed that public schools are better and automatically more prestigious. That might be the case for some parts of the country (many people from New England I've known seem to feel that way), but in states like California, people don't make that assumption as we have as many nationally or internationally top-ranked public schools as private.
Another factor is that highly motivated students with a talent often choose a state school that's inexpensive, offers a great scholarship, has a great program for their field (or for studying abroad), and/or that is casual & cheap enough to let them focus on honing their talent. If they succeed (as many do), they're likely to be happier in general than the many students that chose a school based on its fancy reputation, but that aren't driven by any particular goal or talent.
Then there's also the complication of all of the other factors that go into what makes a person happy. For example, people that are content with what they have or merely want to follow the life script (school/job/relationship/kids) are likely to be happier than someone that needs more than that to be content, or that feels driven to sacrifice their personal life to have an impressive education & career, or that seemingly can't have the career they want without that sacrifice.