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US College Ranking and NYC-sized Income August 16, 2006

Each year, various publications rank the universities in the US. High schoolers and college students use these rankings to decide on where to go or how far up the ladder their current school stands in relation to other schools. The only value for these rankings for post graduates, like myself, is purely for the resume and to say that you went to a top 10 school or a ‘top tier’ school.

Many students for graduate education focus on jobs and potential income for selection to universities, but in this day and age, a bachelor’s degree is the baseline for a ‘decent’ career. An article in today’s NY Times states:

Today the United States ranks ninth among industrialized nations in higher-education attainment, in large measure because only 53 percent of students who enter college emerge with a bachelor’s degree, according to census data. And those who don’t finish pay an enormous price. For every $1 earned by a college graduate, someone leaving before obtaining a four-year degree earns only 67 cents.

I found the last sentence interesting. I guess being a professional in NYC attracts other professionals and college educated people, so I don’t normally think about people’s educational background. I assume everyone went to college. I went to a top 10 university (according to recent rankings in US News & World Report), but I rarely think that I am smarter than anyone else. In fact, there are so many smart people around me that I feel that I’m normal in terms of educational background. And I certainly don’t make close to Investment Banking or Attorney dollars.

In fact, in the very same day, the NY Times featured an article titled “New York Area Is a Magnet For Graduates“. According to the article, in 2005, in Manhattan, more than 57 percent of all residents had at least a bachelor’s degree, up from 50 percent in 2000. Of course this brings up the issue of lack of affordable housing, lack of people who are willing to work hard labor jobs, and the decline of artistic or creative types in NYC. Considering that average apartment is over $1.2 million, that brings up my previous question, how do these people have so much money? If I didn’t budget my money and wasn’t aware of all the personal finance topics that the PF community brings to me, I would not be able to live anywhere near NYC. The income gap between the rich and poor makes me nervous that NYC will not be affordable for anyone but the top 1% of earners in the US.

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Comments»

1. S/100/30 - August 17, 2006

Yes, I also went to a “top 10″ university (don’t get this quantitative scientist started on all the flaws in the US News methodology!) and I don’t feel very smart most days, actually. I felt much more above-average while at that top-10 school than I do in grad school at my bottom-of-the-top-tier current school.