The college legacy as a defining factor of a student’s future has lost its influence to what students do during their college years.
“A series of decisions that start the moment they secure their spot in the freshman class—from choosing a major and courses to finding internships—increasingly plays a much larger role in life after graduation than where someone goes to college,” Jeffrey J. Selingo wrote for the Harvard Business Review.
That expensive degree isn’t such a bargain in the long run, it seems. It’s good news for social equality, too: humbler institutions can produce graduates with bright futures as long as they take initiative.
As college degrees have become more common, employers aren’t as impressed by the generic graduate. Instead, they want to know the skills, experience, and knowledge that a graduate gained. Cruising through Dartmouth doesn’t compare favorably against the Nebraska graduate who ran a student organization and found a few great internships.
Employers have become more discerning.
“The degree might open the door for a job interview, but employers don’t trust it enough to validate that someone can actually do the job,” Selingo wrote.
That’s good news as far as leveling the playing field. If a student works hard during their college career, employers notice — and reward — their efforts after graduation. The student who struggles to pay for a local college can compete with students whose parents can afford to send them to a nationally known university.
However, that fracturing of a career path presents new challenges. Only 60 percent of students graduate — on top of that, they have to find valuable internships and develop more skills to impress employers. “Many end up drifting aimlessly through their third decade of life” because the path isn’t so straightforward, Selingo noted. What was essentially a social safety net has now given way to more brutal competition. It’s an improvement on equality, but a greater challenge for students.
Experience has overruled signaling. Students have discovered this sooner than college administrators. They want an education that’s tied to career development, but some college presidents don’t believe that should be a priority. The economic effect has weakened barriers against social equity, but that’s made students averse to education for education’s sake. That could weaken the importance of cultural development and citizenship for students and administrators, even though it brings hope for a less class-obsessed society.
