The University of Chicago recently put a black eye on “elite” schools’ reputations. It announced a $13.5 million settlement related to allegations that it illegally manipulated its financial aid system to reduce poorer students’ ability to attend the school. It was one of 16 schools included in a lawsuit and the first to announce a resolution.
This black eye and others like the Operation Varsity Blues bribery scandal get a lot of well-deserved scorn. But while the big schools try to dodge critics, lesser-known community college and four-year schools have an opportunity to break through the noise and show their value to tens of millions of high school students and their parents.
First, employers aren’t falling for the big schools’ claim that they can are the key to high-paying jobs. For example, I attended Plymouth State University, a small school in the mountains of New Hampshire. My communications career started next to big-name school graduates in Washington, D.C. – but nobody cared where I went to school. And no prospect has cared in my five years as a business owner.
This holds true even for technical jobs. Peraton spokesperson Greg Caufman told me that the company, a national security government contractor with over $7 billion in annual revenue, regularly hires from Maryland and Virginia state and community schools. And IT services government contractor Federal Resources Corporation’s talent pipeline goes straight through small schools in Erie, Pennsylvania.
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Second, small schools often provide the same learning experiences as “elite” schools. PSU’s sales students were in the top one percent of competitors in a national 2021 sales competition, right next to students from Harvard, Boston College, and Bryant University. And my wife, who has degrees in history and nursing, started the former at a community college with the same government professor who taught at a nearby, and more expensive, four-year school.
Sometimes, creativity is required to create student success. A 2021 cybersecurity partnership between Virginia Tech and Northern Virginia Community College created dual enrollment for the latter’s students. Students save thousands of dollars on room, board, and tuition by living at home; and they pay community college rates while living next-door to top employers like the federal government, Amazon, and government contractors.
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Finally, public school students save about $5,500 in student loans compared to “ranked private college” students, according to U.S. News & World Report. However, these numbers are likely skewed because: Few elite school students take student loans (they start off wealthy); Many students spend five years at state schools. Other students work hard and creatively by securing associate’s degrees while in high school, attending community college for two years, and/or graduating in three years.
The so-called student debt crisis is really about poor student (and parent) decision-making. When I asked billionaire investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban how students can graduate debt-free, he said, “There is just one [way]. Pick a school you can afford to attend.”
That simple phrase encapsulates the best narrative: Small schools provide the non-rich a quality, affordable education that results in a good job. Students then have the flexibility to seek out employers of their choice instead of jobs they need to pay off debt. And students can use their savings to build a bigger retirement account, buy a better car, or put a bigger down payment on a home.
America’s big-name schools have spent decades marketing themselves as the path to elite status. And for foreign service officers or electrical engineers, the increased debt makes sense. But it’s financially irresponsible for an aspiring teacher, women’s studies major, or social worker to pile on the debt for what will be modest incomes regardless of connections or flashy diplomas.
At the end of the day, higher education has largely become a white-collar jobs training program. By that definition, small schools blow the big names out of the water by providing a great education, building deep relationships with relevant employers, and creating opportunities for low debt so that students aren’t drowning on Day One after graduation.
Many schools already do all three of these things. They just need to tell everyone about it.
