Frank Bruni's Essay: The Road To Success

Improved Essays
The Road to Success
Many would say that one does not need to go to an elite college to be successful. Although their argument is reasonable, the statistics clearly show that going to an elite college bolsters your chances in succeeding in the working world. In fact, the average college graduate makes around $47,000 a year; however, graduates from more prestigious schools like Princeton were easily making at least six figures (Ellis). This is an extremely large discrepancy in the payoff of graduating college. Success in the working economy is measured in how much money one makes in a year but it is not limited to this definition. Although a few top CEOs have shown success without going to an elite college, for the majority, it does matter what
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Bruni believed that the effort you put into your studies and the earnestness with which you hone your skills are the building blocks of a successful career (Bruni). However, while Bruni focuses on equal talent within each individual, he overlooks that inherited class trumps talent in our society (Wai). If you went to an elite college your children would have a higher chance of acceptance into the same college when they grow up. Not only would you gain an advantage over your colleagues who did not graduate from an elite college but also your children would also have a higher rate of success in the future. Wouldn’t you want your children to live happy and successful lives? Also, the statistics show that most of the world 's global elites graduated from elite colleges. Roughly over the last decade the same percentage of the world’s powerful elites has remained consistent. 70% of the world’s powerful males and about 60% of the world’s powerful females graduated from elite colleges as shown in the bar graph above (Wai). This consistency of higher education from elite colleges in the background of the majority of powerful individuals shows that graduating from an elite college certainly is a catalyst for a successful future. The data shows that there is a big trend where most of our societies’ powerful and successful individuals …show more content…
Just look around you and count the many happy people you see who have not attended an elite college but still carry out a nice life. However, the facts prove that graduating from an elite college is a large helping hand in becoming rich and successful in the future along with the grit you put in. Not going to an elite college will not harm you but going to an elite college will definitely give you assistance in going to where you want to go. By attending an elite college, anyone can bolster their chances of becoming successful and rich because he or she will be introduced to a large network of connections, a better education, and have a one up when applying for a

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