5 ms·

Even if "Minerva" was $1/year, the question is one of value. A degree from Harvard at $50k/year is more valuable than a free one from a UC Berkeley Dean's schol

Even if "Minerva" was $1/year, the question is one of value. A degree from Harvard at $50k/year is more valuable than a free one from a UC Berkeley Dean's scholarship student (which is probably about the same difficulty to attain), simply due to the perception it engenders from people that matter.

rjbond3rd 13y ago
No offense to anyone, but I'll take that Berkeley kid any day.
- argumentum 13y ago
  As may I .. that's not the point.
  - rjbond3rd 13y ago
    If you're saying "people who matter" value the superficial over substance, then I'd further conclude that they literally don't matter.
    - argumentum 13y ago
      My wording may be wrong. If you have something in common with someone, you are more likely to help them and want to work with them. The fact is, Harvard/Ivy/elite private school alums, on the whole, are currently in greater positions of power than Berkeley/elite public school alums (this may change in the future of course). For that reason alone, the value of being "from Harvard" is greater than being "from Berkeley".
      - rjbond3rd 13y ago
        I see what you're saying, but I'm so glad I don't live in that world anymore.
        argumentum 13y ago
        Did you move to Mars? We all live in "that world", it's not a choice ..
        argonaut 13y ago
        I think rjbond might be referring to the slightly more meritocratic "world" of SV engineering.
        rjbond3rd 13y ago
        You are assuming that everyone values the same things.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
argonaut 13y ago
Agreed, but you are ignoring the opportunity cost. It is highly dubious whether a Harvard education is worth more than a UC Berkeley education + $239,996, though this distinction varies from field to field.
- argumentum 13y ago
  Not really. The opportunity cost of going to Berkeley over Harvard (and I'm specifically choosing Berkeley, a top public school with some programs having a similarly low acceptance rate to Harvard) is not knowing the people who went to Harvard, who are more likely to have powerful connections. $200k is nothing, really, in the long term. It's one or two years of salary, whether you've gone to Harvard or Berkeley. It's the non-salary aspects that make the Harvard degree (not education) more valuable.
  - argumentum 13y ago
    Well actually not even the degree .. just actually going to the school, even if you drop out prior to graduation.
  - argonaut 13y ago
    My point was that this distinction is dubious because while Harvard is probably worth more for some fields, like finance or law, in other fields like engineering, UC Berkeley + 240k is worth more in my opinion.
    - argumentum 13y ago
      Still, depends on the purpose. Do you want to get a job at Google or Facebook? Then in engineering, Berkeley would be as good or better than Harvard. But who wants to get a job after undergrad?
      - argonaut 13y ago
        But who wants to get a job after undergrad? What do you mean by this? Are you talking about starting a startup? You could fund your own company for $240k and work on multiple ideas in that time (assuming your first few ideas fail quickly).

rjbond3rd 13y ago

No offense to anyone, but I'll take that Berkeley kid any day.

argumentum 13y ago
As may I .. that's not the point.
- rjbond3rd 13y ago
  If you're saying "people who matter" value the superficial over substance, then I'd further conclude that they literally don't matter.
  - argumentum 13y ago
    My wording may be wrong. If you have something in common with someone, you are more likely to help them and want to work with them. The fact is, Harvard/Ivy/elite private school alums, on the whole, are currently in greater positions of power than Berkeley/elite public school alums (this may change in the future of course). For that reason alone, the value of being "from Harvard" is greater than being "from Berkeley".
    - rjbond3rd 13y ago
      I see what you're saying, but I'm so glad I don't live in that world anymore.
      - argumentum 13y ago
        Did you move to Mars? We all live in "that world", it's not a choice ..
        argonaut 13y ago
        I think rjbond might be referring to the slightly more meritocratic "world" of SV engineering.
        rjbond3rd 13y ago
        You are assuming that everyone values the same things.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

argonaut 13y ago

Agreed, but you are ignoring the opportunity cost. It is highly dubious whether a Harvard education is worth more than a UC Berkeley education + $239,996, though this distinction varies from field to field.

argumentum 13y ago
Not really. The opportunity cost of going to Berkeley over Harvard (and I'm specifically choosing Berkeley, a top public school with some programs having a similarly low acceptance rate to Harvard) is not knowing the people who went to Harvard, who are more likely to have powerful connections. $200k is nothing, really, in the long term. It's one or two years of salary, whether you've gone to Harvard or Berkeley. It's the non-salary aspects that make the Harvard degree (not education) more valuable.
- argumentum 13y ago
  Well actually not even the degree .. just actually going to the school, even if you drop out prior to graduation.
- argonaut 13y ago
  My point was that this distinction is dubious because while Harvard is probably worth more for some fields, like finance or law, in other fields like engineering, UC Berkeley + 240k is worth more in my opinion.
  - argumentum 13y ago
    Still, depends on the purpose. Do you want to get a job at Google or Facebook? Then in engineering, Berkeley would be as good or better than Harvard. But who wants to get a job after undergrad?
    - argonaut 13y ago
      But who wants to get a job after undergrad? What do you mean by this? Are you talking about starting a startup? You could fund your own company for $240k and work on multiple ideas in that time (assuming your first few ideas fail quickly).