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1. Does the college that one attends influence one's success later on in life?

2. "Does It Matter Where You Go to College?"

3. Written by Jordan Weissmann, Published by The Atlantic

4. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/does-it-matter-where-you-go-to-college/257227/

5. News website, on 5/21/14

6. Subject: college, money, admissions, privilege, prestige, jobs, happiness, wealth, success Occasion: It was the time when seniors hear of their college decisions, Many people at the time had to answer this question in their college selection process, Parents needed to know if the large price-tags were worth it Audience: High school seniors, parents of high school seniors, teachers, university teachers, guidance counselors, undergraduate students, community college students, high school drop-outs Purpose: To objectively analyze the effects of different college attendances, To demonstrate that the college that one attends has financial effects, To describe the ideal role of an undergraduate student aiming for success after college Speaker: Weissmann, older/more wise people who have been through the college process, college workers/administrators/teachers, high school faculty Tone: Objective, casual, earnest, occasionally humorous, well-intentioned

7. The college that one attends certainly does have affects on one's life after college; however, not to the extent that society seems to push on high school seniors. Attending a more prestigious college does have correlative evidence of higher financial success, but this is not the be-all-end-all of the process. Succeeding at any college, regardless of the school's ranking, will provide career benefits, as it appears that one's individual performance is the deciding factor in life success, although one's college can affect it in a less-influential manner.

8. While attending a prestigious college does often lead to benefits in financial success, one's individual performance at any school is the tipping factor in one's life success.

9. I am very persuaded by this author's treatment of the topic because it appears to all be very objective and backed by reputable facts. The author cites commonly used and well-regarded sources such as Payscale and university research in order to demonstrate correlations in income between various colleges, and presents these findings without biased clutter. Furthermore, the tone lends itself to a more persuasive piece, as it remains earnest and casual while simultaneously maintaining a feeling of knowledgeability.

10. "Among students who had graduated high school in 1980, those who had gone on to a top private university eventually made 20 percent more than their counterparts from bottom tier public school." "Academic siblings ended up making just about the same wages after college regardless of how choosy their school was. In fact, where the students applied, and their final class rank in school, were much better correlated with earnings than their school's admissions standards." "Enrolling at the flagship increased wages by 20 percent, a divide illustrated vividly in the chart below. " "Topping the list: MIT, with lifetime ROI of about $1.8 million for graduates, or 12.6 percent a year. It's followed closely by fellow elite engineering school, Cal Tech. The upper ranks of the list is dominated by elite private colleges, though, on percentage basis, some of the best deals are top state colleges, such as Georgia Tech and University of Virginia. " "There was a big caveat, however. Although tough admissions standards didn't count for much, tuition prices did. Students who went to more expensive schools consistently outearned their peers during life after college. Dale and Kreuger theorized that spending per student may have been the explanation. While an ambitious sophomore could probably find like-minded classmates to study with anywhere, they couldn't make up for their school's resources. The authors also allowed that students at posher colleges might come from wealthier families, which could have an effect. "