[CTcard]

If "the 40-year effect" is supposed to be some kind of economic benefit, then it's wildly exaggerated. ...

For me, the 40-year effect was that Stanford taught me to think -- not just to collect a lot of facts, but to put them together and analyze them, to understand what they mean and what they imply. That's made me better at my job, but more importantly, made my life richer by helping me to understand the world I live in. I believe passionately in this 40-year effect and literally cannot imagine my life if I hadn't gone to Stanford.

First, off Yvonne's question was about "the 40-year commitment" which I took to mean we are committed to receiving calls from the development office for at least 40 years.


Other things are more subtle, because first of all nobody is able to do the experiment of running through the same years at two different schools to examine the difference. Secondly, as you noted, the thing is not clearly defined.

I think that if your goal is to make a lot of money, then Stanford gives you a pretty good leg up - better than most all but the other elite private schools. Of course that is no guarantee and many people, while perfectly happy to bring in what they can, have other goals in mind. [Though according to the big entering undergraduate survey by UCLA(?), there are fewer of those at top schools these days.]

By actual learning, it is much less clear what Stanford gives you in comparison to other good schools. On balance, I would guess you don't get that much more in the class room. You do get a lot out of the class room, both from interaction with peers and access to working with top faculty if you go after it.

There is also the "stamp of approval" effect many have noted. Having a graduate degree from Stanford as well, I can confirm that this aspect is applicable to advanced degrees. I may have received preferential consideration for the things I applied for before grad school, but I was young and less aware of inner workings at the time. Since Ph.D. it is very clear that Stanford (and other elite school) grads have extra resources to do good work in grad school and get an extra look afterwards because of the institution - though that may not hold for all degrees and all fields.

[CTcard]

If "the 40-year effect" is supposed to be some kind of economic benefit, then it's wildly exaggerated. ...

For me, the 40-year effect was that Stanford taught me to think -- not just to collect a lot of facts, but to put them together and analyze them, to understand what they mean and what they imply. That's made me better at my job, but more importantly, made my life richer by helping me to understand the world I live in. I believe passionately in this 40-year effect and literally cannot imagine my life if I hadn't gone to Stanford.

First, off Yvonne's question was about "the 40-year commitment" which I took to mean we are committed to receiving calls from the development office for at least 40 years.


Other things are more subtle, because first of all nobody is able to do the experiment of running through the same years at two different schools to examine the difference. Secondly, as you noted, the thing is not clearly defined.

I think that if your goal is to make a lot of money, then Stanford gives you a pretty good leg up - better than most all but the other elite private schools. Of course that is no guarantee and many people, while perfectly happy to bring in what they can, have other goals in mind. [Though according to the big entering undergraduate survey by UCLA(?), there are fewer of those at top schools these days.]

By actual learning, it is much less clear what Stanford gives you in comparison to other good schools. On balance, I would guess you don't get that much more in the class room. You do get a lot out of the class room, both from interaction with peers and access to working with top faculty if you go after it.

There is also the "stamp of approval" effect many have noted. Having a graduate degree from Stanford as well, I can confirm that this aspect is applicable to advanced degrees. I may have received preferential consideration for the things I applied for before grad school, but I was young and less aware of inner workings at the time. Since Ph.D. it is very clear that Stanford (and other elite school) grads have extra resources to do good work in grad school and get an extra look afterwards because of the institution - though that may not hold for all degrees and all fields.