- Lyndon Low used almost $ 200,000 in student loans to attend Columbia University for graduate school.
- Low’s Columbia professor helped him deduct a job in Investopedia shortly after graduation.
- Low said Colombia opened professional doors for him but debt is not worth it for everyone.
This strong essay is based on a conversation with Lyndon Low, a product manager in San Francisco, California. Been edited for length and clarity.
Since high school, I’ve wanted to attend an Ivy League school. I had model notes in high school and strict Asian parents. However, after starting to stay with a wrong crowd, my grades fell a lot, and the best college I could participate in was California State University Long Beach.
I have aspired to work on international affairs and diplomacy. After graduating with a BA in East Asian studies in 2012, I had difficulty finding a job and I felt that I would have much more opportunities with an Ivy League degree.
I applied to two graduate programs: Johns Hopkins and Columbia. I chose these schools because they were prominent in my aspired field. My parents were pleased when I went to Colombia for the postgraduate school.
Participating in Colombia helped me start my career, but I’m not 100% sure that these positives exceed students’ debt nearly $ 200,000.
I brought out credit to attend an Ivy League graduate school
I went to Colombia entirely on loans for two years, with the help of some scholarships to help housing and living expenses.
Academic, I didn’t do it so well that first year. I fought with the cut academic environment and the bell curve evaluation system. I didn’t need to make much effort at Cal State to get good grades, and I was not prepared for the intensity of the curriculum and study habits in Colombia.
I saw a psychologist, diagnosed with ADHD and depression, and put on antidepressants. I received a break of absence between 2015 and 2016.
My professor helped me get my first job
Colombia was expensive, and I had to work to cover up living costs. The holiday allowed me to recharge and return with a renewable focus to deal with academic severity.
That year, I worked as a post -time part -time teacher, a bicycle of posting posts and other strange jobs. The return was just as cut as before. I kept fighting but eventually graduated.
After a while, I got my first job because one of my professors, David Siegel, was also CEO of Investopedia. He helped by following my request twice through his company, the first attempt did not result in a position. His second reference led to an interview, which turned out to be providing a practice.
I then successfully transformed that practice into a full -time role after graduation in 2017. My Columbia program included programming, technology, strategy, economy and finance, making it natural to move on technology and work at these intersections.
Colombia opened the doors, but my rank school debt makes things difficult
I had financial opportunities because of Colombia, the name has opened the doors in concrete ways. In my latest role, I noticed an immediate change in the interviewer’s perception when they saw Colombia in my resume – it brought immediate reliability. I worked there as a staff product manager, but I left last month due to their return office mandate.
Moreover, as I worked in Asia, I experienced in the forefront of how Columbia’s name kept considerable weight in professional circles.
When I mentioned my graduate rank in Colombia, she often made immediate links and opportunities that were not so available when I mentioned only my university institution. However, the emotional and mental weight of debt is very high.
My student loan debt makes it difficult to focus on everything else and forces me to make safer choices, giving priority to immediate needs for long -term aspirations. Some of my classmates had flexibility to obtain unpaid practice or prolong their work search. But that was not an opportunity for me. I rented and invoices to pay and parents to support. This meant having less power to seek different career paths or negotiate a higher salary.
I am glad I went to an Ivy League but I don’t think I would recommend it for everyone
The reality is that while Tech has become more open to non-traditional origin, coming from an institution known as Columbia still offers an important advantage in taking the initial stages of the initial show and taking seriously in the interview process. When technology companies have to filter large applicants pools, university descent often serves as a review tool – many literal application systems include descending menus of favorite schools.
Knowing what I know now, I would participate again in Colombia, but I’m not sure I would recommend an Ivy League for someone who has no family helping to pay for it. I think many other ways other than Ivy League can help you achieve your goals for half or a quarter of cost.
If you have participated in an Ivy League and want to share how it affected your career, please email Mansen Logan to mlogan@bsinsinsider.com.