Debunking College Myths: College’s Real Value is the Network You Build

According to college apologists who have conceded that universities provide a useless education but still try to defend ye olde institution, they claim that the real value college provides is the network you build there.

that’s almost total #$^&%#@!

First, outside of the top 10-15 universities, this isn’t really true. Harvard, Stanford, Yale? Sure, those networks can open doors. But for the other 4,000+ U.S. colleges? Not so much.

Second, even where a network does emerge, it’s almost entirely accidental. I mean that in two senses of the word.

1. It’s accidental because universities don’t actually design or engineer networks in any meaningful way. Sure, during orientation week they might pair you with some people or run a few icebreaker events so you’re not eating instant ramen alone in your dorm room for four years. But beyond that, there’s no structured effort to help you form professional connections, teach you networking skills, or pair you with people on related career paths.
   
   Colleges aren’t “building” your network. They’re just sticking a bunch of people on the same campus and hoping something happens. If you leave with a strong network, that’s because YOU hustled for it, not because the university helped you build it.
   

2. Network formation is also accidental in the sense that any connections you do make are typically a total crapshoot in terms of their professional relevance later. Your college drinking buddy who was amazing at keg stands might turn out to be the global head of fixed income at JPMorgan—but that’s pure luck, not design.

Now back to the elite colleges. The REAL reason those colleges’ networks are powerful?

It’s not because universities are magical “network creators.” It’s because those schools attract ambitious, high-performing people who are statistically likely to succeed anyway.

a network is an emergent property of talent density, not institutional wizardry

You know who else has built insanely powerful networks without being universities?

• Startup Accelerators: Y Combinator, Techstars, The Family

• Elite Investment Banks and Consultants: Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, BCG

• Unicorns: Paypal, eBay, Facebook, OpenAI

These organizations show that any institution that attracts high-quality people can foster a valuable network. College doesn’t have a monopoly on this.

So, the next time someone tells you the $200k price tag for college is justified because “the network is worth it,” ask them, “Do you mean Harvard’s network? Or the one at Generic State University?”

Odds are, they’re confusing correlation with causation.