Save Money Wake up to the truth about dream schools

The college admissions scandal exposed a group of wealthy parents’ obsession with getting their kids into the “right” school. Prosecutors say the families paid bribes, faked test results and pretended their kids were athletes to get them into selective colleges.

However, many less affluent families also fall for the delusion that some schools offer golden tickets for their children’s futures, says Lynn O’shaughnessy, author of “The College Solution.”

In reality, the colleges your kids attend matter far less than the majors they choose, and multiple studies have shown elite schools don’t offer any extra payoff for most graduates.

Elite schools don’t produce happier or more successful people. A 2014 study of nearly 30,000 college graduates found no correlation between a college’s admissions rate and future job satisfaction or well-being. Studies by the late Alan Krueger of Princeton and Stacy Dale at Mathematica Policy Research found students who were admitted to selective colleges but attended schools elsewhere usually did just as well financially.

Majors matter most: Parents mistakenly believe brand-name schools impress employers and lead to more opportunities. Researcher Paul Hill, who analyzed millions of admissions and salary records for student loan lenders, didn’t find that to be true. Consistently, a graduate’s major had a far bigger impact, said Hill, president of Job Search Intelligence in Los Angeles. — Nerdwallet