If You Start from the Back, Reach for the Top
When "flying low" seems like the only option, it's the time to do the exact opposite: Dream big.
There's a myth that won't die easily: A degree is just a piece of paper. This does nothing other than deflate ambitions and leads to settling for the first opportunity that comes up.
It seems paradoxical, but the more underprivileged you are, then the bigger you should dream. Let's take two students with the exact same preparation and the same hunger to make it happen. One passes the entrance exam for a top university, the other fails by a few points and has to opt for a less prestigious university. That exam is a true watershed moment.
According to studies by Massimo Anelli (Bocconi), those entering an elite university are 15% more likely to graduate than their "twin" with similar abilities.
Anelli, M. (2020) The returns to elite university education: A quasi-experimental analysis. Journal of the European Economic Association
The rift becomes a chasm once the books are closed and the degree certificates have been framed. Those graduating from an elite university earn on average €246,991 more during the first 15 years of their career.
And importantly, this is already net of tuition fees paid.
Those graduating from an elite university earn on average €246,991 more during the first 15 years of their career, net of tuition fees paid.
€246,991 is the cost of a house. You can wave goodbye to the anxiety of making ends meet each month. It's a figure that helps to bring that famous starting debt to an end once and for all.
ACHRAF FADHEL
Bocconi, Class of 2023
Dreaming Big at Nine Years Old
Achraf was born in Sicily, into a family that left Tunisia seeking better opportunities. He had to grow up fast at nine years old when his father passed away. And think big. Achraf dreamed about the best European universities because he didn't have the same leeway for error as others. His high school grades opened the doors to Bocconi, which supported him with a scholarship and a spot in a residence hall. He works in Milan today, but gave his laurel wreath and degree parchment to the person who always believed in him: his mother. They represent a joint victory, the proof that together, in the end, they really made it.