Ever since Lindsey Denigris was a sophomore in high school, she dreamt of attending an elite private school near New York City. After surveying her options, she chose Fairfield University, a small Jesuit school in Fairfield, Connecticut. Impressed by the lush scenery, gated community, and solid reputation, she was convinced it was the school for her.

That is, until she actually attended the $44,335 a year school. By Thanksgiving break, she grew tired of the small class sizes, lack of diversity, and social stigmas cast by the upper-class student population.

“I felt the school was overly snobby. It was too small; it reminded me of high school. It didn’t really feel like college,” said Denigris, now a sophomore business major at the University at Buffalo.

As millions of high school students stress over SAT scores, varsity sports, and the never-ending struggle to earn straight A’s, many feel immense pressure to get into competitive universities such as Ivy League schools (like Harvard or Yale) and other elite colleges. However, a growing number of researchers are denouncing the importance of attending such top universities, and placing more emphasis on the abilities and skills of the student, regardless of their choice of school. It is becoming the consensus that many public universities, including UB, offer an exceptional education without an outrageous price tag.

According to Time magazine, there are 62 percent more students in college today than in the 60s, and the fierce competition between them is reflected in admissions process. Princeton, for instance, rejected four out of five high school valedictorians that applied in 2005. Daniel Golden, who wrote The Price of Admission, goes as far as to call the Ivy Leagues’ admission process a “marketplace,” where schools like Harvard reserve as many as 60 percent of the spots to those with economic and political clout.

Similarly, Malcolm Gladwell, in his New Yorker article “Getting In,” argues that an overly selective admissions process might be a detriment to the school’s population. He likens the differences between Harvard’s admissions and educational experience to the polar natures of the Marine Corps and a modeling agency: “It’s confident that the experience of undergoing Marine Corps basic training will turn you into a formidable soldier. A modeling agency, by contrast…you get signed up because you’re beautiful…The extraordinary emphasis the Ivy League places on admission policies, though, makes it seem more like a modeling agency than the Marine Corps.”

Despite the selective admissions process, private schools may not be as challenging as one would imagine. Brad Deck spent his first year of college at Marymount Manhattan, a four-year private liberal arts school in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. However, after a disappointing year at the self-proclaimed “school of the future,” Deck transferred to UB.

“At Marymount, getting in was as far as the difficulty went. After that, it was a cakewalk that felt like high school,” said Deck. “Meanwhile, you had the kids who thought it was a real college, like Mr. and Mrs. Marymount who were there doing work and not going out.”

James Holstun, a UB English professor who has taught a span of 28 years at three public universities, praises UB students for their intellectual achievements while balancing heavy workloads.

“UB students are excellent; they would only be better if they didn’t have to work quite so much to pay tuition and support themselves. I’m amazed at what they do in the time they have,” said Holstun.

Similarly, those picking a college should look within themselves and find a school that caters to their interests and intended major rather than base their selection on social distinction. Perhaps one school has great study abroad opportunities, while another has exceptional internships, or top-notch research facilities. Students should look for a school that fits their academic, location, and size preferences.

UB in particular, dubbed “SUNY’s Crown Jewel” on the university’s website, has a surprising number of attributes that make it stand out among public colleges. The Wall Street Journal recently ranked UB’s business school tenth on the regional level, the Center for Computational Research is world-renowned, and UB boasts many professors at the leading edge of their field, including two Nobel Prize winners.

“At my old school, I wasn’t getting a college experience. When I’m at UB, I’m getting a learning experience as well as a life experience,” said Deck. “Finally, it’s like I’m going to school and going to college at the same time.”

In addition, the post-graduation economic payoff for attending pricey schools does not seem to be of great measure. According to a 1999 Study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, for two students of equal intelligence and work ethic, there is no economic advantage for attending a more prestigious school after graduation. Similarly, Fortune magazine found that a majority of top CEOs didn’t attend top schools.

Kathy Hojnacki, the Senior Vice President and Management Counsel at Keybank, graduated from UB’s law school in 1983. At one point, she shared equal status in her office of 50 with a graduate of Harvard Law, further demonstrating that success comes to those who work for it.

“The advantage of a private school, besides for the initial interview and job search, isn’t much,” said Hojnacki. “In the end, it doesn’t really matter which school you go to as opposed to showing effort and showing what you’re capable of doing.”

However, there are some arguments to be made for going to a respected private institution. Attending a top school allows students to get involved in cutting-edge research and education from the world’s leading scholars. Students at these institutions know that they are going to school with some of the best and brightest from around the world. Also, it allows students to connect with distinguished faculty and alumni, connections which will help when graduates hit the job market.

“Elitist schools help create networks and establish contacts,” said Holstun. “The ruling class creates itself in elite universities. To get tremendously wealthy, it does pay to go there.”

While admitting state school education may be “comparable,” Harvard sophomore economics and psychology major Michael Balchan insists that, on a larger scale, his school is of the utmost quality.

“In this world, both professionally and not professionally, it’s not what you know, but who you know. In that respect, I can be certain that Harvard is giving me the greatest advantage in the world,” said Balchan. “I truly believe that you cannot find a student body as incredible anywhere else. Will Harvard give me a great education? Yes. Will it help me get a good job? Most likely. Is a Harvard education greater than anywhere else in the world? Maybe.”

For students like Balchan, private institutions provide the best form of education for their desires. However, everyone’s college experience differs, and being happy at one’s institution, be it public or private, facilitates hard work and success.

With the data backing up the value of a public education, college searchers and attendees are coming around to the idea that the quality of an education can’t be measured in dollars. In Deck’s words, “even though [UB’s] a state school, it feels way more like college than the private school I was paying thousands more to attend.”