The recent “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal is stark testimony that proves just how far parents will go to get their offspring into elite colleges.

Getting accepted to the “right” college has become a goal for parents and not necessarily their children.

The Ivy League is considered the gold standard by many. Most do not know that the eight prestigious colleges (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania and Yale) and now considered Ivies originally began as a sports conference in the northeast.

Even If you are among the "chosen" few to make it into the Ivy League or the elite West Coast colleges, consider the fact that there are plenty of opportunities to study elsewhere that might, indeed, be a better fit.

Time magazine published an article a few years ago entitled, “Who Needs Harvard.” The story chronicled several students who turned down schools in the Ivy League for lesser-known colleges and universities. The reasons for turning them down varied and ranged from higher offers of financial aid to better access to professors. Some students even hoped the pressure to perform would be less severe at a “second-tier” school. In my experience, I would guess that many students were simply burned out and wanted to go to a college where they could enjoy learning.

The Ivies do not have a monopoly on beautiful campuses, top professors and academic programs. The Time article also pointed out that studies have shown that students accepted at top colleges, who choose instead to attend a “less prestigious" school were no worse off when it came to future earnings. The incomes remained the same, regardless of where they attended.