Ah, the lure of those ivy-covered walls and the tradition saturated halls. A sheepskin from Harvard, Princeton or Yale is often considered an automatic pass to a world of economic privilege and power. And there is no mistaking the advantages of an elite education, after all the last four presidents were products of Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Georgetown.

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But don’t think the Oval Office is the exclusive turf of the graduates of high-profile colleges and universities. Ronald Reagan, acknowledged as “The Great Communicator”, graduated from tiny Eureka College in Illinois, Lyndon Johnson, the author of “The Great Society”, graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers’ College, and Harry Truman, the man credited with ending “The Great War,” made it to the White House with no college diploma at all. And don’t forget, even Barack Obama started his college career at Occidental College before he transferred to the Ivy League.

The sticker price on a college education at these elite schools is not for the budget-conscious. With our economy in crisis, even some of the Ivies are feeling the pinch in their endowment funds, so financial aid and scholarship money isn’t readily available.

Your college education represents a big financial commitment. How do you project what kind of return you are going to get on your educational investment? A recent study from PayScale, a site that tracks earnings, reveals some interesting information. As reported in the New York Times, while this study was not scientifically conducted and the data is based on a standard four-year undergraduate degree, the quality of the student is often more important than college brand recognition. Dedicated, hard-working students make for successful professionals in the job market.

Schools that specialized in engineering, mathematics, sciences, and economics turn out graduates who enter the job market with good starting salaries and their earning power remains consistent. Graduates from four-year programs entering nursing, dental, or other health-related fields also place well in earnings.

The best advice to prospective college students is to visit online resources like Top-Colleges that can give a solid over-view of programs in your field of interest. Research tuition and other fees of the schools you are considering and do a side-by-side analysis. Weigh the pros and cons of a traditional bricks and mortar school versus an on-line university. Evaluate the financial aid and loan packages available at each school.

While a diploma from a brand name college may open some doors, a sound education from any number of less famous institutions combined with a good work ethic is still a ticket to career success. As Thomas Edison famously said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Your education will be as valuable as the work you put into it – so don’t worry if your diploma doesn’t have an Ivy League seal. Find the school and the program that is right for you.