This CEO says wealthy families pay him $750k to get their kids into Ivy League schools, starting in 5th grade. They’re looking at ‘a centuries-long time horizon’
Elite families are still hedging their bets on elite universities despite AI fears, viewing college as a long-term investment in family wealth.
Most elite institutions are adorned with ancient architecture. The Collegiate Gothic style gives the sense that these institutions have weathered the test of time. And many have. Harvard, Yale, and Columbia have outlasted colonial rule, and have existed since before dinosaur bones were discovered. They’ve survived the French and Indian war, the American Revolution, and the Civil War. That unfettered resilience is why admissions specialists say the value of an elite institution won’t depreciate anytime soon, despite fears that AI is, as Goldman Sachs warned, degrading the college degree “safety premium.”
Adam Nguyen, the CEO and founder of Ivy Link, helps students prepare for college admissions as early as fifth grade. The firm charges anywhere from $100,000 to $750,000 per client—an amount Nguyen described as “not even a rounding error” for many of these families.
A former admissions insider at Harvard and Columbia—and a Harvard Law School grad himself—Nguyen helps families build out their kids’ transcripts years before they leave for college, lending advice on everything from what extracurriculars to engage in, to what top high schools to attend. He dismissed the current fears that college degrees are losing their value in the age of AI.
“These families, they’re not looking at trends or what’s in the current news cycle or even campus protests,” Nguyen told Fortune. “They’re looking at a decades-long, even centuries-long time horizon.”
Who the global elite turns to for Ivy admissions help
Nguyen describes his clients as “the global elite,” with clients ranging from leading figures in venture capital and wealth management, blockbuster Hollywood screenwriters, and even a “world-famous EDM DJ.” For these families, Nguyen said college isn’t a matter of short-term consumption, but rather a long-term investment in the family’s wealth.
With the rise of AI and a myriad of controversies on college campuses across the country—from heated protests to attacks from the Trump administration—Americans’ opinions on elite institutions have soured (though up slightly from the nadir of 2024), and many are questioning the value proposition of a four-year degree. But, as recruiters turn away from “where you go matters less” and return to hiring based on degree and GPA, Nguyen said elite families may have been right all along.
Many rich families view college as a gold star that can be worn for the rest of their life to maintain their status. “They use Ivy Link not to buy prestige necessarily, but to reduce uncertainty and to make sure that their children are seen and have that brand that will last them a lifetime.”
Time and time again, those families are turning to the most elite colleges across the country. “These institutions that have weathered multiple cycles, multiple trends, and continue to be the filtering mechanism,” Nguyen said. “At the end of the day, the vast majority of our clients continue to default to the elite universities.”
Shrugging off AI fears
Nguyen said his clients haven’t bought into the idea that automation could one day render a degree meaningless. He pointed out that, since the recruitment process has become inundated with AI-generated applications, recruiters are increasingly relying on brand name to distinguish one candidate from another. “Employers that I’ve interviewed have resorted—as the first screening mechanism—to looking at their college,” Nguyen said.
Recent recruitment trends affirm this sentiment. A 2025 survey of over 150 companies found that more than a quarter were recruiting from a brief selection of schools, up from 17% that were doing the same in 2022, according to recruiting intelligence firm Veris Insights, which conducted the research, as previously reported by the Wall Street Journal. Today, firms recruit from about 30 colleges—out of nearly 4,000 in the country—looking first at elite colleges and then schools nearby a company’s corporate offices.
Ivy Link’s clients go on to take roles in law, tech startups, and finance-related fields, from investment banking to venture capital. AI has already threatened many of the industries these students are striving to enter. However, Nguyen said that the rise of AI makes a degree from an elite institution all the more important.
“In order to graduate, in order to get those mid-level, more experienced jobs, you have to master the fundamentals that AI is eliminating,” he said. “Traditional education is still important.”
