Earning a degree in higher education is believed to be one of the most effective paths to a better life and a brighter future; that regardless of one's orientation and background, higher education is a major step towards achieving success.

Why? Because many lucrative jobs and high-paying careers require a college or a university degree. And that despite the inequality, education is still believed to be the great equalizer, according to Oxfom, because it enables people to seize the opportunities be more successful and prosperous in life, even those who are coming from poor families.

Many arguments contested this belief, and questioned if college education really does improve the lives of people the same way, regardless of different backgrounds and income. And a study confirmed this idea to be true. According to VOA Learning English, a research program called Equality of Opportunity Project has found that 60 percent of low-income students who studied at Ivy League schools earned as much as those students from highest income families.

The study is operated by Stanford University, and other top schools in the United States. The researchers have examined tax records from 30 million college students and families in the country, and covers records from 1993 to 2013. What the team did was to compare the earnings of these families before their children attended college and 10 years after they have graduated.

The results of the research may no longer have to be surprising, considering that earning a degree from a prestigious school can definitely guarantee a lucrative income for poor families. However, other issues will also have to be considered, like the complexity of getting admitted in the top schools especially if a student comes from a low-income family because of the high cost and the intense level of competition.