College tuitions are becoming prohibitively expensive for many people, with Harvard University now costing almost $61,000 a year for tuition, room, board and fees.

对于很多人来说大学学费变得越来越昂贵，现在哈佛大学每年要花包括学费、食宿和学杂费等将近6万1000美元。

Given the high price tag, is it worth it to graduate from a highly selective school versus a less expensive, lower-tier one?

在高标价的背景下，是否值得去就读精挑细选的名牌学校？而非学费较便宜的二类院校？

The answer is, yes, "selectivity matters a lot," at least for most majors, according to two researchers.

根据两位研究者的见地，答案是肯定的，至少对于大多数专业来讲，选择高于一切。

The duo compared the salaries of students who graduated from highly to not-so-selective colleges in the United States.

两位研究者比较了在美国从名牌院校毕业和二类院校毕业的学生的工资水平。

In all, they found that 10 years after graduation, "graduates from the most selective colleges earn[ed] about $16,000 more annually compared to graduates from average selective colleges," they wrote in a new study, which has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

总的来说，他们发现毕业10年后，名牌大学毕业生每年多赚约1万6000美元，相比一般院校的大学毕业生而言，他们在一项新的尚未在同行评审的杂志上发表的研究中写到。

Moreover, the researchers found that a gender gap exists, even among graduates of highly selective colleges, such as Harvard and Stanford. Women who attended top-tier colleges earned about 16 percent less than men who majored in the same discipline at the same or other highly selective colleges, the researchers said.

此外，研究人员发现还存在性别差距，即便是名牌大学的毕业生--如哈佛和斯坦福大学，名牌大学毕业的女生与同校主修同一学科的男生或者其他名牌大学毕业的男生比较而言，薪资水平低约16%，研究人员说。