Where you go to college doesn’t matter. What you do when you get there does!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

+1

These anecdotes are so dumb to support a subject line like OP's. Logical reasoning failure.

And you're basing your opinion on what data?

I think they’re basing it on OPs stupid post. That’s all the data you need for that conclusion.

Not a very scientific outlook, which will lead to a 'garbage in, garbage out' conclusion.

Any company that's hiring simply because someone attended a specific college is not going to be around long.

So you’re in support of OPs conclusion based on two anecdotes. You’re quite the analyst.

[Anonymous]

Middle class kids are much better off doing STEM at UMD than the humanities at HYPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

+1

These anecdotes are so dumb to support a subject line like OP's. Logical reasoning failure.

And you're basing your opinion on what data?

I think they’re basing it on OPs stupid post. That’s all the data you need for that conclusion.

Not a very scientific outlook, which will lead to a 'garbage in, garbage out' conclusion.

Any company that's hiring simply because someone attended a specific college is not going to be around long.

So you’re in support of OPs conclusion based on two anecdotes. You’re quite the analyst.

No, I'm basing it on the research done by Dale and Kruger, decades of observing life and asking questions, all of the anecdotes (admittedly not strong enough alone) in Where You Go is not Who You'll Be all of the data gathered by Less High School Stress, etc.

And your evidence that OP is incorrect comes from where? A ranking that's based on criteria someone else is telling you should matter to every single one of the millions of kids applying to college every year?

[Anonymous]

One upside of graduating from a bottom-ranked university is that you're more likely to be in the minority of those who do graduate, and thus your accomplishment of graduating college stands out more, especially if you do it in 4 years or less. At top-ranked universities, nearly everyone graduates in 4 years, so graduating is not that special there.

[Anonymous]

I honestly don’t think school or GPA matters long term. I graduated a mediocre college with a 2.6 GPA other than hard to get first job out of school by 23 no one cared. I did a part time MBA at night company paid for got a 3.0 GPA bare minimum to graduate.

All companies care about is you have the degrees. I landed $350k to 400k jobs during career.

Today you can get a VP or SVP job with a felony conviction.

Biden went to Delaware and Trump Fordham neither good students I bet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I genuinely don’t understand the obsession on this board over the Ivies and prestige. Where you go to college doesn’t matter. It’s what you do when you get there that matters most!

I live in a suburb of the DMV that is “DCUM MC” (most families around me have a HHI ~$300-400k — enough for the upper middle class basics, but not enough for our kids to take rely on us when they’re adults). I’ve seen SO many kids go to elite schools and then flail after graduation because they made the wrong moves in college.

Example 1: A neighbor’s son graduated from MIT recently as a Bio major. He had a low GPA due to MIT’s intense, tough courses. Got shut out of every med school he applied to and now is working a minimum wage lab tech job.

Example 2: A

The only truly wrong move you can make in undergrad is to drop out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgot a few more:

Neighbor’s kid went to Harvard and majored in Philosophy. Yikes! He graduated a few years ago and moved to the PNW to be an “environmental educator” (whatever the hell that is) because he couldn’t get a real job post-grad.

But sometimes state school kids drop the ball. A friend’s DD is super smart. Turned down 3 Ivies for UMD on Banneker (donut family). She is majoring in Classics and English, and my friend told me that she wants to be an academic in the humanities. I told her that her DD should be prepared to not be able to find a job — the market for professors in the humanities is awful. And the kid wouldn’t even take my suggestion to at least minor in CS or Data Analytics (or anything useful!).

This child needs a Ph.D. before she knows whether she can make it. If she doesn't, she could teach in the public schools. It's a respectable job that has job security and great benefits, and there is opportunity to supplement teaching income with tutoring.

It would be sad to see such a bright girl end up as a public school teacher.

No!!! The bright folks are who we need as school teachers to inspire the next generation. My DD's friend is brilliant and studying physics at Berkeley. He wants to be a middle school teacher and it warms my heart. He is such a great person and so inspirational. He would be hated in a. physics lab.

[Anonymous]

Why did you resurrect this….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgot a few more:

Neighbor’s kid went to Harvard and majored in Philosophy. Yikes! He graduated a few years ago and moved to the PNW to be an “environmental educator” (whatever the hell that is) because he couldn’t get a real job post-grad.

But sometimes state school kids drop the ball. A friend’s DD is super smart. Turned down 3 Ivies for UMD on Banneker (donut family). She is majoring in Classics and English, and my friend told me that she wants to be an academic in the humanities. I told her that her DD should be prepared to not be able to find a job — the market for professors in the humanities is awful. And the kid wouldn’t even take my suggestion to at least minor in CS or Data Analytics (or anything useful!).

It's great that some people follow paths that are not for you, OP. You should respect that. The world needs all sorts of professions in it. Why is everything about money for you? Are you THAT materialistic? Is it the only scale by which you measure people's worth? Did you marry for money, perchance? Are you only steering your kids towards professions that earn the most money?

And yet you're on here telling us that the type of college doesn't matter. But you think half the majors out there are crap.

Stop pretending you're open-minded. You're just a gold-digger.

OP here. I don’t have generational wealth. Money is important!

And yes, I told my kid that I would only pay for college if they were pre-med or pre-law or majored in STEM or accounting/finance.

I'm telling my kids that if they want to major in business they have to double in the humanities, languages, or performing arts, or I'm _not_ paying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I honestly don’t think school or GPA matters long term. I graduated a mediocre college with a 2.6 GPA other than hard to get first job out of school by 23 no one cared. I did a part time MBA at night company paid for got a 3.0 GPA bare minimum to graduate.

All companies care about is you have the degrees. I landed $350k to 400k jobs during career.

Today you can get a VP or SVP job with a felony conviction.

Biden went to Delaware and Trump Fordham neither good students I bet.

I was a lousy student in college. I had lots of horrible stuff going on and was completely unmotivated. BUT ... I eventually graduated with a computer science degree (with a very unimpressive academic transport). Three years out of school, I was making a fortune. I had a lot of luck after graduation, but you are right -- nobody ever asked me about my college grades when they were hiring me. It only mattered that I had a degree. Beyond some basic programming, I didn't use what I learned in school in my IT career. I learned what I needed to know on the job. I made enough money that I was able to quit work ten years out of college and study all the fun humanities stuff that I love. I was never interested in my major. My parents refused to sign surety on my student loan unless I took a science degree, and I landed in computer science through a process of eliminating other majors I flunked out or hated more than I did computer science. I did not find my job in the computer industry interesting or fulfilling, but it was certainly rewarding monetarily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I honestly don’t think school or GPA matters long term. I graduated a mediocre college with a 2.6 GPA other than hard to get first job out of school by 23 no one cared. I did a part time MBA at night company paid for got a 3.0 GPA bare minimum to graduate.

All companies care about is you have the degrees. I landed $350k to 400k jobs during career.

Today you can get a VP or SVP job with a felony conviction.

Biden went to Delaware and Trump Fordham neither good students I bet.

I was a lousy student in college. I had lots of horrible stuff going on and was completely unmotivated. BUT ... I eventually graduated with a computer science degree (with a very unimpressive academic transport). Three years out of school, I was making a fortune. I had a lot of luck after graduation, but you are right -- nobody ever asked me about my college grades when they were hiring me. It only mattered that I had a degree. Beyond some basic programming, I didn't use what I learned in school in my IT career. I learned what I needed to know on the job. I made enough money that I was able to quit work ten years out of college and study all the fun humanities stuff that I love. I was never interested in my major. My parents refused to sign surety on my student loan unless I took a science degree, and I landed in computer science through a process of eliminating other majors I flunked out or hated more than I did computer science. I did not find my job in the computer industry interesting or fulfilling, but it was certainly rewarding monetarily.

" transport" should be "transcript" up above ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I genuinely don’t understand the obsession on this board over the Ivies and prestige. Where you go to college doesn’t matter. It’s what you do when you get there that matters most!

I live in a suburb of the DMV that is “DCUM MC” (most families around me have a HHI ~$300-400k — enough for the upper middle class basics, but not enough for our kids to take rely on us when they’re adults). I’ve seen SO many kids go to elite schools and then flail after graduation because they made the wrong moves in college.

Example 1: A neighbor’s son graduated from MIT recently as a Bio major. He had a low GPA due to MIT’s intense, tough courses. Got shut out of every med school he applied to and now is working a minimum wage lab tech job.

Example 2: A

The only truly wrong move you can make in undergrad is to drop out.

- Steve Jobs

or was it…

- Bill Gates

Oh I remember now…

- Mark Zuckerberg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

+1

These anecdotes are so dumb to support a subject line like OP's. Logical reasoning failure.

And you're basing your opinion on what data?

I think they’re basing it on OPs stupid post. That’s all the data you need for that conclusion.

Not a very scientific outlook, which will lead to a 'garbage in, garbage out' conclusion.

Any company that's hiring simply because someone attended a specific college is not going to be around long.

So you’re in support of OPs conclusion based on two anecdotes. You’re quite the analyst.

No, I'm basing it on the research done by Dale and Kruger, decades of observing life and asking questions, all of the anecdotes (admittedly not strong enough alone) in Where You Go is not Who You'll Be all of the data gathered by Less High School Stress, etc.

And your evidence that OP is incorrect comes from where? A ranking that's based on criteria someone else is telling you should matter to every single one of the millions of kids applying to college every year?

This is interesting. Kids who go to top schools are, more often than not, privileged. Not all of them, of course, but many of them. According to Daniel Golden, "... the rich buy their under-achieving children’s way into elite universities with massive, tax-deductible donations." This might explain why Jared Kushner got into Harvard, despite less than stellar grades, after Daddy pledged a $2.5 million donation. Going to an expensive prep school, getting costly SAT coaching, etc., doesn't hurt one's chances of acceptance to elite colleges either. Perhaps that is why there is now less social mobility in the U.S. than in, for example, the Netherlands, Norway, and Finland. America isn't the meritocracy it used to be.

I have read that kids with similar stats tend to perform similarly after graduation, regardless of their alma mater. However, privilege no doubt continues to exert influence in adult life. Wealthy kids sometimes work for their parents' corporations or benefit from their parents' contacts, or the parents fund a new business for Junior. Kids at elite schools are likelier to have influential professors who can swing opportunities for them. I would guess tech careers, where raw intelligence is significant, are more meritocratic than careers in certain other fields.

My brother always told his kids, "Your job is to enjoy your childhood. I want you to get Bs and Cs in school and not sweat it." He has four happy, well-adjusted children who attended in-state universities and have successful marriages and careers. They out-earn my friend's kids, who were prepped for Ivies from infancy (both complied and went to Ivies).

Different strokes. There are many paths to success. For some kids, attending an elite school is an exhilarating experience in itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

+1

These anecdotes are so dumb to support a subject line like OP's. Logical reasoning failure.

And you're basing your opinion on what data?

I think they’re basing it on OPs stupid post. That’s all the data you need for that conclusion.

Not a very scientific outlook, which will lead to a 'garbage in, garbage out' conclusion.

Any company that's hiring simply because someone attended a specific college is not going to be around long.

So you’re in support of OPs conclusion based on two anecdotes. You’re quite the analyst.

No, I'm basing it on the research done by Dale and Kruger, decades of observing life and asking questions, all of the anecdotes (admittedly not strong enough alone) in Where You Go is not Who You'll Be all of the data gathered by Less High School Stress, etc.

And your evidence that OP is incorrect comes from where? A ranking that's based on criteria someone else is telling you should matter to every single one of the millions of kids applying to college every year?

This is interesting. Kids who go to top schools are, more often than not, privileged. Not all of them, of course, but many of them. According to Daniel Golden, "... the rich buy their under-achieving children’s way into elite universities with massive, tax-deductible donations." This might explain why Jared Kushner got into Harvard, despite less than stellar grades, after Daddy pledged a $2.5 million donation. Going to an expensive prep school, getting costly SAT coaching, etc., doesn't hurt one's chances of acceptance to elite colleges either. Perhaps that is why there is now less social mobility in the U.S. than in, for example, the Netherlands, Norway, and Finland. America isn't the meritocracy it used to be.

I have read that kids with similar stats tend to perform similarly after graduation, regardless of their alma mater. However, privilege no doubt continues to exert influence in adult life. Wealthy kids sometimes work for their parents' corporations or benefit from their parents' contacts, or the parents fund a new business for Junior. Kids at elite schools are likelier to have influential professors who can swing opportunities for them. I would guess tech careers, where raw intelligence is significant, are more meritocratic than careers in certain other fields.

My brother always told his kids, "Your job is to enjoy your childhood. I want you to get Bs and Cs in school and not sweat it." He has four happy, well-adjusted children who attended in-state universities and have successful marriages and careers. They out-earn my friend's kids, who were prepped for Ivies from infancy (both complied and went to Ivies).

Different strokes. There are many paths to success. For some kids, attending an elite school is an exhilarating experience in itself.

+1

Much wisdom in this post!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy League lit major works the the PE firm which owns our company. She is 23 and probably makes $200k+ a year. LOTS of companies just hire smart people. Would they hire a Literature major from Maryland or William & Mary, no, but get your degree from Princeton and be ambitious and nothing is unattainable.

Wrong English majors are in high demand.

They can write.

My DD VT English major out of college six figures .

Correction noted. The PE firms are pretty snobby about the schools they hire from in general regardless of major but your point taken.

+1 PE firms are not taking 23 year olds out of VT, no way. It totally matters to them what school. At least the hires at the analyst levels that make 6 figures to start.