Ivy League Aspirations Unleashed (NYT Q&A with Harvard's DofA)

[Anonymous]

I was not special or appreciated in any way. Never had a "mentor" professor or even grad student. I just think I would have been better off at a smaller college, where perhaps I would have stood out a bit. HYP etc. are best for those with supreme self-confidence. Just consider carefully if your kid is NOT one of those supremely self-confident people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:01 Source? Think about it. Everything is changing because of the Great Recession. Moving forward people are going to be more likely to understand why a student would go to UNC Chapel Hill and then Harvard Law if they can get in-state tuition at UNC. Do you really think that a prospective employee is going to be that much less likely to get an offer over another candidate who went to Yale or Princeton undergraduate and then Harvard Law, unless the interviewer also went to Yale or Princeton? If this is not true, if employers do not consider non-Ivy candidates equally in the aggregate, in the labor market as opposed to a tony law firm, you are copping to massive employer bias.

I asked where you read/heard about the new thinking, assuming it is at least somewhat widespread among people, in the media, etc. Seems like it is instead just your own thinking...?
The tuition discrepancy between state and private has been around for over a generation, so unless it is your belief that we are in the Great Recession in perpetuity, I don't agree at all that the majority of people are going to turn down an opportunity for certain Ivies over state schools. Financial aid still exists. Parents still look upon undergrad as an investment (and a source of pride). And, it's not like state is free. It's cheaper. But many people will find a way to make up the difference over their lifetimes.

Said "employer bias" helps me, so I guess I am not too worried about copping to it. And yes, all else equal, I do think that an Ivy-Ivy education will be favored in a job offer over a State-Ivy education. Shouldn't be that way maybe, but the reality is different from what should/could be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I went to Princeton..... and I was miserable. My dad had also said "go to the best school you get into." Not good advice, in my opinion.

Maybe your dad was foresighted about this and meant "the best fit" not the "best ranking".... just helping out your dad here!

[Anonymous]

If you want a job -- you go to the best school that will accept you.

[Anonymous]

Agree with Previous Post. People need to be even better credentialed in these tough economic times.

[Anonymous]

Employers don't have to figure out if someone is smart from an Ivy...so they often take the more certain route and hire Ivy Grads. That doesn't mean grads from other schools aren't smart -- they just have to work harder to prove themselves and to promote their schools "brand".

[Anonymous]

agree with above post

[Anonymous]

Everyone is forgetting that the most successful business people are NOT from Ivies. Look at the Fortune 500 CEOs.

Your college, for the most part, becomes moot after awhile because successful businesses hire the most successful people - Ivies be damned. The Ivies don't have a wrap on success and it's silly and detrimental to think that they are the magic bullet.

[Anonymous]

PP--you haven't read the thread...we know about the CEOs! They like to hire Ivies even when they didn't go there...read earlier pages here!

[Anonymous]

I love these threads. The responses are so unpredictable and thought provoking.

not.

[Anonymous]

terrible sport -- you have ADD Ms. PP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is forgetting that the most successful business people are NOT from Ivies. Look at the Fortune 500 CEOs.

Your college, for the most part, becomes moot after awhile because successful businesses hire the most successful people - Ivies be damned. The Ivies don't have a wrap on success and it's silly and detrimental to think that they are the magic bullet.

Not everyone defines success in terms of net worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is forgetting that the most successful business people are NOT from Ivies. Look at the Fortune 500 CEOs.

Your college, for the most part, becomes moot after awhile because successful businesses hire the most successful people - Ivies be damned. The Ivies don't have a wrap on success and it's silly and detrimental to think that they are the magic bullet.

Not everyone defines success in terms of net worth.

Ask them to up your dosage.

[Anonymous]

hysterical

[Anonymous]

I don't think some of these posters are either real or have ever had a job if they don't think it matters where one goes to school