HYPSM/Elite School Alums - What has been the downside of your degree?

[Anonymous]

I think there is a ton of discussion on this and other forums about all the benefits that a degree from HYPSM or other elite schools confers. However, I have not seen much discussion about the potential downsides or costs of attending such a school.

When I say costs or downsides, I am not referring to debt you had to take on or the high stress level during undergrad. I am referring to costs and downsides you have experienced once you graduated, it can be related to your career or life overall. I have recently been working with a bright Princeton graduate. I noticed that she did not list Princeton on her LI. We were having a casual convo once and the topic of LI came up. I asked her how come she doesn't list her alma mater on there, and she said that she hates the assumptions people make about her only because of where she went to school, such as being entitled and privileged, when in fact she was first gen and came from a working class family.

This is really the encounter that made me think about what are some of the negative sides of attending one of these schools, especially once you leave, that are not discussed enough, yet I feel is important to talk about given the ongoing obsession with these places.

[Anonymous]

In some communities, those with elite private school degrees are viewed in a negative fashion if running for political office. Much better to have attended the state flagship university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a ton of discussion on this and other forums about all the benefits that a degree from HYPSM or other elite schools confers. However, I have not seen much discussion about the potential downsides or costs of attending such a school.

When I say costs or downsides, I am not referring to debt you had to take on or the high stress level during undergrad. I am referring to costs and downsides you have experienced once you graduated, it can be related to your career or life overall. I have recently been working with a bright Princeton graduate. I noticed that she did not list Princeton on her LI. We were having a casual convo once and the topic of LI came up. I asked her how come she doesn't list her alma mater on there, and she said that she hates the assumptions people make about her only because of where she went to school, such as being entitled and privileged, when in fact she was first gen and came from a working class family.

This is really the encounter that made me think about what are some of the negative sides of attending one of these schools, especially once you leave, that are not discussed enough, yet I feel is important to talk about given the ongoing obsession with these places.

Lol, siblings and I graduated from 3 of the 5 HYPSM, and have found zero downsides to our degrees.

[Anonymous]

None

[Anonymous]

If you try to get a low-level job you’ll be seen as a flight risk

If you’re in certain environments you’ll be seen as an out of touch elite

[Anonymous]

I do find myself mumbling in social settings about having gone to school "in the Boston area"--a verbal tick that seems common with other Harvard graduates. That said, it is on my firm resume, and I would not say that there was a downside as such. I would also add that some of the colleagues I most respect went to less prestigious colleges and law schools and think my DS made the right decision to go to state university because it was clearly the right fit.

[Anonymous]

my husband and many of my friends went to HYPSM, and I went to one of the better state flagships. I would take their place in a heartbeat -- they all got so much more in terms of 1. what they learned there 2. their network 3. their current position in life 4. the sense of possibility that the world can offer (their view is broader).

[Anonymous]

Several Princeton alums I know were legacies and got in principally for that reason. They would not have gotten in otherwise. They graduated bottom third of the class in the humanities/social sciences. The best part about Princeton for them was getting in. Going to Princeton and graduating from Princeton was deflating. All of them went on to mediocre careers and bounced around from job to job. In hindsight, Princeton legacy was a millstone around their necks. All three would have been better off charting their own paths. I have seen this with Harvard legacies but know them less well. I have come to the conclusion that bring legacies at these schools is a bit of a curse, with MIT being an exception because they don’t favor legacies in admission and MIT grads are the real deal. The downside of these schools is the weight of expectation for future greatness and more than half of the graduating class will lead unextraordinary lives. Frankly, many Princeton, Harvard, Yale grads are underwhelming and it must be painful to be on the receiving end of that. This is the downside of these schools. People broadly think the degree confers more talent, aptitude and drive than it actually does.

[Anonymous]

In many jobs it’s better to have gone to a local school. I.e. if you’re applying to law firms in Houston, they’d rather a U of Houston law grad with a specialization in oil & gas than a Yale Law grad. Having local connections & knowing the local culture of where you want to work matters a ton.

[Anonymous]

In second & third tier cities like Richmond, Baltimore, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Charleston and for some reason, Chicago, where you went to high school matters a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several Princeton alums I know were legacies and got in principally for that reason. They would not have gotten in otherwise. They graduated bottom third of the class in the humanities/social sciences. The best part about Princeton for them was getting in. Going to Princeton and graduating from Princeton was deflating. All of them went on to mediocre careers and bounced around from job to job. In hindsight, Princeton legacy was a millstone around their necks. All three would have been better off charting their own paths. I have seen this with Harvard legacies but know them less well. I have come to the conclusion that bring legacies at these schools is a bit of a curse, with MIT being an exception because they don’t favor legacies in admission and MIT grads are the real deal. The downside of these schools is the weight of expectation for future greatness and more than half of the graduating class will lead unextraordinary lives. Frankly, many Princeton, Harvard, Yale grads are underwhelming and it must be painful to be on the receiving end of that. This is the downside of these schools. People broadly think the degree confers more talent, aptitude and drive than it actually does.

Nope. Not in my experience at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In many jobs it’s better to have gone to a local school. I.e. if you’re applying to law firms in Houston, they’d rather a U of Houston law grad with a specialization in oil & gas than a Yale Law grad. Having local connections & knowing the local culture of where you want to work matters a ton.

This is the downside. Even where the schools are local, they’re not local. In Connecticut, for most practicing professionals, it’s better to have a degree from UConn than Yale. You may not have the same theoretical grounding, but very few practicing professionals (or clients) care about that.

Obviously in theoretical fields theory is a plus. And for the very wealthy the inability to do anything practical is a status symbol. So whether this is a plus or minus depends on the individual.

[Anonymous]

the weight of expections of greatness is the biggest drawback for me. in every setting. maybe that's good because it pushes me to be great, but it's exhausting. a positive is i find that i have more friends with perks (e.g. who invite me to their beach house, boat, fun event...). My sister, who went to a state flagship, doesn't have as many "perks," but she has a happy life too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In many jobs it’s better to have gone to a local school. I.e. if you’re applying to law firms in Houston, they’d rather a U of Houston law grad with a specialization in oil & gas than a Yale Law grad. Having local connections & knowing the local culture of where you want to work matters a ton.

This is the downside. Even where the schools are local, they’re not local. In Connecticut, for most practicing professionals, it’s better to have a degree from UConn than Yale. You may not have the same theoretical grounding, but very few practicing professionals (or clients) care about that.

Obviously in theoretical fields theory is a plus. And for the very wealthy the inability to do anything practical is a status symbol. So whether this is a plus or minus depends on the individual.

In fairness, almost no one going to Yale wants to remain in New Haven or CT in general at least in their 20s. If I was say Hartford Insurance interviewing for junior positions, I probably wouldn't spend much time interviewing at Yale.

Boston, NYC, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, LA, Chicago...are different stories. Boston companies hire lots of Harvard and MIT grads because that is a city that attracts recent grads.

[Anonymous]

If you went to an ivy, people assume you must be smarter than others. If you don't perform as expected, that's another pressure. It's pressure all around.

Obama said, an upside to going to an ivy is knowing you never have to be impressed by other ivy grads. Ivies aren't all that.