What universities stand out for DC hiring managers?

[Anonymous]

My workplace redacts names, schools etc. to avoid implicit bias. So, school does not matter at all. We don't know the candidate's name or school until they are selected for the interview stage.

[Anonymous]

Please. So much of Fed hiring is through referrals or family connections, no matter what anyone claims on this board. Not a meritocracy.

[Anonymous]

Parent of a young adult here: in our experience, it doesn't matter. My DC went to a good but not top tier SLAC and got a great job after about 6 mo. His friends who went to better schools (inc Georgetown) with a similar major (in social sciences) took much, much longer.

[Anonymous]

Th school you attended only matters when looking in the rear view mirror.

If you went to work in PE or for a venture fund or a certain group of exclusive employees, you will likely agree that attending a top school mattered.

If you decide to go into the Coca Cola management program or work for the government or work any number of jobs, you will say it doesn’t matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GWU, American, Catholic Univ, gives you great chances of securing a gov't internship.

Does UMD also confer that same advantage?

Of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People don’t want to accept this but increasingly there will be less and less differentiation between graduating from Yale or Princeton and graduating from UMiami or Penn State.

Some people may not like this but this is where we are going. So it really doesn’t matter where you go for undergrad.

This is so true. I hire in federal government , many of our best hires come from state schools. In the past 5 years, I have been on over two dozen job panels. The best hires were from JMU, university of Buffalo, Va. tech, UMD, Salisbury, Bucknell

[Anonymous]

I hire in federal government

Wasn't that PP's point? Most Ivy grads aren't looking for govt work, especially since many F500 companies recruit on campus.

[Anonymous]

There's definitely a strong negative selection bias going on here. If an Ivy League student has to apply to government jobs, they messed up big time and are likely far, far below the average Ivy League graduate in terms of career readiness

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's definitely a strong negative selection bias going on here. If an Ivy League student has to apply to government jobs, they messed up big time and are likely far, far below the average Ivy League graduate in terms of career readiness

Ivy League schools aren’t all alike. Yale, for example, has long encouraged public service careers and the CIA. So, no, it’s not about having “messed up big time”- it’s about using your education and networking to get you where you want to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's definitely a strong negative selection bias going on here. If an Ivy League student has to apply to government jobs, they messed up big time and are likely far, far below the average Ivy League graduate in terms of career readiness

Ivy League schools aren’t all alike. Yale, for example, has long encouraged public service careers and the CIA. So, no, it’s not about having “messed up big time”- it’s about using your education and networking to get you where you want to go.

+1. Princeton too. And it’s not just “government jobs,” we are talking about policy and political jobs that are desired by kids with certain interests. Think policy jobs at State, Treasury, White House offices, or on the Hill, not management analyst at HUD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Yale

MIT, Stanford, and Princeton have no cachet in the policy world. Harvard and Yale do, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People don’t want to accept this but increasingly there will be less and less differentiation between graduating from Yale or Princeton and graduating from UMiami or Penn State.

Some people may not like this but this is where we are going. So it really doesn’t matter where you go for undergrad.

This is so true. I hire in federal government , many of our best hires come from state schools. In the past 5 years, I have been on over two dozen job panels. The best hires were from JMU, university of Buffalo, Va. tech, UMD, Salisbury, Bucknell

So happy to read this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do a lot of hiring for entry level policy and media relations jobs at a prominent NGO in DC. Being able to write very well is the coin of the realm.

We hire from a range of schools, but if i were sorting solely by colleges, I'd definitely go with graduates of good SLACs over almost anyone else (although I'd probably also add at least some of the Ivies). People have to write-- and they get feedback on their writing--- at most SLACs. Over the past several years, our five best entry level hires were from Carleton, Smith, Oberlin, Swarthmore, and Bates. We've had a lot of other good people, but SLACs are doing well for us.

I went to a small, liberal arts college and there was NO feedback given in terms of writing. It was a cash cow with adjunct professors. Landed at Kansas State University - the feedback on every document has been amazing. Much more in-depth writing and analysis on every page.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Yale

MIT, Stanford, and Princeton have no cachet in the policy world. Harvard and Yale do, of course.

Princeton does for grad students because of the Wilson school. But agree nothing for MIT or Stanford. Some of these comments seem to just be throwing out top tier school names with little regard for the question asked.