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

[Anonymous]

An upside is the ability to change fields easily.

A downside, especially when we’re talking about master’s & PhD programs is the underbelly of one’s that exist. If you’re going to an Ivy for a masters in nursing, social work, physicians assistant, education etc hopefully you’re independently wealthy.

[Anonymous]

People think you’re a snob
They think you won’t be willing to do grunt work

[Anonymous]

People with hiring power aren’t keen on hiring job applicants from schools that rejected their child.

[Anonymous]

You say you weren't interested in the stress of being an undergrad, but the stress of transitioning from a big fish in a small pond high school to a university where everyone else seems far more brilliant can bring down one's confidence in a lasting way.

Reading the alumni magazine can be tough when you see classmatesv relatively fresh out of college starting tech firms and making tons of money (donating hundreds of thousands to the school!), while you decided to be a school teacher or social worker and may still be paying off school loans.

Also people sometimes think you're an out of touch snob and don't realize that many students attended on heavy financial aid.

[Anonymous]

HYP grad here. I almost always reject HYP grads when they apply to my company - we tend to hire 1-3 years out of undergrad and that cadre from HYP tend to expect much higher comp and more comp increases along the way. In short, they are more of an HR pain in the arse.

Our best hires always are the striving kids, top 10-20% of their classes from T60-T300 schools.

Yes I realize the irony of this....entirely

[Anonymous]

You’re seen as woke or ultra liberal in a bad way by virtue of attending Yale, Berkeley, Middlebury, Bryn Mawr, Haverford etc

[Anonymous]

The degree only opened doors for the first couple jobs. After that, no one cared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HYP grad here. I almost always reject HYP grads when they apply to my company - we tend to hire 1-3 years out of undergrad and that cadre from HYP tend to expect much higher comp and more comp increases along the way. In short, they are more of an HR pain in the arse.

Our best hires always are the striving kids, top 10-20% of their classes from T60-T300 schools.

Yes I realize the irony of this....entirely

This seems like a backhanded compliment to the HYPs...I presume they expect higher comp because they can get higher comp somewhere else? So, you hire from the T60-T300 because those grads can't expect better compensation nor expect to quickly move up in the organization.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

I went to state flagship and don’t need the perk of being invited to a beach house as I bought my own beach house. Create your own perks.😀

[Anonymous]

There is no downside, since all the people I know with Ivy degrees are very mobile, and have not stayed in their hometowns. It does not matter what the expectations are: the crucial tink is that it helps you get in the door!

As an aside, I know ZERO people who have stayed to work in their hometowns. Some, like me, have multiple "hometowns" because we moved a lot as kids. I spent my childhood changing countries every 4 years.

[Anonymous]

There is resentment for certain job applicants (coming out of elite schools) who are seen as beneficiaries of affirmative action or FGLI preference. The people hiring are people too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
There is no downside, since all the people I know with Ivy degrees are very mobile, and have not stayed in their hometowns. It does not matter what the expectations are: the crucial tink is that it helps you get in the door!

As an aside, I know ZERO people who have stayed to work in their hometowns. Some, like me, have multiple "hometowns" because we moved a lot as kids. I spent my childhood changing countries every 4 years.

Sounds horrible. I actually feel sorry for you.

[Anonymous]

It’s a minus if you’re running for office at any level, anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HYP grad here. I almost always reject HYP grads when they apply to my company - we tend to hire 1-3 years out of undergrad and that cadre from HYP tend to expect much higher comp and more comp increases along the way. In short, they are more of an HR pain in the arse.

Our best hires always are the striving kids, top 10-20% of their classes from T60-T300 schools.

Yes I realize the irony of this....entirely

The reverse side of this view is the fact that ivy grads know that in 99.5% of the time, they will be interviewed and hired by state grads. For this reason, most ivy grads are very humble. I realize the irony of this...

[Anonymous]

The pressure put on the kids once people learn they are "a legacy," especially if they have no desire (or ability) to go to Mom's alma mater.