It Does Not Matter Where You Go to College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With Senior year for HS'ers kicking off, I just want get this spiel off my chest and hopefully ease the stress of a lot of parents (and their DS/DDs). In terms of your future career prospects it matters very little where you go to college. You might say, "But the Ivy Leaguers [or equivalent prestige] get the best jobs, make the most money, advance the most quickly" and so on. There's a lot of truth to this. HOWEVER, it is not because these kids went to Ivy League colleges. It's because they were smart and driven enough to get into them (and graduate from them) in the first place.

Now don't get me wrong, it is definitely important, as far as career prospects go, to GO to college and to work hard and do well there. But other than working as a first-year analyst at an investment bank (which would be terrible for most people) there are few jobs where a going to an Ivy League is going to be a prerequisite.

What I think is much more important - and what no one gives enough thought to - is what their major is going to be. That actually has a much bigger determinant on career prospects than where one attends college. I.e., vastly different outcomes for engineering/economics/social work/English

Like many on DCUM, I'm a lawyer. I changed my major 8 times in undergrad, and at the end of it all, none of it mattered. You can get into law school with any major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not this again.

Yes, it actually does matter where you go to college, unless your claim is that all institutions of higher ed are exactly the same with the same people and in the same location and the same lineup of professors and curriculum.

No one would be stupid enough to claim that

NP- I know people within the same companies/firms who want to a very wide scope of schools. I think it's changing even more now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not this again.

Yes, it actually does matter where you go to college, unless your claim is that all institutions of higher ed are exactly the same with the same people and in the same location and the same lineup of professors and curriculum.

No one would be stupid enough to claim that

Also, are you 91 years old? because your sentiments sounds as if you might be a great grandpapa

No this is true. A similar class at Princeton is not the same as at GWU and is not the same at UMD and is not the same at Towson. The rigor is less, the course material is not the same, and the students are not the same which is a big deal. So yes this is all true.

Still can rule the world from Towson if you have it in you. Just not as likely.

This made me chuckle. I attended Princeton; spouse attended GW. We're in our late-40s now and spouse's friend group from undergrad is at least as accomplished/successful as mine, probably more so. (And I was no slouch--either in college or afterwards.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But it still puts you in a certain box forever. It only matters how much you care about that. Your network starts with your college. Again, depends how much you see the value of that.

I guess maybe if you suck at your job and so constantly need to try to leverage your alma mater...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not this again.

Yes, it actually does matter where you go to college, unless your claim is that all institutions of higher ed are exactly the same with the same people and in the same location and the same lineup of professors and curriculum.

No one would be stupid enough to claim that

NP- I know people within the same companies/firms who want to a very wide scope of schools. I think it's changing even more now.

Totally. Even in investment banking (which OP mentioned as an exception), the analyst classes at the bulge bracket and boutique firms have maybe 30-40 universities represented these days, some of which people here would sneer at.

[Anonymous]

I mean, I am by no means Ivy or bust but I do think it matters where you go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With Senior year for HS'ers kicking off, I just want get this spiel off my chest and hopefully ease the stress of a lot of parents (and their DS/DDs). In terms of your future career prospects it matters very little where you go to college. You might say, "But the Ivy Leaguers [or equivalent prestige] get the best jobs, make the most money, advance the most quickly" and so on. There's a lot of truth to this. HOWEVER, it is not because these kids went to Ivy League colleges. It's because they were smart and driven enough to get into them (and graduate from them) in the first place.

Now don't get me wrong, it is definitely important, as far as career prospects go, to GO to college and to work hard and do well there. But other than working as a first-year analyst at an investment bank (which would be terrible for most people) there are few jobs where a going to an Ivy League is going to be a prerequisite.

What I think is much more important - and what no one gives enough thought to - is what their major is going to be. That actually has a much bigger determinant on career prospects than where one attends college. I.e., vastly different outcomes for engineering/economics/social work/English

Like many on DCUM, I'm a lawyer. I changed my major 8 times in undergrad, and at the end of it all, none of it mattered. You can get into law school with any major.

OP here - If you're committed to going to law school, then I agree your major won't matter much. But that's a big commitment for a 17/18 year old. So best to pick a major where you can imagine a job in the field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not this again.

Yes, it actually does matter where you go to college, unless your claim is that all institutions of higher ed are exactly the same with the same people and in the same location and the same lineup of professors and curriculum.

No one would be stupid enough to claim that

Also, are you 91 years old? because your sentiments sounds as if you might be a great grandpapa

No this is true. A similar class at Princeton is not the same as at GWU and is not the same at UMD and is not the same at Towson. The rigor is less, the course material is not the same, and the students are not the same which is a big deal. So yes this is all true.

Still can rule the world from Towson if you have it in you. Just not as likely.

That's not what matters. Sophisticated coursework is irrelevant to career, for 99% of people. School that admit higher achievers graduate grade higher achievers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not this again.

Yes, it actually does matter where you go to college, unless your claim is that all institutions of higher ed are exactly the same with the same people and in the same location and the same lineup of professors and curriculum.

No one would be stupid enough to claim that

This is true. Best to avoid places that might turn your kid into a McKinsey clown.

I would do McKinsey. They end up as CEOs everywhere.

Yes, we definitely need to churn out more drones to r@pe the environment and the working class simultaneously so some mom has bragging rights

You are angry because they winm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But it still puts you in a certain box forever. It only matters how much you care about that. Your network starts with your college. Again, depends how much you see the value of that.

I guess maybe if you suck at your job and so constantly need to try to leverage your alma mater...

I guess maybe if you can't comprehend a few basic English sentences...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not this again.

Yes, it actually does matter where you go to college, unless your claim is that all institutions of higher ed are exactly the same with the same people and in the same location and the same lineup of professors and curriculum.

No one would be stupid enough to claim that

This is true. Best to avoid places that might turn your kid into a McKinsey clown.

I would do McKinsey. They end up as CEOs everywhere.

Ugh. Who wants to be a CEO?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But it still puts you in a certain box forever. It only matters how much you care about that. Your network starts with your college. Again, depends how much you see the value of that.

I guess maybe if you suck at your job and so constantly need to try to leverage your alma mater...

I guess maybe if you can't comprehend a few basic English sentences...

Gee, what did I miss? How is one meant to read, "But it still puts you in a certain box forever"? Please do enlighten me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not this again.

Yes, it actually does matter where you go to college, unless your claim is that all institutions of higher ed are exactly the same with the same people and in the same location and the same lineup of professors and curriculum.

No one would be stupid enough to claim that

NP- I know people within the same companies/firms who want to a very wide scope of schools. I think it's changing even more now.

Totally. Even in investment banking (which OP mentioned as an exception), the analyst classes at the bulge bracket and boutique firms have maybe 30-40 universities represented these days, some of which people here would sneer at.

So…it does matter where you went to school…I mean, 30-40 top universities is still a very narrow group.

I doubt any of those 30-40 are schools we would sneer at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not this again.

Yes, it actually does matter where you go to college, unless your claim is that all institutions of higher ed are exactly the same with the same people and in the same location and the same lineup of professors and curriculum.

No one would be stupid enough to claim that

Also, are you 91 years old? because your sentiments sounds as if you might be a great grandpapa

No this is true. A similar class at Princeton is not the same as at GWU and is not the same at UMD and is not the same at Towson. The rigor is less, the course material is not the same, and the students are not the same which is a big deal. So yes this is all true.

Still can rule the world from Towson if you have it in you. Just not as likely.

This made me chuckle. I attended Princeton; spouse attended GW. We're in our late-40s now and spouse's friend group from undergrad is at least as accomplished/successful as mine, probably more so. (And I was no slouch--either in college or afterwards.)

You can never win an anecdote contest when the actual most successful people went to top schools vs all the unnamed successful people on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not this again.

Yes, it actually does matter where you go to college, unless your claim is that all institutions of higher ed are exactly the same with the same people and in the same location and the same lineup of professors and curriculum.

No one would be stupid enough to claim that

This is true. Best to avoid places that might turn your kid into a McKinsey clown.

I would do McKinsey. They end up as CEOs everywhere.

Yes, we definitely need to churn out more drones to r@pe the environment and the working class simultaneously so some mom has bragging rights

You are angry because they winm

NP. Huh?