How do kids from lower ranked schools land prestigious internships/jobs?!?!

[Anonymous]

Oops. You drank the Kool Aid. Many of us have been posting for years that people’s obsession with rankings is so overblown.

My kid chose the lowest ranked of the 7 schools she got into. She loved the sense of community it offered (plus strong academics in her field of interest ). Every student got two advisors. She had her choice of labs to work in. That experience yielded a first author paper (rare for an undergrad) and strong , personalized references.

(I am assuming that last part because she landed two prestigious internships).

She was a big fish in a small, nurturing pond. She worked hard and took initiative.

Your kid should not give up. But perhaps learn also that you can only ride external signs of status so far. In the end, the individual has to earn their achievements every step of the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at a top 25 school. He went through the summer internship interview process last year but didn’t land an internship with any of the prestigious employers people talk about here - banks, asset managers, consulting, etc. His school is so bloody competitive and there are so many hard driving and high achieving kids and, I guess, only this many spots at these firms per school. Kid has been pretty devastated.

But what has made it worse is seeing kids from lower ranked schools on LinkedIn, think 150+, who end up with internships at such places! I realise how this comes off but it is deeply upsetting when kid had to work SO hard to get into a top school and then see kids who have worked less hard, coming from schools with 80%+ acceptance rates, end up with opportunities that we have been told are easier to get as top school grads.

Kid just feels, what was the point of busting his behind so hard, he could have taken it easier, enjoyed high school a bit more, could have gone to a lower ranked school and still ended up at BlackRock or JP Morgan or Bain. And, of course, I haven’t shared this with him, but I’ve started feeling the same way.

Can you wrap your mind around the proposition that students at lower ranked schools also work hard?

There are a lot of assumptions in these two sentences.

Not OP. Can you in all honesty say that the AVERAGE kid at a 150+ school has worked as hard in high school as the AVERAGE kid at Princeton or MIT?? I think not but I’d be happy for people to prove me wrong.

- Grad of 150+ school who remembers what his average classmates were like

Are the average kids at the 150+ school the ones who are getting the interviews and internships that OP is complaining about?

Consider the top students at a school like Alabama, where there are, numerically, more NMFs than at most elite colleges. Obviously they are not "average" within their university and are likely, by correlation, to possess many qualities that employers may be looking for.

+1 This is what OP is missing - there are top kids at every university, and mediocre kids at top universities. Getting into MIT means nothing if DC is barely making a 2.8 GPA there. Having a 4.0 at VCU with published peer-reviewed articles will get DC an interview at most places. Of course, connected kids at both MIT and VCU get interviews too, no matter what their GPA is.

Funny they thought they could coast after scoring well in high school AP classes! 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe your kid doesn't come off well in interviews. Also, academic success does not equate with professional success if you don't have the interpersonal skills. Consider that.

This is so true it hurts. I can think of countless examples over the decades but it's for varied reasons, from burnout to lofty ideals to personality and many other reasons.

[Anonymous]

Just because a kid is at school ranked 200, it doesn't mean that they didn't work as hard as your son. There are tons of other factors at play in where a kid chooses to attend school.

Sounds like your son has "pick me" energy and needs to work on that.

[Anonymous]

I recently hired an amazing recent graduate for a highly sought after job. This is in the public policy space, but applicants were willing to take pay cuts to get this opportunity. The person we hired went to a school ranked 100-125, but had had a lot of initiative on getting internships that led to a good first job, which led to the reputation that got her the recommendation to interview for this job. I literally had no idea where she went to college when I invited her in to interview because I trusted the people giving me recommendations and was looking for a particular level of initiative for the job. It was a non-issue.

She had no connections but she had a plan and initiative, and she was lucky to be exactly what we were looking for. She will go far. I am asking her for advice for my DC (current freshman) to follow.

[Anonymous]

As someone who hires interns, I’d much rather hire a kid from a lesser ranked school, who actually had to work and hustle, than some entitled brat who thinks just because he’s at big name school, I should hire him…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone who hires interns, I’d much rather hire a kid from a lesser ranked school, who actually had to work and hustle, than some entitled brat who thinks just because he’s at big name school, I should hire him…

This. We just interviewed a bunch of seniors for tech jobs. A couple from prestigious schools could not do the tech assessment or describe their projects well. And the kid from a lower ranked state U aced it all and was really personable. All had high GPAs and serious course loads. It takes all kinds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just because a kid is at school ranked 200, it doesn't mean that they didn't work as hard as your son. There are tons of other factors at play in where a kid chooses to attend school.

Sounds like your son has "pick me" energy and needs to work on that.

And a sense of entitlement, with a soupcon of superiority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It also turns out that no one in the real world cares about where your kids are going to school. Do you think that the top companies in Wherever do recruits from University of Wherever? They do. There are smart kids everywhere.

Not true. At all. Nice try though. Kids from University of Wherever may get jobs at top companies but it’s through connections, not recruitment efforts by the top company. If you are unconnected and not #1 at University of Wherever, it’s pretty hard to get a job at a top company.

^^^ This. My DS attends Ivy with good grades and community services but without any internships from IB companies. His cousin attends NC state and plays tennis there, got three internship offers from three different IB companies. One of the alumni is a head honcho at one of the IB companies and he has a lot of connections with other IB companies. You get the point.

[Anonymous]

I think people are mixing up examples for statistics. Certainly, not all of these top internships go to kids at Top 20 schools. But there is a huge slant in that direction. Some of the banks and consulting firms do heavy recruiting at those schools, and then have a general pool were kids at non 'target' school can apply. Some of those kids will get in, but they really need to differentiate themselves in that broader population.

OP, to answer your question.
1. Family connections are a real thing. There is actually a formal process where a partner at a top firm can recommend someone they know (I know because my kid got such a recommendation.). It doesn't get you the job, but it gets to past the first 'open-call' round.

2. Many universities build strong relationships with alumni at certain employers. So kids get the kind of recommendation I mentioned above, but through the alumni route. Again, doesn't get you the position, but differentiates you from the crowd.

3. If kids can get a really cool internship through one of the above routes after their first year or even second year, then that makes them more competitive for their pre-senior year internship. So after freshman year, have the kid do something that provides experience and a recommendation, even if it is unpaid.

4. Many state schools will have a pipeline into the regional offices, which can get a kid's foot in the door (particularly useful before junior year). So maybe they're not working for Finance in NYC. But they are in a big bank's regional operations closer to home, which gives them an opportunity to prove themselves.

5. And as PPs have said, if the kid has a lot of ambition and grit, they can network, demonstrate unique skills, etc enough to be in the cream of the crop in the broad 'open call' pool.

[Anonymous]

What a crappy topic title, OP. Do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Life is about the hustle. You have to hustle to get anywhere in life. Even going to a top school, you have to hustle. No one gives you anything in life.

My husband owns a company and no longer like to hire from MIT or other top engineering schools because the student are quick to tell you where they went to school but don’t actually work much. The ego and entitlement make them difficult teammates and employees. He would rather hire a hard worker from a second tier university.

This is a fact. Our firm doesn’t hire Ivy League grads anymore because they lack the work ethic and aren’t team players.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed this thread. Just goes to show T25 not everything!

Also OP, why do you assume that kids at lower rank schools are not just as qualified?

[Anonymous]

😱 why do people who weren’t perfect students in middle school ever get any position over an Ivy student? The audacity. I’m totally clutching my pearls right now.


Shouldnt they know by now they are just inferior beings paying rent for the pleasure of serving a cabal of overlords from the Ivies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve said this many times. It doesn’t matter where you go to school if you are charismatic, a hard worker and can network. My husband is one of those people. You never heard of his college. He’s a people person and thrives in social business meetings over dinner or drinks.

He is every bit as smart as me even though he went to a community college and a no name school. You heard of my college. No one asks either of us where we went to college now. No one cares about your degree after your first job.

Serious question: Where did each of you attend college ?