Anyone else frustrated by the ivy league types in DC?

[Anonymous]

My DH is a high powered consultant from a public U. He walked into a huge meeting at big company X yesterday at the side of the CEO. In the back were all the analysts in the special programs only recruited from the Ivies. He came home and smiled and laughed, and said to me, "those A-holes wouldn't even look at my resume, and now then need me to save their company".

It can be done without an Ivy background, but it is much much harder. That is why the private school forum is all a flutter about college admissions stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH is a high powered consultant from a public U. He walked into a huge meeting at big company X yesterday at the side of the CEO. In the back were all the analysts in the special programs only recruited from the Ivies. He came home and smiled and laughed, and said to me, "those A-holes wouldn't even look at my resume, and now then need me to save their company".

It can be done without an Ivy background, but it is much much harder. That is why the private school forum is all a flutter about college admissions stats.

I went to a state school for undergrad. At a former employer, they treated me like I couldn't tie my shoes bc I didn't have a grad degree or go to an ivy.

[Anonymous]

So true! AND really ironic, because IMHO state school alum who get good jobs did it despite a system that propels mediocre rich kids through the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I only wish my Ivy league degree was as important as OP and others make it.
Many guys I graduated from high school with who went to no-name colleges and weren't exactly stellar students are raking in the dough. And the "dumb" popular girls are tonning it by virtue of being married to those guys. Sigh. No justice for us high school geeks.

What are the no-name alumns doing for a living?

They're either entrepreuners or working as financial advisers. It seems that you can really make a lot of money managing other people's money (although perhaps not so much in the current market).
I think personality and confidence go a long way. I guess if you have those traits PLUS an ivy league degree, you're set!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I only wish my Ivy league degree was as important as OP and others make it.

Totally agree with this! My Ivy degree helped right out of college but once you're in the job market it all evens out.

[Anonymous]

Sigh...This is reminding me of when I taught at a small private liberal arts college after having taught at a large urban state university. The college was not anywhere near as prestigious as the Ivies and not even close to the top ranked liberal arts colleges. Even so, I'm sure these kids' degrees were considered better than those of the state university grads -- but I found the private college students to be no smarter than my best students from the state university.

[Anonymous]

Ivies are usually from rich families, super smart (no personality), smart+personality combo (not super smart but very likeable) or average/smart+member of an underrepresented group. So that doesn't mean they're more qualified for a job. I know people who turned down admission to Ivy grad schools so they could free ride and have a quality of life at lower ranked schools. BTW the SF area is full of SNOBS who only consider Berkeley and Stanford applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ivies are usually from rich families, super smart (no personality), smart+personality combo (not super smart but very likeable) or average/smart+member of an underrepresented group. So that doesn't mean they're more qualified for a job. I know people who turned down admission to Ivy grad schools so they could free ride and have a quality of life at lower ranked schools. BTW the SF area is full of SNOBS who only consider Berkeley and Stanford applicants.

average/smart+member of an underrepresented group (underachiever turned housewife) = Sarah Palin

On the SF snob thing who only look at Berkeley & Stanford, there are a lot of NY/East Coast transplants there.

[Anonymous]

OP perhaps the reason you're not getting bites on your resume is because, uh, the economy sucks? I don't know anyone who's hiring, actually just the opposite - so I think the Ivy League conspiracy theory is a little weak. I know it sucks to look for a job - so best of luck to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: BTW the SF area is full of SNOBS who only consider Berkeley and Stanford applicants.

Totally true. I once worked there for someone, who went to the same, less-prestigious university I did and he was obsessed with grads from these two schools and one other private university. His envy was hilarious and everyone noticed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ivies are usually from rich families, super smart (no personality), smart+personality combo (not super smart but very likeable) or average/smart+member of an underrepresented group. So that doesn't mean they're more qualified for a job. I know people who turned down admission to Ivy grad schools so they could free ride and have a quality of life at lower ranked schools. BTW the SF area is full of SNOBS who only consider Berkeley and Stanford applicants.

I once worked at one of the world's largest book publishing houses, and its unwritten policy was to never hire Ivy League grads as editorial assistants since they were such PIAs to work with - they had a lot of problems doing the grunt work (page counts, xeroxing long manuscripts, etc.) that all editors have to do at one point or another. Plus, they were very opinionated about only reading "literary" manuscripts. And they were most often wrong about mss. potential.

We wondered if maybe it was their lack of socialization and exposure to mass market anything (books, movies, television, etc.). And of course I'm generalizing, but it was definitely a much-talked-about unwritten rule.

[Anonymous]

I think the bad economy only makes it harder for folks who don't have that Ivy background. In my experience, Ivies are the first hired, last fired. So actually, the lackluster economy probably exacerbates the discrimination.

The fact is, people who went to an ivy have a lot of (usually unfair) advantages, starting with connections, moving onto automatic respect. Denying this is like denying the sky is blue.

When hiring, if I don't know someone from Adam, but they went to an Ivy, they are simply more likely to be smart and/or well educated (and at entry level perhaps lazy, unskilled)--- so it depends on the position I'm hiring for if I weigh the Ivy application more heavily. For entry level jobs I rarely hire an Ivy, but so often those folks just skip that step anyway!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the bad economy only makes it harder for folks who don't have that Ivy background. In my experience, Ivies are the first hired, last fired. So actually, the lackluster economy probably exacerbates the discrimination.

The fact is, people who went to an ivy have a lot of (usually unfair) advantages, starting with connections, moving onto automatic respect. Denying this is like denying the sky is blue.

When hiring, if I don't know someone from Adam, but they went to an Ivy, they are simply more likely to be smart and/or well educated (and at entry level perhaps lazy, unskilled)--- so it depends on the position I'm hiring for if I weigh the Ivy application more heavily. For entry level jobs I rarely hire an Ivy, but so often those folks just skip that step anyway!

PP here. Agree somewhat, but in book publishing, you CAN'T skip that first step.

[Anonymous]

Sure wish all fields could be more like book publishing! I'd love to see all those Yalies doing actual grunt work.

[Anonymous]

I agree that in this town you tend to get informed rather quickly upon meeting, that a person went to an Ivy.

What is even funnier to me, though, is how some people (20 years post graduation) use their Harvard and Yale alumni email addresses instead of yahoo, gmail or something else. Or someone who dresses their 2 year old in a Harvard shirt for their preschool visit.