Does where you go to college actually matter?

[Anonymous]

NO.

Unless -

1. You wanted to specifically be with a certain organization in the legal, medical or academic profession where the name of your education is paramount
2. You wanted to start in management v. work your way up in which case you go get your MBA from a top B school
3. You wanted to specifically open up networking opportunities at a school - ie you wanted specifically to work for a company that you know does college recruiting out of that school
4. You want to work within corporate finance or CIA/Foreign Service/public sector organization that college recruits specifically from a list of preferred top schools

Otherwise it does not matter where you go to college, from a community college to a college that nobody's heard of -

1. You can absolutely work your way to the top in almost any field.
2. You can absolutely be happy and successful in any industry.
3. You can absolutely earn a TON of money by being successful in your industry. Better yet, own your own business and hire people out of the college you want!
4. You can absolutely be a smart, good or educated person and even all three to boot!

- Signed, a VP of Talent Acquisition, with 20+ years of experience hiring in tech, finance and sales/marketing industries for corporate F100 global and national companies. I have recruited both Harvard MBA morons who despite whatever title they had will always be moron and can't write a resume, and highly motivated, street smart and hard worker community college grads who became C level executives

[Anonymous]

My husband, who barely graduated high school and was in a gang at one point, joined the military and then got a degree from the local public university after doing 10 years of pt undergrad.

I was the overachiever goody-two shoes who went to a top 25 liberal arts school.

He makes 2.5X what I do.

Our oldest child has ADHD and we'll be happy if she gets into a 2nd or 3rd tier state school.

I just don't think it matters anymore. I wouldn't take back my experiences - I made good friends and had fun in college. The name on my resume got me in the door in my first couple jobs. As long as you get a degree and find something you enjoy doing for money in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here’s an example. I have several friends who were smart and went to W&M or UVA but majored in education and became teachers. Had they gone to Longwood instead that wouldn’t have changed a thing for their job. But UVA majorly changed their selection of spouse. And all three of them married high earners and none of the wives work any longer.

So, their kids are smart, right? I read somewhere that maternal intelligence is a huge factor with children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NO.

Unless -

1. You wanted to specifically be with a certain organization in the legal, medical or academic profession where the name of your education is paramount
2. You wanted to start in management v. work your way up in which case you go get your MBA from a top B school
3. You wanted to specifically open up networking opportunities at a school - ie you wanted specifically to work for a company that you know does college recruiting out of that school
4. You want to work within corporate finance or CIA/Foreign Service/public sector organization that college recruits specifically from a list of preferred top schools

Otherwise it does not matter where you go to college, from a community college to a college that nobody's heard of -

1. You can absolutely work your way to the top in almost any field.
2. You can absolutely be happy and successful in any industry.
3. You can absolutely earn a TON of money by being successful in your industry. Better yet, own your own business and hire people out of the college you want!
4. You can absolutely be a smart, good or educated person and even all three to boot!

- Signed, a VP of Talent Acquisition, with 20+ years of experience hiring in tech, finance and sales/marketing industries for corporate F100 global and national companies. I have recruited both Harvard MBA morons who despite whatever title they had will always be moron and can't write a resume, and highly motivated, street smart and hard worker community college grads who became C level executives

This person has the right of it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it does. People who went to top universities recognize them on resumes. I don’t know if it’s worth going into serious debt over, but graduating from a top university with a strong GPA indicates a hard worker. Work experience matters more, but it’s a bit easier to get into large name companies and jobs in the first place from a top university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it does. People who went to top universities recognize them on resumes. I don’t know if it’s worth going into serious debt over, but graduating from a top university with a strong GPA indicates a hard worker. Work experience matters more, but it’s a bit easier to get into large name companies and jobs in the first place from a top university.

Depends on the major. For a public high school teacher or a nurse, I don’t think it matters much. To be honest I don’t think it matters for accounting either if you can get into a big 4 firm out of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe harvard or yale make a difference but does any other school? I’m pretty underemployed and I went to a top 25 university. Would have been much cheaper to have gone to Maryland or Towson

Two of my nephews and one of my nephews went to Towson. Without grad school, they have all done extremely well in business. One works for a block chain group that just went public, leaving her a millionaire. The other two went to work for small businesses and ended up after 8 year for one and 6 years for the other buying the businesses. They have grown them successfully and they are also millionaires. My niece who has a PhD form Johns Hopkins works in a lab for $78,000 a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s an example. I have several friends who were smart and went to W&M or UVA but majored in education and became teachers. Had they gone to Longwood instead that wouldn’t have changed a thing for their job. But UVA majorly changed their selection of spouse. And all three of them married high earners and none of the wives work any longer.

This is the ticket. Those of you with daughters, read up.

Absolutely the truth. I am a real estate agent in a close in area and laugh when all the progressives worry about school teachers not being able to afford to live in the area. Every other home buyer I meet is a teacher, or a former teacher, who married a high earner and lives comfortably in the area. I had another client who strategically got a project management certification from a prestigious school after her divorce so that she would be hired on the name of the school. She parlayed into a job at an association where she married a wealthy member. She no longer works but manages their multiple homes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s an example. I have several friends who were smart and went to W&M or UVA but majored in education and became teachers. Had they gone to Longwood instead that wouldn’t have changed a thing for their job. But UVA majorly changed their selection of spouse. And all three of them married high earners and none of the wives work any longer.

So, their kids are smart, right? I read somewhere that maternal intelligence is a huge factor with children.

I have noticed that the children of teachers are always smart. I am not so sure that it is native intelligence that the parents are passing on but an ability to teach and engage children from infancy.

[Anonymous]

Depends on your field, and whether networking is important to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I made friends with a bunch of moms when DD was a baby. Our kids are all now aged 9/10 and we are all still friends, we have different income levels and jobs and I have no idea where any of them went to school. Out of 8 of us 2 of us ( including me) didn’t go to school. I actually make more than the one with a law degree. So no, I’m my opinion and social circles it doesn’t matter.

We're talking about in the job market, sweetie, not at the playground. And the one neighborhood mom who didn't get a college degree does feel self conscious about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a pop-science guy (name escapes me at the moment) who said there was some data showing that the ranking of the college you went to was less important for your prospects than being in the top half of whichever college you ended up choosing.

Malcolm Gladwell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s an example. I have several friends who were smart and went to W&M or UVA but majored in education and became teachers. Had they gone to Longwood instead that wouldn’t have changed a thing for their job. But UVA majorly changed their selection of spouse. And all three of them married high earners and none of the wives work any longer.

This is the ticket. Those of you with daughters, read up.

God, the sexism. I went to Duke and my husband is retired now (I'm still working by choice). Yuck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the midwest and we would find if odd if a person lived here and went to an Ivy league school. Funny even. We all went to state schools, got jobs and no one cares.

But that's only if you want to stay in the Midwest. Plus the Ivy Leaguers generally don't come back, they stay on the East Coast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the midwest and we would find if odd if a person lived here and went to an Ivy league school. Funny even. We all went to state schools, got jobs and no one cares.

People who want to leave the Midwest after college go to Ivies. If you grow up in Milwaukee and want to live in Kenosha of course you aren't interested in an Ivy.