My child attends an elite college. It is overrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know who says getting into/attending an Elite College isn't a big deal?

Poor people and those who were rejected.

My favorite growing up: Im really smart but Im just not a good test taker.

Uh yeah. You're not that smart.

The SAT correlates more than family income than IQ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love bottom rung morons who repeat that “college only matters for your first job” nonsense. Your college remains on your resume for 40 to 50 years. Yale is going to pop off your resume when you’re job hopping in your 30s and 40s and the selection committee internally refers to you as the “Yale guy.” Only folks who went to bottom rung colleges think credential prestige doesn’t matter past age 22 — and you all don’t really even believe it, you just wish it was true.

Most jobs do not ask about your college resume after you have work experience (ie. a first real job out of college). What matters after first job is references from previous jobs and what you did at those job(s). So other than the possible connections you use to get an interview, yes, nobody really cares about where you went to college after that (minus a few industries like banking and PE).

They may not ask you explicitly, but they pay attention to it and form an impression from it as part of your profile. It will be on your resume forever. When hiring managers exchange ideas whom to hire, one may not even get your name straight but just say what about that person from Yale, that may be all needed to tip the scale on the other end in a tight competion for the position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love bottom rung morons who repeat that “college only matters for your first job” nonsense. Your college remains on your resume for 40 to 50 years. Yale is going to pop off your resume when you’re job hopping in your 30s and 40s and the selection committee internally refers to you as the “Yale guy.” Only folks who went to bottom rung colleges think credential prestige doesn’t matter past age 22 — and you all don’t really even believe it, you just wish it was true.

I love elitists who think their degree allows them to just make stuff up and expect that everyone will believe them. Here's a study that shows you're pontificating in an empirical vacuum.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/page/5/

Be careful to believe some of this politically correct advice.
No matter what one does, they will always encourage you, no worries, you will do fine. Nice of them to say so, but if that makes you into really believing, it's on you. Didn't go to college, or only went to Phoenix University? Fine, you will still have plenty of opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to an Ivy and loved it but I have always been surprised that people want their kids to go to Ivies to connect with rich people. At my Ivy (Brown) the boarding school/NYC private school uber rich mainly hung out with each other. I love my college friends but they and their connections did not help me get jobs. Nor did my parents help them get jobs. None of our parents were in a position to do that and now we all have such different careers that our professional networks do not overlap at all.

Yep. Strivers never understand what it's really like, if they did, they wouldn't obsess over something so pointless. Even if your kid penetrates that rich kid orbit, there's a difference between college (party) pals and genuine lifelong friendships. The former may score a few invites to a couple of rich kid weddings after college, but they're not getting invited into the family business or set up with anyone's blue blood brother or sister or best friend from boarding school. Your kid will be the pleb from college they had some laughs with. Nothing more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Unibomber went to Harvard. Just sayin’

And Jared Kushner, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love bottom rung morons who repeat that “college only matters for your first job” nonsense. Your college remains on your resume for 40 to 50 years. Yale is going to pop off your resume when you’re job hopping in your 30s and 40s and the selection committee internally refers to you as the “Yale guy.” Only folks who went to bottom rung colleges think credential prestige doesn’t matter past age 22 — and you all don’t really even believe it, you just wish it was true.

I love elitists who think their degree allows them to just make stuff up and expect that everyone will believe them. Here's a study that shows you're pontificating in an empirical vacuum.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/page/5/

Be careful to believe some of this politically correct advice.
No matter what one does, they will always encourage you, no worries, you will do fine. Nice of them to say so, but if that makes you into really believing, it's on you. Didn't go to college, or only went to Phoenix University? Fine, you will still have plenty of opportunities.

If anything, it's the ''anti-woke'' people who I have heard say ''it doesn't matter what college you go to.''

[Anonymous]

I went to Princeton. I thought it was overrated. I did my graduate program at ODU. I’m not a physical therapist but I tell kids to save their money and go to a state school. You’ll end up working less hard and end up in the same place as your friends who enjoyed their college years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which "elite" college is this? UChicago's initial ROI is around $60,000 per year.

Is that supposed to be be good?

It's quite bad for an "elite" college. UChicago usually ranks dead last in ROI among the T10 and its peers. Its ROI is more like a T15-20 school.

so still elite? or is top 20/25 not "elite" anymore

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elite universities provide opportunities that non-elite universities don't. That's a simply fact. If the students cannot take advantage of those opportunities during or after college, then it is on the student.

Elite universities meaning HYPSM. Not Northwestern, Hopkins, Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt, etc.

A history major from Harvard can easily get interviews to the cream of the crop investment and consulting firms - McKinsey, Lazard, etc. GPA and extracurricular is not even taken into account.

That same student at UVa would need to be a finance major in McIntire with a 3.7 GPA and multiple industry-focused extracurriculars with leadership positions. Probably leadership positions in certain well-connected frats as well. For an interview.

That same student at Virginia Tech would not even get an interview, regardless of whether they have a 4.0 GPA and president of every industry-focused club. Top investment banking and consulting firms simply do not recruit at Virginia Tech.

The interview may itself be more meritocratic given both students perform similarly, but interviewers are biased towards elite universities and having employees from elite universities is a selling point for the firm to the clients.

Beyond the first job - which itself can be very important as it snowballs into better future opportunities and networks - having an elite university helps in both climbing the career ladder as higher positions are occupied by those from elite universities - regardless of whether it's due to nepotism, inherent drive or most likely both - and graduate school.

yeah, no. nobody wants harvard bottom dwellers.

It's not even that...the History major is behind all the Economics, Math, CS and other STEM kids in any pecking order...basically any kid at Harvard that shows quantitative acumen.

Also, for the record, Goldman and McKinsey hire more kids from Michigan (not an alum...I just know how to use Google) then they do Harvard.

Ok. Michigan is a fine school. Enjoy. Different strokes for different folks.

Even when posters give evidence to the contrary, most of you will dismiss it because you are desperate to be biased. You want HYPSM to maintain its stranglehold and it's clear that they don't. Yales career outcomes might surprise you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it's too early to tell or maybe she just didn't capitalize on all the opportunities (I suspect very few do) but it most certainly has not changed her life. The thing I do notice is overall a higher percentage of deeply committed pre-med students than my son's peers at the state flagship. Other than that there's this laughable idea that an elite college is a golden ticket to a $150,000 job offer and a rich spouse and that's just not accurate. The plum six-figure job offers are scarce and go to the connected and elbowy overachievers with perfect grades. And generally the rich socialize with the rich. If you want your child in that orbit they need to be in that orbit by 9th grade at some ritzy prep or boarding school.

I have a niece at Cornell who is close with my daughter and she has had a similar experience. At Cornell the rich are in the rich kid sororities and fraternities.

A few years back we were caught up in the admissions frenzy but in retrospect it seems so nutty. I'm [now] far more impressed with a parent who tells me their kid is at a less selective school but just got into medical school than some Ivy League parent who tells me their ubiquitous kid is going into "consulting" for $60,000 a year or some second rate grad program.

Dear OP,
Please provide your perceived list of "elite colleges" so we can have context here.
Thanks!

Not the OP but
Carnegie Mellon Computer Engineeingn or UVA McIntire sounds more elite than Princeton gender study, Northwesetrn communicaitons, Yale psychology, Harvard art & film.

One thing is that the OP made a bad example.
Consulting or Finance postions after graduation from highly repected business programs or Econ/Math/Stem majors from top colleges(Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Northeastern) will get you 6 figure immediately.
OP should have said something like 'an Ivy kid getting a HR job for $5000 with a liberal art degree'.

LOL!

How does your DC like Northeastern?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to Princeton and it opened so many doors for him. That alumni network is SOLID. He makes more than 1 mil per year (that's his base pay - he also gets a bonus). The rest of us went to Virginia state schools and we are not even CLOSE to him in salary or success. He's no smarter nor more hard working than any of his siblings - he just made a very good decision to go to Princeton and take out student loans (which are long since paid off).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to Princeton and it opened so many doors for him. That alumni network is SOLID. He makes more than 1 mil per year (that's his base pay - he also gets a bonus). The rest of us went to Virginia state schools and we are not even CLOSE to him in salary or success. He's no smarter nor more hard working than any of his siblings - he just made a very good decision to go to Princeton and take out student loans (which are long since paid off).

I went to Princeton and barely make any money, as do most of my Princeton friends. Most of us have kids and work PT or less, and no, we do not have loaded spouses. There are definitely people like your brother, but it’s a small percentage. Still, I really value the experience I had and value my friends and education.

Neither of you went to, or know anyone who went to, Princeton. Why do you people make up weird stories like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You think those kids going into consulting are only making $60k? Kind of makes me doubt the rest of your post, honey.

More misconceptions. Even at HYPS, Bain, McKinsey and Boston offers are scarce and extremely cutthroat. The bulk of the class will go onto places like PwC and other normal 9-5 gigs often branded as “consulting” — $60k offer is pretty average in that bucket.

Incorrect. I'm old and when I graduated Brown decades ago, the starting salary in consulting was $85K (around $140K today) before bonus and the bonus is $$$. I started at Lehman Brothers (I know, I'm old) and my base was $120K (approx. 200K today) with a large bonus, sometimes as much as my base. I also met my H in college and somehow, we avoided the inbreeding discussed above, as I'm from another continent.
However, what people don't get is how irrelevant the salary is for most of the Ivy graduates. MC is always obsessed with the earned income stats, the median salary after graduation. Do you think Sasha Spielberg called her dad, crying in her cereal, because she didn't get the Accenture job? Do you think Tisch and the Middle East princes were interested in a W2, 9-5 job? Ivys are not for MC trying to gain social mobility or wealth. If you are poorer and want to make serious money, go to CalTech. It is the BEST school for social mobility.

Complete nonsense.

Caltech is a great school for a super smart kid interested in STEM-focused academia or some sort of technical post-college work. Anyone smart enough to go there doesn't choose to do so for "social mobility" reasons. The Ivies (and other similar schools) are the far better choice for a person looking to make money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is in business. The difference is night and day between good brand name schools vs mediocre no name schools.

You get excellent initial opportunities into great consulting firms, finance, investment banking etc. that will soon lead to 6 figure income by attending good schools(so called target schools).

If you go to a mediocre no name school, then good luck. You won't even get an interview.

This is delusional and wrong. Only the top students at target colleges get those six-figure job offers. And they prepare for those by curating the perfect resume starting freshman year, with all the right clubs, finance prep outside of class, networking events, and a near perfect GPA. It's not like you just show up to career fair day as a junior and waltz into a $25,000 Goldman Sachs summer internship.

You are correct. Even at Harvard, unless you're a superstriver you won't end up working TMT at Goldman or M&A at Morgan Stanley or whatever the cool kid first finance job out of college is these days.

But you might certainly end up at Jefferies or Deutsche. It happens to plenty of kids at Harvard or Dartmouth or wherever every single year, and it's still a pretty good outcome for someone interested in finance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love bottom rung morons who repeat that “college only matters for your first job” nonsense. Your college remains on your resume for 40 to 50 years. Yale is going to pop off your resume when you’re job hopping in your 30s and 40s and the selection committee internally refers to you as the “Yale guy.” Only folks who went to bottom rung colleges think credential prestige doesn’t matter past age 22 — and you all don’t really even believe it, you just wish it was true.

It's certanly a plus in general, but there are many other important factors as well.
It can also negatively impact if your performance is not at the level.
That guy went to 'mit'? scoff

It also sets a high bar. I'm always concerned when I see a "drop" between undergrad and graduate school in terms of prestige. It someone did undergrad at Yale but some podunk graduate program, I tend to assume they were coached into the undergraduate program with parental support but weren't actually able to perform once they arrived.

Sometimes they get scholarships at less prestigious colleges for graduate schools.
I personally know this.

Bullsh*t. This is spin and you know it. Prestige whores don't value shop graduate school.

The student I knew went to Ivy League for undergrad because he got a big financial aid and majored in history.
He couldn’t find a good job he wanted then went to state university with full scholarship for his MBA.
Now he is in a job he likes.

Couldn't get a job yet somehow got a "full scholarship for his MBA"? Okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to Princeton and it opened so many doors for him. That alumni network is SOLID. He makes more than 1 mil per year (that's his base pay - he also gets a bonus). The rest of us went to Virginia state schools and we are not even CLOSE to him in salary or success. He's no smarter nor more hard working than any of his siblings - he just made a very good decision to go to Princeton and take out student loans (which are long since paid off).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to Princeton and it opened so many doors for him. That alumni network is SOLID. He makes more than 1 mil per year (that's his base pay - he also gets a bonus). The rest of us went to Virginia state schools and we are not even CLOSE to him in salary or success. He's no smarter nor more hard working than any of his siblings - he just made a very good decision to go to Princeton and take out student loans (which are long since paid off).

I went to Princeton and barely make any money, as do most of my Princeton friends. Most of us have kids and work PT or less, and no, we do not have loaded spouses. There are definitely people like your brother, but it’s a small percentage. Still, I really value the experience I had and value my friends and education.

Neither of you went to, or know anyone who went to, Princeton. Why do you people make up weird stories like this?

It’s a disease called Lie-abetes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to Princeton and it opened so many doors for him. That alumni network is SOLID. He makes more than 1 mil per year (that's his base pay - he also gets a bonus). The rest of us went to Virginia state schools and we are not even CLOSE to him in salary or success. He's no smarter nor more hard working than any of his siblings - he just made a very good decision to go to Princeton and take out student loans (which are long since paid off).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to Princeton and it opened so many doors for him. That alumni network is SOLID. He makes more than 1 mil per year (that's his base pay - he also gets a bonus). The rest of us went to Virginia state schools and we are not even CLOSE to him in salary or success. He's no smarter nor more hard working than any of his siblings - he just made a very good decision to go to Princeton and take out student loans (which are long since paid off).

I went to Princeton and barely make any money, as do most of my Princeton friends. Most of us have kids and work PT or less, and no, we do not have loaded spouses. There are definitely people like your brother, but it’s a small percentage. Still, I really value the experience I had and value my friends and education.

Neither of you went to, or know anyone who went to, Princeton. Why do you people make up weird stories like this?

It’s a disease called Lie-abetes

😄