Does graduating from a Top 20 school signal that you are a smart, hardworking person?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d say no but there are still plenty of employers who will only hire from top 20, or even top 5 schools.

Just curious who you think will only hire from a Top 5 school?

McKinsey, Bain and BCG hire from 30 schools (with University of Michigan #3 overall in terms of number of hires)
The bulk of top investment banking hires come from 25 schools, with NYU sending more kids than all Ivy Leagues and Stanford (Stanford actually very low...likely just because their grads don't want to go East), except Penn

The only industry I can think that may apply is Venture Capital...however, the total employment in VC is miniscule.

Now, yes, those companies above tend to take more kids from higher ranked schools, but there are still plenty of kids getting recruited from UVA, UT - Austin, Notre Dame, etc. for both IBanking and Consulting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d say no but there are still plenty of employers who will only hire from top 20, or even top 5 schools.

Just curious who you think will only hire from a Top 5 school?

McKinsey, Bain and BCG hire from 30 schools (with University of Michigan #3 overall in terms of number of hires)
The bulk of top investment banking hires come from 25 schools, with NYU sending more kids than all Ivy Leagues and Stanford (Stanford actually very low...likely just because their grads don't want to go East), except Penn

The only industry I can think that may apply is Venture Capital...however, the total employment in VC is miniscule.

Now, yes, those companies above tend to take more kids from higher ranked schools, but there are still plenty of kids getting recruited from UVA, UT - Austin, Notre Dame, etc. for both IBanking and Consulting.

Notre Dame is a top 20 school, and it's business program is top 10.

Here are some hiring ranks for consulting and finance.

https://www.peakframeworks.com/post/consulting-target-schools

https://www.peakframeworks.com/post/ib-target-schools

https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-banking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d say no but there are still plenty of employers who will only hire from top 20, or even top 5 schools.

Just curious who you think will only hire from a Top 5 school?

McKinsey, Bain and BCG hire from 30 schools (with University of Michigan #3 overall in terms of number of hires)
The bulk of top investment banking hires come from 25 schools, with NYU sending more kids than all Ivy Leagues and Stanford (Stanford actually very low...likely just because their grads don't want to go East), except Penn

The only industry I can think that may apply is Venture Capital...however, the total employment in VC is miniscule.

Now, yes, those companies above tend to take more kids from higher ranked schools, but there are still plenty of kids getting recruited from UVA, UT - Austin, Notre Dame, etc. for both IBanking and Consulting.

Notre Dame is a top 20 school, and it's business program is top 10.

Here are some hiring ranks for consulting and finance.

https://www.peakframeworks.com/post/consulting-target-schools

https://www.peakframeworks.com/post/ib-target-schools

https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-banking

Agreed...was challenging the notion that some employers only hire from Top 5 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The answer is “yes,” but 99 percent of posters want it to be “no.”

It gets people's attention, both in professional and personal interactions so yes, it signals it. Majority of us posters have bias against privileged so we'll answer negatively.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It's a strong signal, at the very least.

And I know plenty of people who use it, secretly and not so secretly, as a shibboleth and for setting parameters for dating/potential marriage partners.

True story. My nephew at Yale is only open to dating HYP girls, both for the legacy boost for their future kids and for the familial elitism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is “yes,” but 99 percent of posters want it to be “no.”

You’ve got it reversed. The college obsessed parents here want assurances that their kids will remain at the top of the pecking order in a country that is shifting in many ways toward greater equality. Thus, they need to believe that a stamp from a top school will be the magic item to assure that. It is weird.

Nah. If you observe patterns over the last decade and even in the last couple of years, it is students and young people themselves who are placing ever higher premiums on the value of a T20. The amount of hype is unbelievable. Look at the rise of reaction videos, the flaunting of school names on social media (something that would have been considered gauche in my time), the explosion of popularity of student-run communities like A2C, and that's just what you see online. You're just projecting your own insecurities.

How could that be when I graduated from such a place? I’m just not a cheerleader for the status quo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is “yes,” but 99 percent of posters want it to be “no.”

You’ve got it reversed. The college obsessed parents here want assurances that their kids will remain at the top of the pecking order in a country that is shifting in many ways toward greater equality. Thus, they need to believe that a stamp from a top school will be the magic item to assure that. It is weird.

You mean "dumb down"?

Equating equality with a dumbing down is racist.

NP. We shouldn't have to equate it, but that's what some school districts has done. I don't see anything wrong with calling it as it was done.

“Have” done. “Districts” is plural, so “has” is incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is “yes,” but 99 percent of posters want it to be “no.”

You’ve got it reversed. The college obsessed parents here want assurances that their kids will remain at the top of the pecking order in a country that is shifting in many ways toward greater equality. Thus, they need to believe that a stamp from a top school will be the magic item to assure that. It is weird.

Actually it's not just the "stamp from a top school." It's the connections. Many of these schools have amazing alumni networks. This means a grad doesn't have to work as hard to find good employment. Will they be more successful than the kid from a lower ranked school? Not necessarily...but they do have more opportunities to become successful.

Privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just had to Google “shibboleth” so thanks PP.

I have an undergrad and grad degree from top 20 schools so maybe it’s not the biggest arbiter of smarts after all.

Well, you said it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not for all of them, but I think there are schools that signify this. U of Chicago, CMU, Cal Tech, for instance.

CMU is not a T20

Points for trying to worm it in there, though.

[Anonymous]

"Top 20" is a euphemism and includes more than 20 schools. So CMU is top 20. Also US news is not the only undergrad ranking to use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Top 20" is a euphemism and includes more than 20 schools. So CMU is top 20. Also US news is not the only undergrad ranking to use.

What are the good undergraduate rankings out there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only if you are white/Asians… people would think that you are reasonably smart. For URMs, not necessarily. This is the downside of current admission practice.

No, that’s a function of racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Top 20" is a euphemism and includes more than 20 schools. So CMU is top 20. Also US news is not the only undergrad ranking to use.

What are the good undergraduate rankings out there

US News and World Report is, unfortunately, the most reliable one out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Top 20" is a euphemism and includes more than 20 schools. So CMU is top 20. Also US news is not the only undergrad ranking to use.

What are the good undergraduate rankings out there

US News and World Report is, unfortunately, the most reliable one out there.

WSJ/Times is just as good.