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

[Anonymous]

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.

Yeah. OP is too silly or a troll.

Am I supposed to get upset now or something? Oh, I am so, so upset that you think my child works less than yours....Let me dry my eyes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our company, one of the often refrenced tech companies on this board, has a very robust college internship program. There is high demand for these positions because it looks good on a resume and also pays well. The fact that your kid goes to go a top 25 school will play no determination in whether you get a slot. We look at an applicant's desire, drive and determination and how he/she/they embody the company's core values.

This right here. Has your kid ever held a job (I'm will to bet no)? Are they social and network with people outside of school (again, betting no).
These things show drive, good social skills and an ability to play well with others.

Yes it seems you and your kid put all his eggs in one basket and that approach to adulthood was very lopsided. Now it is costing him. But it is not too late for him to make up for lost time and get a job, network and hone good business social skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You search Linked In to see where random kids you don’t know at other colleges get internships? Get a life!

Dp here. I know grown adults who stalk certain teens/early adults. It is as gross as it sounds, and the adults are too stupid to realize how obvious they are.

[Anonymous]

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.

Ridiculous trool or simply an imbecile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Connections. It's a benefit of private high schools, etc. I think the earlier in life these are made the more helpful they can be (in many cases).

This can really backfire. If you are a kid from an unconnected family going to a private school you are most likely going to remain an unconnected schlub. Your more connected peers will have opportunities and you will look weaker in comparison for college admissions. You will be the hanger on if you try to hold onto your high school community past then--and by the time your agemates are in a position to do something for you, the connection will be worn out. Doesn't sound like a predictable winning strategy to me--and definitely not a reason to drop all that money on private school.

Ok, I think this response is uncalled for and not true at all in my kid's experience. he developed genuine friendships at his private school, was included in countless things by kids and their parents during school and wasn't dropped by anyone upon graduation. Sure, there are kids who go through and don't forge genuine relationships (perhaps many of the more bookish kids) but my son and many peers did. He's smart, funny and charismatic.

People can ascend from their birth class--by private school, elite university, marriage, etc. Not everyone does of course but many can and do. The US is not a caste system.

I didn't say they can't, just that choosing to go to private schools for connections CAN backfire and isn't a typically predictable route to forming connections and not IMO a good reason to choose private school. Your kid who is smart, funny and charismatic likely would have many opportunities everywhere without spending 40k+ per year K-12. US social mobility means you don't have to go to private school to move up.

[Anonymous]

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.

+1 And if you search DCUM you will see so many posts where people have been explaining this all along, but I guess OP chose to ignore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, disabuse yourself of the notion that students who went to lower ranked schools "worked less hard." Students opt for lower ranked schools for many reasons that have nothing to do with their brains or work ethic - financial, geographic, athletic, etc. Perhaps they do have connections at the firms you mentioned, or perhaps they actually work harder than your son -- higher GPAs, more impressive extracurriculars, leadership roles, relevant work experience, research, etc.

+1 Such bald ignorance on display.

[Anonymous]

I went to a lower tier school and am in charge of many that went to premier schools. The difference is that I was working on software development while I got my undergrad so I went into a job with 2 years of experience. I went to the lower tier school so I could not be stressed out and get experience at the same time. Much more valuable that starting out without any experience.

[Anonymous]

I worked for a Big 4 consulting firm starting in the mid 90’s. What a time. Here were some of the valuable KSA’s then:

- Knowledge of Bourbon and Cigars
- Skill to strike a golf ball just so
- Ability to carry on a conversation

Success was about building relationships.

[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.

You really want to believe that because it fits with your world view that college rankings are real, and ALL the smart hardworking kids are in top 25 schools, and everyone from University of Wherever are dumb and less worthy. Alas, you are wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our company, one of the often refrenced tech companies on this board, has a very robust college internship program. There is high demand for these positions because it looks good on a resume and also pays well. The fact that your kid goes to go a top 25 school will play no determination in whether you get a slot. We look at an applicant's desire, drive and determination and how he/she/they embody the company's core values.

This right here. Has your kid ever held a job (I'm will to bet no)? Are they social and network with people outside of school (again, betting no).
These things show drive, good social skills and an ability to play well with others.

Yes it seems you and your kid put all his eggs in one basket and that approach to adulthood was very lopsided. Now it is costing him. But it is not too late for him to make up for lost time and get a job, network and hone good business social skills.

Everything you need to know you learned in Kindergarten. So, so true.

[Anonymous]

I too went to a no-name undergrad and then a T50 grad school. Got a Rotary scholarship in undergrad to study abroad and then a Fulbright in grad school.

My parents laughed when I showed them cost of the more prestigious schools. Our deal was they paid 50% of the flagship state school cost I attended. Grad school on my own. Best decisions I ever made. I stood out. Never asked for my GPA beyond those applications, and certainly never asked ,about high school other than what part-times jobs I held.

[Anonymous]

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

Some very smart hard working kids need to go to lower ranked schools because of merit.

+1

The world has changed. There are smart, motivated kids everywhere.

[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.

My kid wasn't recruited - he went out and found opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You and your kid believed the hype about going to top schools. Plenty of people on this forum and elsewhere say that it doesn't really matter as much as you think it does and people shut them down as being naïve--but it's been shown over and over, it's the kid not the school. In the US, getting an academic job is so hard that there are amazingly strong faculty at the vast majority of schools. And a academically strong kid at a lower-ranked school has more opportunities to shine with those faculty, who then can help them get opportunities. All this horse-racing to get into the top school doesn't pay off most of the time. Focus on the personal qualities and experiences that will eventually help you become the person you want to be and get you the job you want-- not that will get you into the school that you think will get you the job you want. The mindset starts early--smart kids that work so hard to get into a top school often wrongfully think that they are the winners, their job here is done and the world is now their oyster. Smart kids who don't go to the top school are more likely to know that it's on them to prove their worth which is more aligned with reality.

+1