Where you go to college doesn’t matter. What you do when you get there does!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t explain the obsession with “prestige “ either, or the obsession with using salary as the only measure of success. I genuinely enjoyed my IVY education. It gave me a much bigger world to play in, and was definitely a factor in my admission to a very small PhD program straight out of undergrad. Obviously YMMV, as well as your values.

For crying out loud.

You start off by saying you can't explain the obsession with prestige but you go on to say how much you enjoyed your IVY (isn't that the epitome of prestige in college???) education and how it gave you a bigger world to play in and was definitely a factor in your admission to a small PhD program.

What? Don't you think you could have gotten those same results at a non-prestigious college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forgot a few more:

Neighbor’s kid went to Harvard and majored in Philosophy. Yikes! He graduated a few years ago and moved to the PNW to be an “environmental educator” (whatever the hell that is) because he couldn’t get a real job post-grad.

But sometimes state school kids drop the ball. A friend’s DD is super smart. Turned down 3 Ivies for UMD on Banneker (donut family). She is majoring in Classics and English, and my friend told me that she wants to be an academic in the humanities. I told her that her DD should be prepared to not be able to find a job — the market for professors in the humanities is awful. And the kid wouldn’t even take my suggestion to at least minor in CS or Data Analytics (or anything useful!).

This child needs a Ph.D. before she knows whether she can make it. If she doesn't, she could teach in the public schools. It's a respectable job that has job security and great benefits, and there is opportunity to supplement teaching income with tutoring.

It would be sad to see such a bright girl end up as a public school teacher.

Would it be less sad to see her end up as an elite private school teacher?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

Where you go to college can and does matter. No doubt about that. Now you can screw that up and you can go somewhere not as great ad have a great outcome. All of those things can be true together.

As to your first story ---- could be true -- of course you do not see what is going on fully. Second story is only true if the kid did not want a job right away or if they are at the bottom of their class. At an Ivy I would let a kid major in whatever they wanted because it is the major that does not matter. But you also can't be at the bottom. The Comp lit major with great grades can go anywhere on Wall Street if she/he wants to; any law school; really any job that they want. Can't say the same for a Comp Lit major at Towson (which is also a good school).

It matters but you can screw it up and you ca get where you want to go without it just a bit harder.

My DD graduated from an Ivy with a degree in Comp lit and good grades but still jobless since May '22.

What has your DD done (is she doing) to work to turn her education into a job? Seriously, even with an ivy degree it requires a plan and effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have seen this, but it’s not irreparable. I think it’s because this area emphasizes grades and academic enrichment when kids are in school over practical experience. My own kids were at a loss regarding how to find a job, write a resume and cover letter, or even having a sense of why a firm would want to hire them. From their perspective, they had no job-specific skills. I had to convince them that most jobs are learned at the firm, but they are the raw material. Show up, ask questions, work hard, suggest solutions, and take responsibility. They’re all now doing fine.

Why do firms have job requirements when they post jobs? Why sift through dozens of resumes instead of just taking the first person who shows up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t explain the obsession with “prestige “ either, or the obsession with using salary as the only measure of success. I genuinely enjoyed my IVY education. It gave me a much bigger world to play in, and was definitely a factor in my admission to a very small PhD program straight out of undergrad. Obviously YMMV, as well as your values.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people are eager to attribute their successes to their alma mater instead of their own abilities. You got into the PhD program because of what you did with your 'IVY' education, not because it was an 'IVY' education.

+1 yes, unless everyone at that PHD program was Ivy League undergrad, you got there for what you did, not where

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

Where you go to college can and does matter. No doubt about that. Now you can screw that up and you can go somewhere not as great ad have a great outcome. All of those things can be true together.

As to your first story ---- could be true -- of course you do not see what is going on fully. Second story is only true if the kid did not want a job right away or if they are at the bottom of their class. At an Ivy I would let a kid major in whatever they wanted because it is the major that does not matter. But you also can't be at the bottom. The Comp lit major with great grades can go anywhere on Wall Street if she/he wants to; any law school; really any job that they want. Can't say the same for a Comp Lit major at Towson (which is also a good school).

It matters but you can screw it up and you ca get where you want to go without it just a bit harder.

My DD graduated from an Ivy with a degree in Comp lit and good grades but still jobless since May '22.

That was me in the 90s. It was YEARS before I got a job at a real company. I was delivering packages, serving food, and shredding documents for three years. Then I spent two as an admin back at my T10 university before I got a significant job. Take a deep breath because it may take a while for your graduate to get somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

Where you go to college can and does matter. No doubt about that. Now you can screw that up and you can go somewhere not as great ad have a great outcome. All of those things can be true together.

As to your first story ---- could be true -- of course you do not see what is going on fully. Second story is only true if the kid did not want a job right away or if they are at the bottom of their class. At an Ivy I would let a kid major in whatever they wanted because it is the major that does not matter. But you also can't be at the bottom. The Comp lit major with great grades can go anywhere on Wall Street if she/he wants to; any law school; really any job that they want. Can't say the same for a Comp Lit major at Towson (which is also a good school).

It matters but you can screw it up and you ca get where you want to go without it just a bit harder.

My DD graduated from an Ivy with a degree in Comp lit and good grades but still jobless since May '22.

Troll, you only had to write one sentence. Curious how there's all these starving artists with no prospects, yet we can tell by the writing samples, none of them are raking muck around here. Either get yourself some training or workshop your material through a chatbot. You embarrass yourself, you don't have a daughter (why not son? wouldn't that be more upsetting?), you don't know anyone at an Ivy, and most definitely not anyone who studied lit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

+1

These anecdotes are so dumb to support a subject line like OP's. Logical reasoning failure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

+1

These anecdotes are so dumb to support a subject line like OP's. Logical reasoning failure.

And you're basing your opinion on what data?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

Where you go to college can and does matter. No doubt about that. Now you can screw that up and you can go somewhere not as great ad have a great outcome. All of those things can be true together.

As to your first story ---- could be true -- of course you do not see what is going on fully. Second story is only true if the kid did not want a job right away or if they are at the bottom of their class. At an Ivy I would let a kid major in whatever they wanted because it is the major that does not matter. But you also can't be at the bottom. The Comp lit major with great grades can go anywhere on Wall Street if she/he wants to; any law school; really any job that they want. Can't say the same for a Comp Lit major at Towson (which is also a good school).

It matters but you can screw it up and you ca get where you want to go without it just a bit harder.

My DD graduated from an Ivy with a degree in Comp lit and good grades but still jobless since May '22.

Troll, you only had to write one sentence. Curious how there's all these starving artists with no prospects, yet we can tell by the writing samples, none of them are raking muck around here. Either get yourself some training or workshop your material through a chatbot. You embarrass yourself, you don't have a daughter (why not son? wouldn't that be more upsetting?), you don't know anyone at an Ivy, and most definitely not anyone who studied lit.

OP here. Why do you think that PP is a troll? It is totally understanding that her DD is unemployed — who the hell wants to hire a CompLit major? The only lucrative thing you can do with that is Law School (or Med School if you’ve completed the prerequisites).

Sorry PP, but your daughter would have been WAY better off studying Accounting or Data Analytics at UMD than getting a vanity degree from an Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy League lit major works the the PE firm which owns our company. She is 23 and probably makes $200k+ a year. LOTS of companies just hire smart people. Would they hire a Literature major from Maryland or William & Mary, no, but get your degree from Princeton and be ambitious and nothing is unattainable.

Wrong English majors are in high demand.

They can write.

My DD VT English major out of college six figures .

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?233921-Virginia-Polytechnic-Institute-and-State-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

VT English $41,550

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?166027-Harvard-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

Harvard English $43842

We go by real data

VT English is actually not bad compared to Harvard lol

I’d like to see the data for the median earnings of students who were forced by their overbearing and controlling parents to major in a subject in which they had no interest or aptitude. Then I’d like to know how happy they are.

I’ve worked with a lot of these folks. They tend to not enjoy their jobs and not be the best performers. They seem to have a sense of duty to their parents, so they stay when they would rather be doing something else. They end up as mid level cubicle dwellers.

I always love seeing one of them leave to do something that energizes them.

Mid-level cubicle dweller at FAANG > starving artist or writer

a) You're entitled to your opinion.

b) Many who major in art or writing are doing very well for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy League lit major works the the PE firm which owns our company. She is 23 and probably makes $200k+ a year. LOTS of companies just hire smart people. Would they hire a Literature major from Maryland or William & Mary, no, but get your degree from Princeton and be ambitious and nothing is unattainable.

Wrong English majors are in high demand.

They can write.

My DD VT English major out of college six figures .

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?233921-Virginia-Polytechnic-Institute-and-State-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

VT English $41,550

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?166027-Harvard-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

Harvard English $43842

We go by real data

VT English is actually not bad compared to Harvard lol

I’d like to see the data for the median earnings of students who were forced by their overbearing and controlling parents to major in a subject in which they had no interest or aptitude. Then I’d like to know how happy they are.

I’ve worked with a lot of these folks. They tend to not enjoy their jobs and not be the best performers. They seem to have a sense of duty to their parents, so they stay when they would rather be doing something else. They end up as mid level cubicle dwellers.

I always love seeing one of them leave to do something that energizes them.

Mid-level cubicle dweller at FAANG > starving artist or writer

a) You're entitled to your opinion.

b) Many who major in art or writing are doing very well for themselves.

Only if they have rich parents. Or are part of the lucky 1% whose work is able to make them a living. Or go to law school.

Seriously, these vanity degrees are useless for the vast majority of students. Full stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It cut off. Here is the rest:

Example 2: A neighbor’s daughter is currently a senior at Princeton majoring in Comparative Literature. I would never let my kid major in that. Last winter, I told her that her daughter absolutely needs to find a summer internship before her senior year of college if she wants any hope of being employed after graduation. The mom told me that her daughter didn’t intern—she worked as a summer camp counselor instead. Not surprisingly, she is in February of her senior year of college and still doesn’t have a job offer after graduation.

Seniors in college have job offers by February? Geez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I've personally witnessed job candidates have doors open at the sight of the Ivy name on their resume. In multiple different fields.

The brand value is real, and wishing it weren't so doesn't change reality.

+1, places where comparative lit majors land on their feet. Generic state school is where these majors are worthlesss.

Median Social Studies major at Harvard makes $52k/year. Not exactly “landing on their feet”

For a new college grad (not in CS or engineering), is that so low?

+1 at 21-22, first job…that’s perfectly respectable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy League lit major works the the PE firm which owns our company. She is 23 and probably makes $200k+ a year. LOTS of companies just hire smart people. Would they hire a Literature major from Maryland or William & Mary, no, but get your degree from Princeton and be ambitious and nothing is unattainable.

Wrong English majors are in high demand.

They can write.

My DD VT English major out of college six figures .

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?233921-Virginia-Polytechnic-Institute-and-State-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

VT English $41,550

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?166027-Harvard-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

Harvard English $43842

We go by real data

VT English is actually not bad compared to Harvard lol

I’d like to see the data for the median earnings of students who were forced by their overbearing and controlling parents to major in a subject in which they had no interest or aptitude. Then I’d like to know how happy they are.

I’ve worked with a lot of these folks. They tend to not enjoy their jobs and not be the best performers. They seem to have a sense of duty to their parents, so they stay when they would rather be doing something else. They end up as mid level cubicle dwellers.

I always love seeing one of them leave to do something that energizes them.

Mid-level cubicle dweller at FAANG > starving artist or writer

a) You're entitled to your opinion.

b) Many who major in art or writing are doing very well for themselves.

Only if they have rich parents. Or are part of the lucky 1% whose work is able to make them a living. Or go to law school.

Seriously, these vanity degrees are useless for the vast majority of students. Full stop.

Seriously stop expecting people to value the same things you value.