Jobs and elite colleges

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

The bottom half is not equally distributed across majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

Gladwell is wrong then. And really, what is the bottom half of Harvard if the average undergraduate GPA is 3.8+?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

Gladwell is wrong then. And really, what is the bottom half of Harvard if the average undergraduate GPA is 3.8+?

The way to tell is Latin honors. You have to be in the top half to get them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

The bottom half is not equally distributed across majors.

Right. Much less grade inflation with science and engineering majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

The bottom half is not equally distributed across majors.

Right. Much less grade inflation with science and engineering majors.

Harvard and Yale don't really do undergrad science and engineering

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

The bottom half is not equally distributed across majors.

Right. Much less grade inflation with science and engineering majors.

Harvard and Yale don't really do undergrad science and engineering

Oh sorry, I went to a “lesser” Ivy as a STEM so just knew my experience. In fact, there are way more engineers and compsci in my Ivy than 20 years ago. Is it not the same at Harvard/Yale?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

The bottom half is not equally distributed across majors.

Right. Much less grade inflation with science and engineering majors.

Harvard and Yale don't really do undergrad science and engineering

Oh sorry, I went to a “lesser” Ivy as a STEM so just knew my experience. In fact, there are way more engineers and compsci in my Ivy than 20 years ago. Is it not the same at Harvard/Yale?

Definitely the same at HYP.

HYP grad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

The bottom half is not equally distributed across majors.

Right. Much less grade inflation with science and engineering majors.

Harvard and Yale don't really do undergrad science and engineering

Right, I was wondering when the Ivy bashing would start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

The bottom half is not equally distributed across majors.

Right. Much less grade inflation with science and engineering majors.

Harvard and Yale don't really do undergrad science and engineering

Oh sorry, I went to a “lesser” Ivy as a STEM so just knew my experience. In fact, there are way more engineers and compsci in my Ivy than 20 years ago. Is it not the same at Harvard/Yale?

Is this one of those Applied science stem BA majors with no labs?
I did engineering at Columbia. But never worked in stem so it was fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

The bottom half is not equally distributed across majors.

Right. Much less grade inflation with science and engineering majors.

Harvard and Yale don't really do undergrad science and engineering

Right, I was wondering when the Ivy bashing would start.

Do they offer BS degrees or Ba? Labs?

H have senior year thesis but is it lab based if stem or writing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

The bottom half is not equally distributed across majors.

Right. Much less grade inflation with science and engineering majors.

Love those 45% correct tests curved to an A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

Gladwell is wrong then. And really, what is the bottom half of Harvard if the average undergraduate GPA is 3.8+?

Yeah -- bottom half of Harvard might not beat top 10% or 25% ay State U but beat the rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the field. In finance and consulting it matters a lot. You could be the best student at the University of Georgia but you're not getting an interview at McKinsey or Goldman. It's dumb and outdated but that's how they roll. Pedigree degrees are important in those fields.

In STEM fields, it doesn't matter that much. MIT, Stanford, Rice and Cornell probably open a few more doors. But for the most part, publics like UIUC, Michigan, Maryland, Purdue, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M and others do a much better job than the Ivies. An Ohio State or Wisconsin degree in engineering will be taken more seriously than one from Yale or Brown.

The benefit of going to a top name school is the networking. Harvard engineering might suck, but that's a very good network for a young grad to plug into. But a lot depends on the state you live in. In states like California, Michigan, or Virginia, it's almost always better to go to the state flagship schools. If you live in Oklahoma and you're ambitious it's probably best to leave the sate.

It is NOT about the school, it is about the network. You attend the University of Georgia and you know someone who is a member of the Augusta Country Club, where the Masters is annually held, you will have a much better opportunity than someone who attended Harvard but without connections. It all comes down to networking and who you know.

This. It is really changing; not so much in IB and private equity, but commercial banking is easier to enter, highly compensated, and can provide a pathway to IB and PE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been on the hiring panel for a large, multinational bank. We do care where people went to school, but it’s certainly not Ivy or bust. I don’t have a firm cutoff, but T50 is roughly where I want to see degrees from.

However, much more important is how someone comes across and what their skill set is. Show me what you bring to the table. I would hire a Fordham grad over a Harvard grad in a second if the Fordham grad brought the skill set we need.

That's great and all, but you just said that you would trash the JMU or UMBC resume and hire the less skilled Harvard grad. That's not Ivy or bust, but it's great school or bust

What level(s) do you hire for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should hire from the top half of any college.

The lower half of a Harvard class will not be better than the top half of most other schools. This is discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in case you want to google the talk.

Judging based on school’s brand is a bit silly. But maybe firms like to have schools with good branding listed in the corporate bios?

I’ve never hired based on school and focus on skills and culture fit.

The bottom half is not equally distributed across majors.

Right. Much less grade inflation with science and engineering majors.

At reputable engineering schools, 1/3 of starting freshman don't graduate in engineering. So most of the bottom half have dropped out or changed majors.