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

[Anonymous]

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

I don't know about AVERAGE kids but I do know that my ABOVE AVERAGE kid (at a school ranked in the 50s which is often maligned here) did very well academically, worked paid jobs, formed close relationships with professors, graduated Summa Cum Laude and joined Phi Beta Kappa, and had several job offers at graduation. DC is in a PhD program at MIT now.

Imagine, DC accomplished all of that without going to a T20 school. Mind-blowing for you, I know.

[Anonymous]

OP has been very quiet. Confirming troll status.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life is about the hustle. You have to hustle to get anywhere in life. Even going to a top school, you have to hustle. No one gives you anything in life.

My husband owns a company and no longer like to hire from MIT or other top engineering schools because the student are quick to tell you where they went to school but don’t actually work much. The ego and entitlement make them difficult teammates and employees. He would rather hire a hard worker from a second tier university.

This is a fact. Our firm doesn’t hire Ivy League grads anymore because they lack the work ethic and aren’t team players.

What a load of crap. I doubt that you have ever met any current or past Ivy league or MIT students.

+1. These kids are smart AND hard-working. There are probably some who coast, or maybe some who are poor fits at the company they join, but not the vast majority.

[Anonymous]

I went to a not well known college. I busted my ass and got highly coveted internships and job offers. I ended up at an ivy grad school.

DH is a physician from a good but not top college and med school. He has surpassed many of his colleagues who went to “better” colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life is about the hustle. You have to hustle to get anywhere in life. Even going to a top school, you have to hustle. No one gives you anything in life.

My husband owns a company and no longer like to hire from MIT or other top engineering schools because the student are quick to tell you where they went to school but don’t actually work much. The ego and entitlement make them difficult teammates and employees. He would rather hire a hard worker from a second tier university.

This is a fact. Our firm doesn’t hire Ivy League grads anymore because they lack the work ethic and aren’t team players.

What a load of crap. I doubt that you have ever met any current or past Ivy league or MIT students.

+1. These kids are smart AND hard-working. There are probably some who coast, or maybe some who are poor fits at the company they join, but not the vast majority.

+1 Most are extraordinarily impressive and don't know what it means to coast. Sometimes though people don't want to hire them because they worry about them surpassing them. Which is obviously wrong because hiring a great person is the best way to help your career. And, just like Ivies sometimes have a chip on their shoulder, people without the degree have their own version of a chip too. When you're an amazing student, sometimes it can be better not to have the Ivy baggage. I've been on hiring teams and there's always a person or two (in my experience always male--though I don't know how general that is) who has a knee-jerk anti Ivy attitude. We have processes in place to curtail that, but I imagine smaller places with less formal structures may not.

[Anonymous]

I know people who top 10 schools and have crappy careers. Sometimes they’re kind of weird and awkward, or sometimes they’re the default parent. Maybe they’re really good at taking tests and doing research. Having gone to a particular school is less relevant to landing some internships and jobs than just being a person people want to spend time with and having an air of competence and confidence. Where you went to school helps you get interviews though. These are just my opinions though - definitely no expert on how to land the most coveted internships.

[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.

Yes, there are some kids from "lower-ranked" schools at those employers, but you still have a much better shot at an internship coming from a top school. There are still way more interns from the top 25 than elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All this talk about going to an easier lesser ranked school. It all depends on your perspective and whether you want to learn from other peers, or merely be the top person in the class.
If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.

BS---there will be plenty of Top students at a school ranked 100. One kid went to a T100 (around 80 ranks). They themselves were friends with the Bs are okay students--all of those kids graduated and are well employed or in graduate school. But there were plenty of kids in the honors program (and also non honors) who were "3.8+ gpa" in engineering and premed programs (with harder majors than Biology---a true Biomedical sciences undergrad degree), prePA, DPT, etc. So while the entire population is not "tippy top students" at least 25-30% of the campus were. And I'd argue that the next 25% were equal peers as well.

Also, in real life you will never again deal with only "tippy top students" Real life involves people at all levels. Your boss might even be someone who got Cs at no-name-state U, while you went to Harvard.

[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.

Yes, there are some kids from "lower-ranked" schools at those employers, but you still have a much better shot at an internship coming from a top school. There are still way more interns from the top 25 than elsewhere.

But that reasoning is a little off. There are also way more competitive candidates with evident traits before going to college --the kind of kids who get 1500+ SATs, 4.5+ GPAs, national awards, leadership ECS-- at the T25 than elsewhere. If you're one of those kind of impressive kids, it's hard to determine whether you will be more likely to get the internship if you go to the T25 and take your chances that you'll still rise to the top there, or somewhere lower where you are far more likely to be at the top. Sure being among the top 10 at the T25 might be the surest bet, but that's a less likely win. I think it's hard to know which is better, that's why I would might be more tempted to the sure thing of a merit award at a lower place. Bird in the hand and all.

[Anonymous]

the answer is grit, determination, and parent contacts

[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.

How do you know that these kids are not working hard? Why should only son son get good internships/jobs?

You and your son sound awful

[Anonymous]

Did he land any internship?

[Anonymous]

My DD attends a school that would make OP wrinkle her nose. However, she landed a prestigious internship. Her visual disability meant she had to work her tail off to take honors classes, engage in a rigorous major, and earn good grades. She also has learning disabilities and the combo means she’s worked doubly hard every day since about 2nd grade. She does a great job applying her experiences during interviews and employers see that she has the grades, but she also has tenacity, communication skills, and grit.

So, don’t assume kids at “lesser” schools don’t work hard. They often bring a lot to the table that’s not always obvious. Maybe help your child reflect on how they can market themselves beyond “I attend XYZ Univ, therefore I’m more worthy”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a professor at a business school at one of those lower ranked schools you talk about...think 150+, that end up with internships at such places!

Your post makes me want to do my job 100x better for 100x longer so that my students (continue to) succeed.

Best of luck to your son. Tell him to make an appointment with Career Services to target openings that suit him.

+100

[Anonymous]

Omg they know people.