Ivy League Aspirations Unleashed (NYT Q&A with Harvard's DofA)

[Anonymous]

Previous Post --

We had the same experience. We practically had to beg on our knees to get our kid into a private school here (the DCPS option was terrible!) -- but he is at an Ivy now -- he also rows. I think rowing is great for both girls and boys. It's actually the only sport I know where there are more scholarships for girls than boys. Ivies recruit -- but don't give scholarships. They have other great funding options for needy folks which are quite generous even for those who don't usually qualify for aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
College is also just 4 years. No one really cares where you went to school when you are looking for your second job. They care about your track record and whether you can get the job done.

You must live on a parallel planet, then.

I would be the first to admit that my Ivies (Yale, followed by Cornell) have been the key to my job placement -- 1st, 2nd and 3rd jobs. It opens doors, there are no doubts about it. EVERYONE who is hiring you cares.

[Anonymous]

PP -- I agree. Potential employers love Ivy credentials. Branding is important. People invest in a known entity. Of course, there are smart people at every school including Timbuktu Community College. But an employer will have to explain to others why he took a chance. If an Ivy doesn't work out -- no one is going to blame the employer.

[Anonymous]

Re: crew and size.

This was about a million years ago, but to make it on the freshman women's rowing team as a coxswain, you had to weigh between 92 and 110 lbs. If you weigh less than 92, they put sandbags in the boat. As somebody who is 5'4", it was tough for me because they subbed me in when one of the lightweight rowers was injured/sick so I had to keep up my muscle mass, but every pound you weigh over 92 is extra weight the boat doesn't need to be pulling. It's a lot harder to weigh 92 at 5'4" than it was for many of my fellow coxswains, the next tallest of which was 4'11". Many, many hours in the sauna. I finally gave it up. The focus on weight is a lot like wrestling for any competitive college sport that uses weight classes.

[Anonymous]

13:22 That does not prove that people who did not go to an Ivy won't accomplish what you accomplished. I did not go to an Ivy and I am every bit as successful as my Ivy-educated colleagues. Also there's a new thinking that graduate school is the critical affiliation. Is, say Wisconsin - Yale Law somehow inferior to Penn - Yale Law -- unless of course you happen to be interviewing with a Penn alum? Yale Law is Yale Law!

[Anonymous]

I went to Harvard and have to agree that once past your first job (depending upon how long you are there), people look at your credentials and not where you went to college, except maybe if you're a lawyer. They want to see your track record and know that you can get them results. An Ivy degree doesn't necessarily mean you will get them results! I've met more than a few Ivy grads and wondered if they even had a pulse.

My husband had 2 Ivy degrees and was a former Presidential appointee under a Yalie. They.don't.care. There are tons of job skills that Ivies don't teach - like EQ and general business savvy. He said that non-Ivy types in the White House could - and did - run rings around the Ivy grads.

I've run my own company for 20 years and have NEVER had anyone ask me where I went to college. And I don't tell them - I prefer to be known for what I can do rather than give another organization the credit. They hire me because I'm the best at what I do.

Let's not forget the famous study that shows the vast majority of Fortune 500 CEOs are not Ivy grads. The college can enhance your skills - it can't replace what is not already there.

[Anonymous]

Let's also not forget that grads of women's colleges routinely beat female Ivy grads in terms of professional success!

[Anonymous]

I did not graduate from an Ivy. But, I was the first woman to head a retained executive search firm in Washington, D.C. I can't tell you how many employers indicated they only wanted to talk to "Ivies only" and that was for jobsz in many fields -- not just law. Even when I proposed other candidates w/o the Ivy credential -- they were often shot down.

[Anonymous]

This is typical Washington-think. And we know how the rest of the country feels about us. Go to the Midwest and it's all about U of M (Michigan). One of the top 3 law schools in the country and also undergrad. Depends upon where you come from.

One would think from the above postings that the only people allowed in this town are Ivy grads.

[Anonymous]

Yes, this is 14:04 -- I happen to be from the midwest too and just went to my high school reunion. Every single person in my class went to a midwest school and they're doing just fine. Re: the person who wrote that most CEOs didn't go Ivy -- that is correct. The last listing I saw ranked UWis grads with the highest number of CEOs. But, let me say those CEOs w/o the Ivy background are the very same ones to hire only Ivy grads. I think they think it's a bit of 'comeuppance' for them to have Ivies working under them.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry 14:04, I'm a VP of HR in a large firm and I find your statement hard to swallow. Any savvy business person will ask about experience first, not someone's college. It's also a good way to get sued for discrimination.

[Anonymous]

Hello PP -- I'm a lawyer -- there is no law protecting against hiring on the basis of where someone went to school. EEOC doesn't cover that! I really get amused when people practice law w/o a license. If you were in HR you should have known that!

[Anonymous]

Why aren't all you lawyers practicing law instead of posting comments here? Are you really all lawyers? Or do you just play one on tv?

Simple fact is that people sue for all sorts of reasons. It may or may not have legal backing but if a candidate finds out that a company only wanted to see Ivy candidates, he or she could sue. The outcome is a totally different matter. You can't keep someone from filing a lawsuit.

[Anonymous]

PP -- everyone in DC is a lawyer...didn't you ever read the WP -- "you can't swing a dead cat in this town w/o hitting a lawyer"....to asnwer your question as to why people aren't practicing...kids aren't conducive to working 14 or 15 hours days in a law firm...so we do other jobs that require less time.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure the lawyers posting here are billing someone for their time!