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

[Anonymous]

I can't believe that when I first saw this thread title, I was naive enough to think OP's kid went to a lower-ranked school, they and wanted to know how to land interships in a sea of über-connected wealthy kids from more prestigious places.

Should have known better!

[Anonymous]

Another hiring partner weighing in. We hire the person with experience. So long as I have heard of your school, you did well and have experience that lines up with our field, you get an interview. Does not matter of it is Princeton or Vanderbilt or Ohio Wesleyan or Cal State Poly or CNU or High Point etc. Once you get the interview, we hire the person with the best personality and experience in our field. The name of the school does not matter.

- Signed person who went to a fancy school who now works along side people who went to schools I had never heard of making a nice amount of $$ and fair amount of prestige.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

No, I'm not wrong. I'm realistic. You're all in your feelings for whatever reason, but it has nothing do with a candidate being dumb and less worthy It's all about access. I as an African American am all too familiar with the concept. For years even though we were able to compete, we weren't given the opportunity. We were denied access. I certainly didn't don't think my entire race was unworthy or dumb, but I see how the world works. Yes, there are smart hardworking people everywhere, but the top companies aren't everywhere. You can get a list of where top companies recruit and see for yourself. It's not proprietary information. They can't be everywhere so they go where they think they'll get most bang for their buck, which are top schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another hiring partner weighing in. We hire the person with experience. So long as I have heard of your school, you did well and have experience that lines up with our field, you get an interview. Does not matter of it is Princeton or Vanderbilt or Ohio Wesleyan or Cal State Poly or CNU or High Point etc. Once you get the interview, we hire the person with the best personality and experience in our field. The name of the school does not matter.

- Signed person who went to a fancy school who now works along side people who went to schools I had never heard of making a nice amount of $$ and fair amount of prestige.

Yes, you hire the person with experience but most people who are applying for internships don't have experience. They have their school name, their grades, and hopefully somebody in their world who knows the person who hires the interns. The people that you hire may have gone to a non-fancy school, but they did something (top of their class, great connections) to get the internship to get their first job to get the experience that leads them to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

No, I'm not wrong. I'm realistic. You're all in your feelings for whatever reason, but it has nothing do with a candidate being dumb and less worthy It's all about access. I as an African American am all too familiar with the concept. For years even though we were able to compete, we weren't given the opportunity. We were denied access. I certainly didn't don't think my entire race was unworthy or dumb, but I see how the world works. Yes, there are smart hardworking people everywhere, but the top companies aren't everywhere. You can get a list of where top companies recruit and see for yourself. It's not proprietary information. They can't be everywhere so they go where they think they'll get most bang for their buck, which are top schools.

DP: This is true especially for people in groups that have historically experience employment discrimination. The benefit of a top school is much higher for a Black/Hispanic student than a White student in terms of career outcomes. A strong White student seems to have the same career outcomes from a wide range of schools, a strong Black student fares better if they go to the school with the best reputation.

[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.

Thank you. Amazing how often this has to be pointed out.
NP

[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.

And thank for this ^^. I had to laugh at the OP's claim that these kids "didn't work as hard as" her son. What a crock.

[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.

This. And perhaps it is easier for a really hardworking bright kids to stand out at a place like those you are referring too, if they put in the time to get to know professors or whoever writes their recs, rather than at the place your son goes. Less intense competition around for those who want to move mountains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

And thank for this ^^. I had to laugh at the OP's claim that these kids "didn't work as hard as" her son. What a crock.

Some people really don’t understand that there are a lot of very smart kids who don’t go to top 20 schools and can sometimes end up being (gasp!) more successful long term too.

[Anonymous]

Then he should be applying for “less prestigious” internships. Duh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's about the applicant, not the school.

~Parent whose CTCL kid had amazing internships and now has a great job at a FAANG

Why would they name school cohort after lymphoma?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

And thank for this ^^. I had to laugh at the OP's claim that these kids "didn't work as hard as" her son. What a crock.

Some people really don’t understand that there are a lot of very smart kids who don’t go to top 20 schools and can sometimes end up being (gasp!) more successful long term too.

+1
Tons of extremely bright kids at state universities.

[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.

Sorry you failed parenting and now have a failure to launch adult child.

[Anonymous]

I know lots of UVA receptionists

[Anonymous]

OP is a troll, but here's something.

I am a hiring manager for interns at a DC think tank. We get 200-300 intern applications per slot. My team prioritizes diversity of background including beyond the top 20. I prioritize good grades and the willingness to do grunt work if necessary. A 3.9 from a state school with working class job experience is much more interesting than an Ivy student with a B average. Plus the opportunity is going to make a much bigger difference for them.