Anyone else frustrated by the ivy league types in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no. i went to a private college that compares well to the ivies, so eat me.

OT but is it eat me or bite me?

Eat me, in my case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. The point was that the PP seemed to believe that the decision to invest in college was only justified if it delivered a financial return.

Not every 18yr old goes off to college with such alturistic intentions. I for one, have read the statistics and if you are college educated you make more money. I went to make money, I work to make money, and I'm not ashamed to say it. I guess I'm just a good little capitalistic girl.

[Anonymous]

No, not the Johns, the John. It's a derogatory term for my dear old alma mater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no college education (dropped out due to too much partying and lack of focus). I sell IT into the federal government and some years make much more than a doctor or lawyer. My best year I made 800K and my worst around 180K.

In sales you are only as good as your last deal. No one cares about what school you went to. You can have a MBA from Harvard and if you can't sell, you are out the door. Sales managers care more about your rolodex than your diploma.

I'm glad I did not waste more time or money in college. I started in sales at 23 and have enjoyed great prosperity ever since. I don't even have to work terrible hours and do most of my work from home unless I'm visit a customer. I consider myself a professional socializer, it's always been my forte. In sales, your best skill set is an ability to connect with a wide breadth of personalities and be persistent, not something an ivy league school teaches.

I was the SGA president, not the valedictorian

What do you sell?

I sell virtualization SW...real exciting stuff.

To a PP, yes, I do realize that there are many ppl who need degrees, but there is certainly a WHOLE other side to DC that carve out a damn good living for themselves using entrepreneurial skills and good old fashion survival skills, which mainly consist of an ability use interpersonal skills to get ahead.

I will stress the importance with my kids of completing a degree, but I will equally guide them to mowing lawns, setting up lemonade stands, and teach them how to change their perception and view of others to get what they want out of life. This is the beauty of dealing with challenges; a challenge is only as difficult as your own perception of how to conquer it. This applies to the business world and your personal life.

You bring up great points. My husband who was not a stellar student is in sales and does very well. The thing is though that sales is definitely not for everyone. Not only do you need great interpersonal skills, but also a high tolerance for risk and rejection (neither of which I have!). Just hearing about his job stresses me out. He loves it though and wouldn't take my desk job for love nor money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, not the Johns, the John. It's a derogatory term for my dear old alma mater.

but it's not john hopkins.. it's johns!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no. i went to a private college that compares well to the ivies, so eat me.

OT but is it eat me or bite me?

Eat me, in my case.

you are quite bitter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no. i went to a private college that compares well to the ivies, so eat me.

OT but is it eat me or bite me?

Eat me, in my case.

you are quite bitter

and vulgar

[Anonymous]

The John. Get it? I didn't make it up. We also had a hospital called Key which we called the Key to the John.

[Anonymous]

I'm the poster that posted about IVY league schooling not mattering in the field of medicine.

My husband actually did both medical school and residency at the "John" (although I've never heard him refer to it as such). He's about 8 years out and I think the Hopkins name might have helped with his first job because he ended up in a practice with other Hopkins grads. However, in general an MD is an MD. Sure, Hopkins' training might get your foot in the door a bit faster but even the Carribean grads get sub-speciality residencies/fellowships and then prestigious (lucrative) private practice jobs. At his current practice there are several Hopkins trained physicians and others from all sorts of state schools and even a foreign trained physician or two. They all make the same money. Some are just saddled with exorbitant debt while the state-schooled doctors have minimal or no loans.

I've found that many physicians we know regret spending so much to attend prestigious private schools. It simply doesn't pay off except for bragging rights in social circles (and on message boards). If our children ever follow us into medicine I will 150% encourage them to attend a state medical school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I've found that many physicians we know regret spending so much to attend prestigious private schools. It simply doesn't pay off except for bragging rights in social circles (and on message boards). If our children ever follow us into medicine I will 150% encourage them to attend a state medical school.

I so agree. I think anyone considering grad school should go the state school route and graduate with start out with minimal debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:no. i went to a private college that compares well to the ivies, so eat me.

Seven Sisters?

[Anonymous]

I sell virtualization SW...real exciting stuff.

IT software to the federal government... are you male or female? Just curious b/c to me this seems it would be male-dominated, both the DM's and the sales force.

[Anonymous]

13:34 - here's the difference: I'm in academia.

[Anonymous]

This is sad.

The thread starts with the valid point that bias toward graduates of eight colleges is unfair and does not lead to rational recruiting practices.

It continues with the valid points that attending a certain college doesn't say everything about your abilities.

And then proceeds to a series of generalizations about how graduates of these eight colleges are overprivileged, not "hungry" enough, got in on family connections, etc.

Make up your minds, people-- either going to an Ivy League school isn't relevant to an employer's evaluation of you, or it is.

There are overprivileged, lazy legacies at nearly every college and university. I was a middle-class hardworking nobody in undergrad, and a financially overextended student loan victim in law school. Most of the people I knew were similar.

I have hired five attorneys, a few assistants, and dozens of interns, and only one of my full-time employees has an Ivy League degree. Many applicants have had them. I have a couple of those degrees myself, and don't prefer graduates of those colleges over any other school. I've found that law students at top schools generally have better writing skills, especially if their undergraduate degrees are in the humanities and from a smaller school. That's about it. And students from all schools seem to be similarly skilled at accepting feedback and improving their writing. Among attorneys a few years out of school, it pretty much comes down to experience, writing samples, interviews, and recommendations. I object to the characterization of liberals as discriminating most. I work in civil rights and hire and know attorneys from a wide variety of backgrounds. My husband went to a less prominent law school and has always gotten good jobs-- he graduated at the top of his class and has impressed everyone he's ever worked with. That's the key.

That said, I know that the fancy parchment gets you in the door in many places. Especially clerkships. And clerkships get you in the door too, which magnifies the Ivy effect.

Don't forget that the market drives this, too. When a law firm has to justify billing you out at $250/hour, it's a softer sell to the client if they say "$250 buys you a Harvard brain." Not necessarily fair, but no less fair than people spending more for Coca Cola than RC. It's a brand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is sad.

The thread starts with the valid point that bias toward graduates of eight colleges is unfair and does not lead to rational recruiting practices.

It continues with the valid points that attending a certain college doesn't say everything about your abilities.

And then proceeds to a series of generalizations about how graduates of these eight colleges are overprivileged, not "hungry" enough, got in on family connections, etc.

Make up your minds, people-- either going to an Ivy League school isn't relevant to an employer's evaluation of you, or it is.

There are overprivileged, lazy legacies at nearly every college and university. I was a middle-class hardworking nobody in undergrad, and a financially overextended student loan victim in law school. Most of the people I knew were similar.

I have hired five attorneys, a few assistants, and dozens of interns, and only one of my full-time employees has an Ivy League degree. Many applicants have had them. I have a couple of those degrees myself, and don't prefer graduates of those colleges over any other school. I've found that law students at top schools generally have better writing skills, especially if their undergraduate degrees are in the humanities and from a smaller school. That's about it. And students from all schools seem to be similarly skilled at accepting feedback and improving their writing. Among attorneys a few years out of school, it pretty much comes down to experience, writing samples, interviews, and recommendations. I object to the characterization of liberals as discriminating most. I work in civil rights and hire and know attorneys from a wide variety of backgrounds. My husband went to a less prominent law school and has always gotten good jobs-- he graduated at the top of his class and has impressed everyone he's ever worked with. That's the key.

That said, I know that the fancy parchment gets you in the door in many places. Especially clerkships. And clerkships get you in the door too, which magnifies the Ivy effect.

Don't forget that the market drives this, too. When a law firm has to justify billing you out at $250/hour, it's a softer sell to the client if they say "$250 buys you a Harvard brain." Not necessarily fair, but no less fair than people spending more for Coca Cola than RC. It's a brand.

Hysterical. Thanks for the lecture, attorney.