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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m a foreigner and newcomer to DC - we moved here for my husband’s work ~ 2 years ago from Western Europe. We have two boys and the oldest just started high school here, so I’ve been trying to learn about US college admissions in case my kids express interest in attending school here.

This is what I have trouble understanding:
- if now desirable employers recruit from a large range of schools rather than only from a few elite schools
- if you can have access to quality peers beyond the T20 schools since there are way more qualified kids than spots at these schools
- if you can get a quality education at pretty much any top 100 school, and
- if life outcomes are truly dependent on the kid rather than the school

Then why oh why are kids (and parents) putting themselves through so much stress and anxiety to get into HYPSM? This is what I don’t get.

Is it purely because Harvard and Yale are more prestigious than Penn State and Miami? So it’s just about prestige and bragging rights?[/quote]

-The desirable employers do not recruit equally from second tier schools as they do from top tier schools, they just don't.
-The difference in peer group starts to drop off around T15 then again at around T35 and once you are outside the top 75 or so, the population of mediocre students is large enough that the peer group effect is fairly diluted.
-The quality of education is largely dependent on your peer group.  You are going much faster and much deeper when you have a better peer group.
-Life outcomes are not indifferent to college pedigree.  A Harvard grad has easier access to some opportunities than a Northeastern grad.

The difference between Emory and Penn State may not be life altering but the difference between HYPSM (particularly HMS) and Penn State is. 
Your peer group in college is different, the lifetime reputational benefits are different, your opportunities straight out of college are different.[/quote]

None of this is true.  And I say this as someone who went to aT10 college and T5 law school.  Further the advantage of going to a T15 school, to the extent it exists, has been weakened as current admissions policies break down the strength of alumni networks.[/quote]
PP here

Then you did not go to a T10 school or T5 law school.
The on campus recruiting is much much better at these schools.
The peer group is noticably different between harvard or yale vs penn state or miami
Your peer group definitely affects the pace and depth of your education
There are industries (pretty much any high paying non-stem industry) where academic pedigree matters.

What policies are breaking down the strength of alumni networks?[/quote]

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