Reply to Is it really that hard to get into college?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Common Op. don't be ridiculous. Thousands of colleges out there.[/quote]

Most of which are not worth going to if you are from an UMC family with a long history of attending top colleges and certain expectations, like coming from a top private school.  Those of you who keep posting this flip can let your kids to no name and mediocre schools but for some people that’s just not acceptable. [/quote]

Better get used to it.[/quote]

My current senior is going to a top school, just like her siblings, thanks.

I just think those of you spouting the “thousands of colleges” being acceptable for DC area students don’t have a clue about how things are in certain circles of our country.  Or maybe you are being deliberately obtuse.  Most of those 1,000 colleges will never be acceptable to certain people. And they don’t have to be as they aren’t intended for those people.  Of course there are a handful or two of less competitive schools that are fine for kids of these folks who aren’t academically strong or have learning challenges but for the most part there is a subset of acceptable schools and that won’t change. That’s what you are seeing on the DCUM college thread that seems to drive some posters crazy - the ones who keep posting the tripe about there being “thousands of colleges” and “people need to stop focusing on the same 50 schools” etc...  You are trying to defeat the very heart of these people’s views on college - people whose families have been UMC and UC for generations, whose grands and greatgrands had degrees from top colleges, whose families have always invested in education and expect the next generation to do that same. It just is what it is. No point in trying to convince those folks differently. [/quote]

I'm so sorry for them. That's terrible. There aren't enough spots for these kids. Some of them will have to find another path.  Ivy/Ivy+ or bust is a recipe for heartbreak for most kids. [/quote]

And a really stupid recipe at that.  Once you get your first job (other than in a few fields---high level investing/PE is one area) it really does not matter where you went.  It's what you did in college that matters, and what you do at the job. My first kid went to at T100 school, and the program was rigorous, with the honor program being even more rigorous for those who are up to that challenge (not my kid). all of my DC's friends are gainfully employed or onto graduate school (that's over 25 students).  Some in at top graduate schools and medical schools. You do not have to attend top 20 schools to be successful.  
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This once you get your first job nonsense has to go.  Going to Harvard or Yale or Princeton stays with you and matters even if you work in the DPW picking up trash --- will matter when you go for supervisor and later head of department.  Does it determine how you will do in life -- of course not.  Tones of colleges will work.  But just as it is not Harvard or bustr please do not believe that it no longer matters after first job.[/quote]

Really, if I'm working as a trash collector, I will get further ahead if I went to Harvard?  What are you smoking? In your scenario I've graduated from Harvard and working as a trash collector actually picking up trash and use my Harvard degree to move up the supervisor ladder and to dept head of trash collection?  So extremely glad I graduated from Harvard to do that.  Somehow I think there are more important issues---such as why the hell did I graduate from an Ivy League school yet I'm working as a trash collector(something that barely requires a HS degree).

I've lived life and nobody has ever asked where I attended college after my first job.  Hell, for my first real job nobody asked either, but that was because it was the direct result of 2 summer internships with the same dept, so they knew my work (and I guess where I had attended college) and happily were waiting to hire me full time.  Switched jobs 2 years later and what mattered was my references from my first job, not where I attended college.  Never once was I asked about college or where I went in my 3 interviews for the 2nd job.  So while it might have still been on my resume at only 2 years out of grad School, nobody asked/discussed it.  Instead they discussed my qualifications and work experience as a normal person would expect to happen.  So yes had I attended Harvard and someone interviewing me had gone to Harvard, perhaps it might have swayed them a bit to liking me over someone else.  But ultimately, I'd hope a Harvard educated person would not just hire me cause I also have a Harvard degree---I'd hope they could look at my real qualifications and make a decision based on that.

Only way attending Harvard/Y/P matters is if I need one of my buddies to call a future boss and put in a good word.  Same for all jobs after the 2nd job.  Nobody cared where I attended college.  What matters is how I performed at my previous jobs and my references.

Yes, your connections at HYP/etc will give you a network of people willing to help you, so will many other colleges. Penn State has a large network, so does Purdue, UMich, VATech, UVA, etc.  Plenty of highly successful people graduate from non-ivy/T20 schools and go on to do great things.

So you go on thinking your Harvard degree matters to most people once you are over 25 yo.  [/quote]

I think you’re underestimating how much your Harvard degree bumped you to getting the interview over equally qualified candidates in the first place.  I’m not saying it’s a golden ticket no matter what.  But you having that as your school on your resume automatically implies some things about you (intelligence, talent and hard work needed to get in) that an HR person will assume about you.  It does this like no other school, even more than Princeton or Yale.[/quote]

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