Reply to What would anyone work so hard to get into a top college if it doesn’t lead to a better career?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My wife and I graduated from JMU in 1990, and we are both federal government employees. We have a very typical DMV middle-class lifestyle. We fly coach and stay in low-budget motels whenever we are on vacation. We were passed over for promotions many times because we did not have the right “connections.”  My DS graduated from an Ivy League university in 2024 as a student-athlete. One of the perks of being an outstanding athlete is that he gets to know many powerful people who are in positions to help and guide him in his professional career. Two of his best friends come from families worth $200M+, one whose parent is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and the other whose parent is the CFO of a Fortune 100 company.  DS travels many times with these two friends on private NetJets to many places during spring break and in the summer. These friends go out of their way to help DS with internship opportunities and jobs after graduation. DS received multiple job offers through “connections” with these two friends, and he is doing extremely well financially.

Would DS have done as well if he had attended JMU instead of an Ivy League university? It is certainly possible, but it would have been extremely difficult without those “connections.”  Going to an Ivy League school is like being selected in the first round of the NFL draft, while going to JMU is like being drafted last or signing as an undrafted free agent. Tom Brady and Brock Purdy were both picked near the end of the draft but still succeeded; however, they are the exception rather than the norm.[/quote]
Were they fellow athletes?[/quote]

PP here. They were not fellow athletes. One of the things about being an athlete is that kids from wealthy families want to hang out with you because they think it’s cool. The athlete is just being nice to them, and he can get away with just about anything.  DS was invited multiple times to the Hamptons and Beverly Hills with his friends and their families. He even dated one of his wealthy friends’ cousins. He made himself visible to people who are decision-makers who can influence his future career.[/quote]

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