Anonymous wrote:Hmmmm, I think it does in terms of "life interestingness" but not necessarily wealth.

Harvard couple I know -- one person founded their own non-profit, one is a acclaimed novelist. MIT couple -- founded a few tech companies (and now are millionaires). Another elite school couple (Naval Academy, which has similar standards) -- another founder of a company, another writer. Stanford friend -- furniture designer who has won awards. Columbia friend works for the NYTimes. Friend from Brown is another serial entrepreneur. Money varies, but all have a lot of freedom to do what they want, and No one has a boring job.

And there's Harvard grads and other Ivy grads who fade away into quiet lives. I know - because I went to an elite Ivy.

I'm 20 years out of college and the conclusion is that for the most part, the same person would be doing just as well whether they went to Harvard or College Park or Case Western. Because you either have what it takes to succeed or you don't and the college isn't going to change the equation much. Harvard has many successful alums because they admit the students who are likely to become successful in life. Only in very specific cases can the elite college be that transformative, giving you a quite different future than you might otherwise have had.

Another thing to keep in mind is that elite colleges have changed a lot in the past 20 years too. They've changed their admissions standards. We're measuring the outcomes of alums from 20 years ago, which isn't necessarily going to be the case for today's crop of graduates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also the PP -- I think there is something there, too. Going to an "elite" school does somehow give a lot of people the courage to make a different path.

That drive/courage was likely there before they attended an "elite school". So they would do exceedingly well no matter where they attended school

Exactly. A lot smart driven people choose to go to these schools but they would still be smart and driven elsewhere. There are a lot of resources available at top schools. They are very rich and generous.

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmm, I think it does in terms of "life interestingness" but not necessarily wealth.

Harvard couple I know -- one person founded their own non-profit, one is an acclaimed novelist. MIT couple -- founded a few tech companies (and now are millionaires). Another elite school couple (Naval Academy, which has similar standards) -- another founder of a company, another writer. Stanford friend -- furniture designer who has won awards. Columbia friend works for the NYTimes. Friend from Brown is another serial entrepreneur. Money varies, but all have a lot of freedom to do what they want, and No one has a boring job.

I went to one of these schools and this is my experience. I come from no money but elite schools led me to have some fascinating life experiences just because of the people you get thrown in with, so it can add richness to life. Professionally, I think it helps a little when you’re younger, but beyond that people only care about your work experience. I lead a team at a large and sought-after company full of brilliant people, some of whom attended elite schools but most who didn’t. Nobody cares or talks about it outside of Football season. Interestingly, the “brand” that helps me the most in my career- by far- is the elite consulting firm I worked at. And the elite schools helped me get there, so I guess they are useful as a stepping stone. Like much in life, it’s all about what you make of it if you have a chance to attend an elite school. You can’t just waltz into high level jobs without the years of grinding.

Anonymous wrote:Also the PP -- I think there is something there, too. Going to an "elite" school does somehow give a lot of people the courage to make a different path.

That drive/courage was likely there before they attended an "elite school". So they would do exceedingly well no matter where they attended school

Also the PP -- I think there is something there, too. Going to an "elite" school does somehow give a lot of people the courage to make a different path.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmm, I think it does in terms of "life interestingness" but not necessarily wealth.

Harvard couple I know -- one person founded their own non-profit, one is a acclaimed novelist. MIT couple -- founded a few tech companies (and now are millionaires). Another elite school couple (Naval Academy, which has similar standards) -- another founder of a company, another writer. Stanford friend -- furniture designer who has won awards. Columbia friend works for the NYTimes. Friend from Brown is another serial entrepreneur. Money varies, but all have a lot of freedom to do what they want, and No one has a boring job.

All of that screams “trust fund gave me freedom.”

Thank you. X2. I was thinking "this has less to do with where they went to school and more to do with them having a family and backup wealth to become "furniture designers." Good Lord, correlation is just that. Clearly these posters didn't go to a top university themselves

I'm in PP with that friend. Actually, he came from a middle class background. No family money supporting him as an adult. He has a side job that pays six figures (a kind of govt contractor) but only requires 20/week of his time, so he can use the rest of it to do what he wants.

Anonymous wrote:Most of the successful people in my community do not necessarily have elite academic credentials. An investment banker I know went to University of Richmond. This lawyer friend of ours went to UVA law and another went to Case Western. One sales executive went to college in a random university in Canada. The friends who work in local financial firms such as Navy Federal or Capital one graduated from local colleges. Yes we have friends who went to Ivys but they’re working at places like Deliotte or McKinsey or KPMG.

All of these are successful professionals who make a good living.

What is the benefit of attending an elite university?

In a sense, OP, no, it really doesn't. Though the schools you mention are all nationally known/recognized. What is important is, does the applicant feel comfortable at the places they are applying? Can they see themselves there? Sure it is nice if you can get into an "elite" school, but ultimately, IMO, anything where the person you are interviewing with doesn't go "Huh?" when you say where you went, is fine.

Malcolm Gladwell did the research and said hire the top third from any school. So, no, the school you select doesn’t matter.

Anonymous wrote:OP I would define those as “elite academic credentials.”

+1

Certain fields, it matters a lot.

Also consider grads without connections - and all they have is their resume and peers.

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on the major/career but for the most part no. Law, business, medicine yes.

Law, no.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/law/

Business, no.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/business/

Medicine, no.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/medicine/

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on the major/career but for the most part no. Law, business, medicine yes.

Not true. People who do hiring know that brilliant people attend all kinds of schools for all kinds of reasons, and that the elite schools have a fair share of duds too. They aren't "elite" because of academic ability -- academically brilliant people are everywhere. The elite class created a bubble among colleges and sent their children there for generations and created the notion that they are elite academic institutions because of the families who go there. This has lingered far too long for a country that is supposed to be about something other than class.

Well it depends. If you and your social circle are the type to judge people by the name recognition of the college, then yes it matters. It might matter somewhat in terns of geography. Eg someone going to JMU or GMU might be more likely to get a job in the DC area than someone from, say, Clemson. But the latter might be more likely to end up in Charlotte, or Atlanta, or Nashville. But if you are professional degree route (eg planning on mee school or law school or MBA) id say it matters very very little.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a misleading title. Those are all T60 schools.

Btw Deloitte/KPMG/PWC/EY consulting won’t even look at your app beyond ~T100 schools.

Literally the first profile I looked at proves you wrong about your second statement. You really shouldn't make ridiculous claims and expect no one to check up on you.

https://www.ey.com/en_us/people/julie-boland

She has an Accounting background

Google EY Parthenon LinkedIn profiles

I googled EY consulting instead, and clicked on About Us. Julie Boland is the managing partner for the Americas and is very prominent on their website. She went to UVm, ranked #118.

https://www.ey.com/en_us/about-us#inPageNav-anchor-1

Oh, and I did what you just said. There are 10 people from George Mason (#143) working at EY Parthenon.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a misleading title. Those are all T60 schools.

Btw Deloitte/KPMG/PWC/EY consulting won’t even look at your app beyond ~T100 schools.

Literally the first profile I looked at proves you wrong about your second statement. You really shouldn't make ridiculous claims and expect no one to check up on you.

https://www.ey.com/en_us/people/julie-boland

She has an Accounting background

Google EY Parthenon LinkedIn profiles

I googled EY consulting instead, and clicked on About Us. Julie Boland is the managing partner for the Americas and is very prominent on their website. She went to UVm, ranked #118.

https://www.ey.com/en_us/about-us#inPageNav-anchor-1