Anonymous wrote:I think so much of this depends on your field. I went to strong state U for both undergrad and grad (different schools in different states) and have had a solid career in marketing research. If I'd wanted to go into a big name management consulting firm then, sure, the college brand would probably matter a lot more but I wasn't interested in doing that. I've been in my field for 20 yrs. Nobody cares where I went to school, never comes up. They do care about the firms I've worked at and the clients I've had. My first job out of undergrad was at a now well-known firm and I got it in large part because of the research project I did as my senior capstone at State U.
I hire interns for my firm now and the strongest ones over the past few years have been from big state U's. I've hired a couple from Ivy's and while they are very smart they have been weaker on the interpersonal skills. One, a Penn grad, got all pissy about having to do menial grunt-work stuff that she didn't think she should have to do because she went to Penn (seriously, she said that to me, her supervisor!). I've met plenty of lovely Penn and other Ivy grads and have great friends who went to Ivys, but as a hiring manager I do now come at interviewing Ivy grads with a particular focus on screening for that egotistical attitude. It definitely exists at the "Tier 1" schools to a greater degree than at Big State U.
I work with people from a wide range of schools, both undergrad and grad and I think what you do with the opportunities you have while you are at school matters a lot more than the specific name brand.
Anonymous wrote:Academically, looking at the differences between tier 1 and tier 3 is minimal, and what is best for an individual is where they should go.
Tier 1 examples, HYPS (NYU?), MIT, Caltech, Duke? RPI? Good schools.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think those stats are probably greatly distorted by for-profit colleges in Tier 4. There's a big difference between University of Phoenix Online and a solid branch campus of a state U, but they're both Tier 4.
Yes. I know if I saw University of Phoenix on a resume, that would not be a plus. But, I have no problem with Slippery Rock or IUP or JMU.
Anonymous wrote:I think those stats are probably greatly distorted by for-profit colleges in Tier 4. There's a big difference between University of Phoenix Online and a solid branch campus of a state U, but they're both Tier 4.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Here is how I read the research:
1. If you have a choice of a Tier 1 school vs a Tier 2/3 school with merit aid, it does not make sense to go to a Tier 1 school.
2. If you think your life is going to be "better" if you make $186k/yr vs. $135K/yr you have more problems than an elite graduate degree can solve.
I totally agree. At that level of income, $50k is not a deal breaker in the quality of life.
Depends. Elites give excellent merit aid, so for many it may be worth it. Besides, $50k isn't just $50k, it's $50k *a year*, plus interest if you can save it. I'm not good with numbers, but that seems like a lot, over time.
The Ivies, MIT, and elites like Amherst do NOT give any merit aid. What are you talking about?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Here is how I read the research:
1. If you have a choice of a Tier 1 school vs a Tier 2/3 school with merit aid, it does not make sense to go to a Tier 1 school.
2. If you think your life is going to be "better" if you make $186k/yr vs. $135K/yr you have more problems than an elite graduate degree can solve.
I totally agree. At that level of income, $50k is not a deal breaker in the quality of life.
Depends. Elites give excellent merit aid, so for many it may be worth it. Besides, $50k isn't just $50k, it's $50k *a year*, plus interest if you can save it. I'm not good with numbers, but that seems like a lot, over time.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Here is how I read the research:
1. If you have a choice of a Tier 1 school vs a Tier 2/3 school with merit aid, it does not make sense to go to a Tier 1 school.
2. If you think your life is going to be "better" if you make $186k/yr vs. $135K/yr you have more problems than an elite graduate degree can solve.
I totally agree. At that level of income, $50k is not a deal breaker in the quality of life.
Anonymous wrote:Here is how I read the research:
1. If you have a choice of a Tier 1 school vs a Tier 2/3 school with merit aid, it does not make sense to go to a Tier 1 school.
2. If you think your life is going to be "better" if you make $186k/yr vs. $135K/yr you have more problems than an elite graduate degree can solve.
Anonymous wrote:No, I'm not OP but I went to a third tier state university and kid went to Ivy. Especially for women and minorities, they should go to the best schools they can get in, because they are already behind the 8 ball by not being white men
Well DUH? Of course women and minorities should go to the best school they can. FFS. It has nothing to do with WILL to go to better schools. These groups don't have the economic advantage in many cases to do expensive test prep and ECs to get there.![]()
Anonymous wrote:If the guy making 180,000 graduates with 4-500 K in debt, and the guy making 130,000 has no debt, then we could argue that he's actually the smarter guy who took the right deal, regardless of what his diploma says.
Anonymous wrote:I went to a SLAC that was ranked around 9-10 back then (now in top 5 but still not considered top tier by many). Two kids from my small class of 400 went on to HLS and clerk for supreme court justices. So, take that!