I am a research scientist, near the top of my field. Income is high for the industry (gov't contracting) where it is easy for technical people to get to 120K, but hard to get to 200K.

I went to Va Tech undergrad, and a SUNY school for my PhD. I could have gone anywhere for my PhD, but my advisor was very good in what I was interested in. No regrets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, smart students do make it. I like to think I'm one. But, if you do end up with a corporate career, it is so nice to have that elite school credential when you want to switch between industries. That's a real possibility given how fast relevant careers are shifting and I think more so true today than yesterday. Being rubber stamped as smart lasts your whole life. It's a nice luxury.

Yup, this is the value of an elite school in a nutshell.

Anyone in HR with brains knows that there are a lot of factors that go into what school someone chooses. A majority of my dd's friends have GPAs over 4.0, full IB diplomas, and top SAT scores, and they're only looking at in-state schools because that's all their parents are willing to pay for. The top student that chooses to go over $200k in debt for undergrad is not necessarily someone I would view as "smart."

Well, HR people might be brainless, then, since they are the people who have made the biggest deal about my elite schools. But it's also true that after your first job, you don't really get jobs through a standard application process but rather through networking. Your alumni network from an elite school is more likely to be well-placed, as stats shared in this thread bear out.

Ultimately, though, I don't think it makes sense to go into 6 figure debt for school either (and I didn't). But it has absolutely not been my experience that employers are thinking about that when they hire people. As a hiring manager, I will say that when I am flooded with applications for a job, schools and past employers are an easy way to whittle down the list to a manageable set of candidates to interview.

Well, in my field HR has minimal impact on hiring. They just try to make sure the people doing the hiring and firing follow the proper protocol. So, I do not care what HR thinks of your elite degree. What matters is what the hiring manager thinks of my capabilities.

If you're not good looking you're of no consequence and I don't listen to anything that comes out of your mouth , elite education or not.

University of Arizona. Was making 6 figures by the time I was 25.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anyone in HR with brains knows that there are a lot of factors that go into what school someone chooses. A majority of my dd's friends have GPAs over 4.0, full IB diplomas, and top SAT scores, and they're only looking at in-state schools because that's all their parents are willing to pay for. The top student that chooses to go over $200k in debt for undergrad is not necessarily someone I would view as "smart."

You don't understand how HR works. For premier gigs, software screens you [out] before human eyes even read your resume (or linkedin).

Top firms want aggressive competitive ambitious people. Going to podunk college because it saved some cash teases out you may be smart, but most likely a provincial sheltered bumpkin fearful of top competition, who will likely crumble around assertive super sharp peers.

I guess, but if Podunk alum graduated top of her class, has some compelling research/internship experience and has leveraged the alum network that Podunk U does have, I would venture to say that she will end up in a good place. And ten years down the line, it will be her career measurables that count more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say this - look at the 100 richest people in the United States. Far less than half went to schools considered "elite."

Proves nothing.

Actually it does, but folks who obsess about the elite schools will never admit it. I did not attend an elite school and neither did my DH, although the school we attended was the flagship for the state. Along with some of our college friends, we started a company that we later sold to one of the "big boys" for 8 figures. We now own two other businesses. We do have a few elite school graduates working for us who are very smart and will do well in life. We also have smart non-elite school alums working for us also.

I think the rub is that we grew up in a area where going to an elite college was not an obsession. Most of us went to college but Flagship State U was a perfectly good option for most of us. We were surrounded by people who were successful and did not attend HYPS colleges. So we saw that success comes in many ways and in many forms. IMO, you bloom where you are planted. If you go to most good schools and do well, opportunities will arise.

I know a lot of smart kids who got into elites, toured said elite, and went to a local college. Why?

Because these elite schools are full of aggressive outgoing kids. Bumpkins clam up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anyone in HR with brains knows that there are a lot of factors that go into what school someone chooses. A majority of my dd's friends have GPAs over 4.0, full IB diplomas, and top SAT scores, and they're only looking at in-state schools because that's all their parents are willing to pay for. The top student that chooses to go over $200k in debt for undergrad is not necessarily someone I would view as "smart."

You don't understand how HR works. For premier gigs, software screens you [out] before human eyes even read your resume (or linkedin).

Top firms want aggressive competitive ambitious people. Going to podunk college because it saved some cash teases out you may be smart, but most likely a provincial sheltered bumpkin fearful of top competition, who will likely crumble around assertive super sharp peers.

as opposed to an entitled rich prick who is still riding on mommy and daddy's coattails?

Anonymous wrote:
Anyone in HR with brains knows that there are a lot of factors that go into what school someone chooses. A majority of my dd's friends have GPAs over 4.0, full IB diplomas, and top SAT scores, and they're only looking at in-state schools because that's all their parents are willing to pay for. The top student that chooses to go over $200k in debt for undergrad is not necessarily someone I would view as "smart."

You don't understand how HR works. For premier gigs, software screens you [out] before human eyes even read your resume (or linkedin).

Top firms want aggressive competitive ambitious people. Going to podunk college because it saved some cash teases out you may be smart, but most likely a provincial sheltered bumpkin fearful of top competition, who will likely crumble around assertive super sharp peers.

I went to a state school (and not even one of the great ones) for undergraduate, then my post-undergrad experience helped me land a spot at an outstanding graduate program.

I'm not a high earner now, but am in a high prestige job with mostly folks who also have impressive graduate degrees.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Big Ten all the way. I feel fine about it. People tend to underestimate me, which often works to my advantage.

Big 10 is not a school. It's a conference. And it has three good schools. Northwestern. And then, to a lesser extent, Michigan and Wisconsin. Cow colleges after that.

Really? Well it depends on the major, but U of IL and Purdue are highly prestigious engineering schools, among the best in the entire country. But I think you're purposely being inflammatory.

No I'm not. You're parsing things in a way no one outside of the engineering area (I guess) would.

Really? Cow colleges isn't inflammatory? GMAFB.

Depends on what you consider elite I guess. I went to a top tier school (I think it might have been in the high 20s or low thirties back then, I can't remember).

Anyway, for the past five years I've made over ~ 750k.

Anonymous wrote:I will say this - look at the 100 richest people in the United States. Far less than half went to schools considered "elite."

Proves nothing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Big Ten all the way. I feel fine about it. People tend to underestimate me, which often works to my advantage.

Big 10 is not a school. It's a conference. And it has three good schools. Northwestern. And then, to a lesser extent, Michigan and Wisconsin. Cow colleges after that.

Really? Well it depends on the major, but U of IL and Purdue are highly prestigious engineering schools, among the best in the entire country. But I think you're purposely being inflammatory.

No I'm not. You're parsing things in a way no one outside of the engineering area (I guess) would.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Big Ten all the way. I feel fine about it. People tend to underestimate me, which often works to my advantage.

Big 10 is not a school. It's a conference. And it has three good schools. Northwestern. And then, to a lesser extent, Michigan and Wisconsin. Cow colleges after that.

Really? Well it depends on the major, but U of IL and Purdue are highly prestigious engineering schools, among the best in the entire country. But I think you're purposely being inflammatory.