Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"where you go is not who you'll be" -- it's a book all about this. And how it doesn't matter.

But that said yes pedigree matters still for certain academics and supreme court justices though it may matter less over time.

Right. Amy Coney Barrett went to Rhodes College, which some refer to as a CTCL.

She was put in her position for political reasons and not because of credentials.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"where you go is not who you'll be" -- it's a book all about this. And how it doesn't matter.

But that said yes pedigree matters still for certain academics and supreme court justices though it may matter less over time.

Right. Amy Coney Barrett went to Rhodes College, which some refer to as a CTCL.

Anonymous wrote:We were not raised rich but sort of fell by circumstance into a very UMC group and it's opened my eyes that it's not really about money, it's about the whole picture. I have ZERO concern about where my kid goes to college. I see they can basically go to a state school or unknown private and be just fine because of everything else they are growing up with.

- connections, just in our peer circle we have doctors/surgeons, politicians, a few accomplished actors/musicians, lots of C-level or VP level business, tech entrepreneurs, law partners, professors, authors, engineers at Google/FB, designers.. sky is the limit in terms of getting your foot in the door.. I did NOT have this as a kid at all and see how much easier it makes things especially at the college level or right after.
- Kids golf, play tennis, sail + ski on regular basis through lessons, clinics and camps in addition to other sports
- Kids attend expensive, elite sleepover camps
- family involvement in multiple philanthropies every year on the chair or board level
- kids grow up doing organized charity/debutante roles learning social traditions and manners
- international travel frequently
- 2nd house out west in mountain town
- attend top 20 nationally ranked public HS

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An LSU degree will open as many doors as an Ivy degree. It's all about the person wielding it.

Maybe, but they ain't the same doors.

People call yell all they want but this is true. LSU is a great school and I have a couple of friends that went there including a guy that makes a couple of million a year. But the path is not the same from the schools. One example, Art History major at LSU is not being hired by Goldman but an Art History major at an Ivy could very well be. Substitute Art History for just about any other major. I am not saying it is the be all and end all. It is just a wider array of options that open easier.

So true. I went to a top SLAC (Swarthmore/Amherst/Williams) and I was a *philosophy* major. I interviewed for McKinsey, Goldman, Merrill Lynch, and law firms like Cravath and a couple of boutique firms in DC. I learned later that this is not usual.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An LSU degree will open as many doors as an Ivy degree. It's all about the person wielding it.

Maybe, but they ain't the same doors.

People call yell all they want but this is true. LSU is a great school and I have a couple of friends that went there including a guy that makes a couple of million a year. But the path is not the same from the schools. One example, Art History major at LSU is not being hired by Goldman but an Art History major at an Ivy could very well be. Substitute Art History for just about any other major. I am not saying it is the be all and end all. It is just a wider array of options that open easier.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the ivy's open as many doors as people think they do. Yes, if you want to clerk for a Supreme Court Justice, you need an ivy degree. If you want to work for a white shoe law firm, not necessarily. I went to a good college and average law school and I was able to get a job at a large firm b/c I got really good grades in law school. Consulting firms etc are trying to be more open minded than they used to. My really successful friends went to all kinds of different schools.

Anonymous wrote:"where you go is not who you'll be" -- it's a book all about this. And how it doesn't matter.

But that said yes pedigree matters still for certain academics and supreme court justices though it may matter less over time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a T10 from a very small town. I had been a big fish in a small pond, so I entered that school with the confidence of a lion. Obviously, I was knocked down a few pegs as I was no longer the smartest, funniest, or most popular. I learned to manage that and remain confident, but it was hard. I was also intimidated by all of the money that my peers had, but I learned a lot about the lifestyles and habits of wealthy people.

That said, I graduated and took all of that to my new career. I remained fairly confident and advanced easily. It was helpful to know how to stand up after you've been knocked down. IT was also invaluable to know a little about wealth and wealthy people. You could say that any success I've achieved is due to the name on my degree, but I don't think so. I think it's due to the fact that I have never discounted myself or assumed I deserved anything less than what I wanted. It's a "never say die" attitude that was instilled in me back in my small town. The big school could knock me around but it was already ingrained within me.

Conversely, my children have not grown up as big fish in a small pond. Their confidence has been rocked by going to high school in such a competitive and "dog eat dog" atmosphere. They are cynical but are trying to remain hopeful about life, in general. Although we are not wealthy, wealth does not intimidate them. It's very interesting for me to observe.

When it came to choosing a school for my oldest, we focused on fit and comfort. I couldn't have cared less about the rankings of those schools. I wanted DC to feel strong and confident about themselves again. I truly believe that one's attitude is what makes the difference. DC will be graduating from a small SLAC that gets no attention from DCUM. He has really blossomed there and has taken advantage of all the opportunities he was given there. He is looking forward to being employed when he graduates and is hoping to use that employment as a springboard towards his Master's. DD is heading towards a similar college decision and we are 100% on board.

TLDR: it's not necessarily prestige or reputation, it's fit. I needed one thing out of college and my kids need(ed) another.

That’s just a cliche. If college were a question of “fit”, how do you explain the fact that most people apply to schools that are different on the opposite end of the spectrum? Yale is different than Harvard, as they are different than MIT/CalTech. Brown is different than UChicago. Dartmouth is different than Columbia. The only common denominator is T10, T20, or T30. So, let’s not kid ourselves.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the ivy's open as many doors as people think they do. Yes, if you want to clerk for a Supreme Court Justice, you need an ivy degree. If you want to work for a white shoe law firm, not necessarily. I went to a good college and average law school and I was able to get a job at a large firm b/c I got really good grades in law school. Consulting firms etc are trying to be more open minded than they used to. My really successful friends went to all kinds of different schools.

Anonymous wrote:Obviously it does. It’s where kids spend their first 4 years as adults and start making the decisions that will shape their lives.

Does it matter career wise? I’d say not so much in law. The name of the law school matters a lot though. But WM to Yale vs Brown to Yale? IDK how much it matters.

I care a lot less about career though for undergrad and more about peer group and the college being a good fit for my kid. Somewhere they can grow and develop and be encouraged to make good choices. Chasing T10 or Ivy never made much sense to me. But, we did well regarded SLACs for both kids, so I have a bias towards small classes, relationship with professors, supportive residential community, lots of writing and public speaking, no Greek life, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a T10 from a very small town. I had been a big fish in a small pond, so I entered that school with the confidence of a lion. Obviously, I was knocked down a few pegs as I was no longer the smartest, funniest, or most popular. I learned to manage that and remain confident, but it was hard. I was also intimidated by all of the money that my peers had, but I learned a lot about the lifestyles and habits of wealthy people.

That said, I graduated and took all of that to my new career. I remained fairly confident and advanced easily. It was helpful to know how to stand up after you've been knocked down. IT was also invaluable to know a little about wealth and wealthy people. You could say that any success I've achieved is due to the name on my degree, but I don't think so. I think it's due to the fact that I have never discounted myself or assumed I deserved anything less than what I wanted. It's a "never say die" attitude that was instilled in me back in my small town. The big school could knock me around but it was already ingrained within me.

Conversely, my children have not grown up as big fish in a small pond. Their confidence has been rocked by going to high school in such a competitive and "dog eat dog" atmosphere. They are cynical but are trying to remain hopeful about life, in general. Although we are not wealthy, wealth does not intimidate them. It's very interesting for me to observe.

When it came to choosing a school for my oldest, we focused on fit and comfort. I couldn't have cared less about the rankings of those schools. I wanted DC to feel strong and confident about themselves again. I truly believe that one's attitude is what makes the difference. DC will be graduating from a small SLAC that gets no attention from DCUM. He has really blossomed there and has taken advantage of all the opportunities he was given there. He is looking forward to being employed when he graduates and is hoping to use that employment as a springboard towards his Master's. DD is heading towards a similar college decision and we are 100% on board.

TLDR: it's not necessarily prestige or reputation, it's fit. I needed one thing out of college and my kids need(ed) another.

That’s just a cliche. If college were a question of “fit”, how do you explain the fact that most people apply to schools that are different on the opposite end of the spectrum? Yale is different than Harvard, as they are different than MIT/CalTech. Brown is different than UChicago. Dartmouth is different than Columbia. The only common denominator is T10, T20, or T30. So, let’s not kid ourselves.