Our VA Tech alumni are extremely active and very very loyal to one another. Before I moved to Virginia, I really was
not familiar with the school, but it’s definitely my sense that if you want a job as, say, a public school teacher in most areas of Virginia, being from VA Tech would definitely get your resume a second look. Also, though you all keep mentioning Williams, I think there’s also a law of odds. If you want a big alumni network, go to a big school. If you want a highly selective alumni network of people in top jobs, however, that would look different.
@neatoburrito: Some magnets as well. It seems to differ by magnet, though.
We Are…
I’m pretty sure that Penn State has the largest number of alumni. Either the New York Times or Wall Street Journal (can’t remember which) has them ranked #1 for corporate recruiters. And I remember a statistic that 1 in every 50 engineers in the US are Penn State grads.
But I’m sure that many schools have great regional alumni associations. All depends on what you are looking for.
I heard the same thing about Penn State…and I believe Indiana claims to beat Penn State internationally (this is for their business schools). When we toured Penn State this summer (Smeal School of Bus.) they claim to beat Wharont in corporate recruiting. But it makes sense because their programs are enormous. So there are also many more grads looking for jobs so it evens out in the end. These are all good schools and at the end of the day the student needs to decide where they fit in the best and then make the most of their connections when the time comes. One thing for sure, they will succeed the most if they are happy so that really needs to be a huge factor in where they decide to go. Can’t only look at “connections”…I think most everyone at this point in the thread agrees with that.
Not necessarily. You don’t get more introverted than my oldest kid. It’s like pulling teeth to have a conversation with him. But the CMU network is on line. You don’t have to talk to anybody. They’ve got graduates all over Silicon Valley and they talk to each other all the time. He keeps in touch with his CMU friends. If he took it in his head to go to say, Boston, he knows who to contact. (The ones complaining about the snow!) The summer the economy collapsed he had an intership offer withdrawn - no problem CMU friends pointed him to Nvidia. I can’t speak for the rest of CMU - but the Computer Science network is very active.
BTW I went to Harvard and never found the alumni network of any use at all getting a job. I never even heard of the Ivy Ball. I clearly did not know the right people at Harvard. 
West Point and Annapolis. Not the biggest networks, but very very strong Kool Aid. Princeton and Notre Dame are cult-ish as well (mostly in a good way).
It’s so difficult to tell, because it’s so anecdotal. For example: I always hear anecdotally that USC has a strong alumni network. But I don’t know a lot of USC people because I’m sitting here in the midwest and that name doesn’t mean all that much. OTOH, the USC people I know tend to talk about it glowingly and tend to favor or at least be positively disposed towards USC people in the interviewing process. Is that any more so than I would with NU or that tons of people would do with their own colleges? It’s really hard to judge.
mathmom - this is for you.
http://www.harvardhk.org/main/event_detail/1190
Notice the one at Taipei CMU was invited.
https://secure.www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/CEL/event/showEventForm.jsp?form_id=183112
I would imagine all top research universities have clubs / alumni gatherings in Hong Kong and other places! I actually work with a fellow – American / Caucasian, but works as a translator and lives in Tokyo – who is involved with the Harvard - Tokyo club.
From the tOSU alumni website:
The Ohio State University Alumni Association counts as its members more than half a million alumni living worldwide. The Association also has a global presence through more than 50 societies and 200 local and international clubs that show how firm alumni friendship is for Ohio State.
“…networks that provide real opportunities for job-seeking graduates.” (from original post)
Another informal network are the parents/relatives of alumni of both colleges/universities and well-known secondary schools, like private-day, boarding, and selective public high schools.
Many parents here must provide leads and support to the friends of their children. I’d be very surprised if they didn’t!
The Claremont Consortium is very strong in the West and beyond. Five undergraduate LACs (Pomona, Scripps, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, and Pitzer) = approx. 6,500 enrollment. This expanded alumni network is very tight with their career networking for internships, grad school and future full-time employment.
I think one predictor of a strong alumni network would be a measure of alumni donation. High levels of contribution would indicate a strong and continuing identification with the school, and a willingness to help others who share that.
Similarly, level of attendance at reunions, home comings, and the like would also be indicators.
I think that the question of strongest alumni networks can really only be discussed in a regional context. Beyond a few schools which command respect in any corner of the country (Ivies, Stanford, MIT, service academies, etc.) or have diverse, cultish networks, alumni networks are strongest only in certain areas. If you want to work in Virginia or DC, for example, there’s not much better than a UVA degree. I’ve heard that UT-Austin, specifically McCombs, is better than Harvard in parts of Texas.
In short, if you are looking for a strong alumni network, go to school in the area of the country that you want to work in.
There’s only so much leads and support most of us have. In my particular line of work, I have very few “leads” or “ins” anywhere. My sister, who is a vp at a large company and who went to Generally Average State Flagship that Doesn’t Get Discussed on CC, has a bazillion leads, all of which she has passed on to my kids :-). That’s not a function of her alumni network; it’s a reflection on who she is and the type of job she has.
I personally found that Wellesley alums are incredibly supportive!
I think large dead alumni networks should also be considered.
I would have to add a few of the HBCUs, Howard, Spelman, and Morehouse. Considering they dont have the resources of schools, they have a fantastic alumni network.