<p>yes, warblersrule, i agree with your post completely.
but you cant deny that the IVYs and the like are very overrated.</p>
<p>Not that my post is for or against top tier colleges which are clearly a better choice if you get in</p>
<p>Top tier colleges guarantee a better starting point, but not equal outcomes.</p>
<p>In some occasions, Ivy degree might be an liability than an asset. The expectation of high performance is always associated with it. In some cases, if the boss is graduated from an unknown school, bragging about your Ivy pedigree does not help you much. Human nature at work…</p>
<p>^ LOL, that’s a really good point. :)</p>
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<p>I don’t think that this is true. I think if anything that practical benefits grow exponential as prestige grows. In competitive fields, cold calling or cold emailing is close to worthless. Over my past 2 years of college, I’ve had a nearly 100% success rate with companies interviewing on campus and maybe a 50% success rate with resume drops, but I don’t think that I’ve ever gotten a position through emailing a random person my resume.</p>
<p>Hahaha - TOTALLY unintended reference to anyone in particular. Of course, I’m not sure Mr. Bush ever worried about what school was listed on his resume (if he ever had one.) Few of us will ever find ourselves in that realm.</p>
<p>I was using the definition of hysteria which includess “uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping, etc.” My D is in the middle of the application process, and while I would much prefer your choice of emotion (laughter), I am seeing more of the fear and irrationality from her as well as her friends.</p>
<p>I didn’t read all 108 posts in this thread, so sorry if I’m repeating something already said. But here’re my two cents. (Or maybe ‘here’s my two cents’?)</p>
<p>The original question is impossible to answer. No one knows. There are way to many variables involved. First of all, definition of the question: what is success?</p>
<p>Second, the question assumes that if there is a correlation between “success” and the college, that correlation will hold true throughout the range of colleges. We don’t know that. Perhaps it only matters if you go to HYP, etc.</p>
<p>Who’s the employer? That certainly makes a difference. Hiring managers are not all the same, of course.</p>
<p>Which industry?</p>
<p>Even if we narrow the question down to something very specific, say, the difference between a Harvard graduate and a State U graduate in the finance industry, we still can’t really answer the question. It depends on way too much, and statistics in the real world aren’t that great. I don’t put much faith in any study on this topic.</p>
<p>There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics-- Mark Twain</p>
<p>First off, lets state the obvious, of course it matters what school you went to. In today’s job market, every little thing helps.</p>
<p>Now:</p>
<p>Yes, Ivies are prestigious and you get that instant recognition. If you are applying for work around the country, then yes it should help you. However, through what I have witnessed and experienced, people who go to their flagship state schools, who post a solid GPA have just an equal chance in that state school’s region.</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>Students in Mccombs school of business are looked as highly as people in the ivy’s in the state of texas. Same thing with UC berkeley, Florida, etc.</p>
<p>Second point:</p>
<p>Yes maybe the Ivies are better in “general education”. but it seems like certain state schools have very good specific major programs that can compete with the ivies. Texas A&M general education? Probably average, but its engineering program is top notch. Just like Illinois’s accounting program.</p>
<p>I go to IU business school and I’ve never had to actually actively search besides getting interviews through my career center. Doesn’t get easier then that.</p>
<p>Summary: If you want to be the 1/10000X person who becomes that Ibanker, president, supreme court judge, etc; yes Ivy helps. Otherwise, save your money and go to a reputable flagship state school. Cause I’ve enjoyed every moment of it and to boot I have a solid job offer without much job searching besides using the resources I’ve been given. Then again, I’m not the picky CCer who wants to work for Goldman Sach’s.</p>
<p>But yes, if you go to some community college or some unknown, of course its going to hurt you in this economy.</p>