Hi all So my family was discussing the makeup of SCOTUS and knew to describe Yale grads as Yalies or Elis but what of other colleges? how do you describe a college grad from say Harvard? Columbia? Duke? Notre Dame? U of Cs etc. Thanks!
Cornell alums are Cornellians. Purdue grads tend to refer to themselves as Boilermakers.
For many schools, the sports mascot (or some variation of the mascot) is used.
But some schools have an additional or separate nickname for students and alums.
Like ND = Domers. Or UVA = Wahoos.
I think Columbia is really missing out on something by not calling their grads ‘Columni’. I personally call myself a Yalie but I know others who prefer Eli.
Michigan grads are Wolverines (but so are fans).
University of Virginia Wahoos
Virginia Tech Hokies
Some schools have a good term, others don’t.
Williams students/alumni are definitely “Ephs” (rhymes with “reefs”; comes from “Ephraim Williams”). But what about Amherst students/alumni? At one time, the term “Jeffs” existed (after Lord Jeffery Amherst). But Lord Jeff was recently dropped as a mascot and replaced by a mammoth. Can an Amherst grad be called a “Mammoth”? Have not heard this usage, at least not yet.
How do you properly describe grads of various colleges ?
Either as employed or unemployed.
For most Big Ten schools people use the name of the sports teams—Wolverines, Spartans, Buckeyes, Boilermakers, Badgers, Gophers, Illini, Hawkeyes, etc. Not sure about Indiana since “Hoosiers” is used both for IU’s sports teams and for any resident of the state of Indiana. “Michigan man” is also a time-honored term, but you rarely hear the female equivalent. And in some circles I’ve traveled in people have referred to a “Michigan mafia,” not referring to criminal conduct but to tightly knit alumni loyalties and patronage networks that appear to outsiders akin to a secret society.
Among smaller colleges here in Minnesota we have “Carls” (Carlton), “Oles” (pronounced OH-lees, for St. Olaf), Tommies (University of St. Thomas), and Johnnies (St. John’s University).
Oberlin grads I know refer to themselves as “Obies.” Swarthmore grads are “Swatties,” Haverford grads are “Fords,” and Bryn Mawr grads are “Mawrtyrs.”
I thought Elis only lived in crossword puzzles.
Reedies are Reedies. Twas ever thus.
It pretty much never comes up in the conversations I have.
I/my child/my neighbor graduated from Harvard/Columbia/Duke/Notre Dame/UCLA, etc.
“It pretty much never comes up in the conversations I have.”
The content of your conversations, however, is not what the OP is asking about.
Caltech students are “techers”, which looks like teachers if I’m skimming text. They don’t use “Beavers” except for sports.
But, they also have “demonyms” (word I learned recently) for their Houses. Those would be Moles, Darbs, Flems, Skurves, Lloydies, Pageboys, Rudds, and Averites.
As someone referenced upthread, Cornell grads, students, parents are proudly referred to as ‘Cornellians’
Yes I included parents because that’s the culture. I’m a very proud Cornellian even though I’m truly a Golden Bear (or Cal grad).
I’m guessing the rest of Ivies:
Harvard = Harvardian
Princeton = Princetonian?
Brown = Brunonian
Dartmouth = Dartie?
Penn = Quaker?
Columbia = Columbian?
California schools typically go by mascots. Trojans, Bruins, Golden Bears, Aztecs, Tritons
Harvey Mudd students are Mudders. And their moms are a “Mudder Of a Mudder”. 
William & Mary calls itself a tribe, so they commonly use phrases like “One Tribe, One Family.” Or “Welcome to the Tribe.” The alumni often describe themselves as a “member of the Tribe,” but officially the mascot is the Griffin. When I first entered college, I thought it was cute and very family-like but lately I can’t help but feel like it might be a bit problematic.
As stated above, UW-Madison students, grads, players, and fans are Badgers.
Gauchos, Aggies, Anteaters, Slugs.
Corbett I forgot Anteaters, Cardinals (do Stanford peeps call themselves that?), Gauchos.
What do the Cal Poly schools go by? Their mascot? Mustangs and Broncos?