<p>Audiophile asked, "laxdad,
So your response to the topic's question is that an elite degree dated before 1965 or so was important, but today ???"</p>
<p>To some extent, yes, though that would be an oversimplification. If "important" refers to the quality of the undergraduate educational and intellectual experience, I'd say that today's students at many elite colleges are short changed ... admittedly sometimes because they take the easy course Sakky so eloquently describes. That is in comparison both with students at the same schools fifty years ago when general education curriculum requirements were far more rigorous and with students at their same schools who avail themselves of more rigorous programs today. I'd argue that the "Gentleman's C" student of fifty years ago received a far better undergraduate education than today's B to B+ student who may never have taken a course outside his/her area of comfort.</p>
<p>If "important" means leverage in grad school admissions or getting that first job, I'd say elite schools can open some doors, but not over legitimate high performers from less prestigious schools or people with lower GPAs from programs or schools known to have no grade inflation, such as the service academies. In the poll, I voted for "Unimportant after first job." </p>
<p>One demurral from that: some colleges have very effective alumni support organizations that provide leads for job seekers at all stages in their careers. The better placed the alumni, the more effective the network. For example, service academy alumni who leave the military are disproportionately represented in the top echelons of American corporations and professions. Each academy alumni group has its own computerized job matching network, and the networks are linked. Moreover, a major part of the ethic at the service academies is to look after their own ... as exemplified by the "cooperate and graduate" mantra that often will have a cadet spend time helping a classmate with a subject, even to the detriment of his/her own grade. Individually and combined, these networks appear more comprehensive and effective than that of the top tier college I attended so many years ago. Thus, it is probably true that a degree from a service academy offers more leverage over the years even than degrees from many other elite undergraduate institutions. </p>
<p>But perhaps the grad school/job search success of academy grads has little to do with the alumni ... service academy grads may simply be more attractive admits/hirees. The academies (especially West Point) are just about the only places that still to admit under a "whole candidate" system (favoring the proverbial "well rounded person") and to require every student to complete a comprehensive core curriculum that includes all the major disciplines. With that broad background, and after five or more years of active duty during which they dealt with responsibilities far beyond what most recent college grads face, they can't properly be compared with most of their age peers.</p>