LOL. it was appropriate timing - I spent New Years Eve with a H grad, a P grad, a Berklee grad, a Chicago grad, an ‘ahem’ Penn State grad, a GVSU grad, a few MSU grads, a Colorado grad, a UMass grad and quite a few Michigan grads (for undergraduate degrees don’t know where most of them got their post-grad work done) and a barber school graduate and one I went to work out of high school for my dad grad And “gasp” we are all actually good friends. Prestige means many things to many people but rarely past about age 30 does one’s undergrad have much bearing socially.
“I disagree that prestige is “regional and local”. I agree that it’s industry/major area specific.”
The totality of your posts suggests to me that’s because you have a very Harvard/Yale/Andover view of the world, and you perceive that to be the national view of what’s prestigious, rather than one that is regional to your particular region.
@pizzagirl: Thank you for enlightening me. I now have a much better understanding of me and my view of the world. I am crawling back ashamed to my corner and let you continue dominate these threads and spread your correct view of the world!
In almost 30 years in the workforce I don’t think I’ve ever worked with a graduate of Harvard, Yale, or Andover–and I’ve worked for corporations in several sectors of the economy. The head of my current company went to a directional I had never heard of before he was hired.
Benley, when you say things in such unequivocal terms, like “It’s silly to think that a discussion like this would change how the reality works, so IMO, posters who are carrying out their “secrete agenda” here are fooling themselves” you sort of invite people to respond accordingly.
I have a secret agenda. It’s to help people become better consumers of higher education.
Bentley, none of my local friends went to “prestigious” schools. Local MDs get referrals because they build good reputations.
Very few local people, including son’s HS principal nor his MD, ever heard of his UG college. Fortunately, we heard of it, and it was one of his top choices. For his interests in CS/NS, it worked.
I’d encourage everyone to look for a college that is strong in his/her interests, fits $ constraints, is easy to get to, has a social environment that works (be it a House system or frats), and just educate everyone else on why this school is a good fit.
Prestige does exist. To deny it is the same as saying that snobbery doesn’t exist. There are people who know all the name brands in fashion or the selling price of various cars and will judge people and thereby their success based on them. What’s prestigious to one group may not even be on the radar for others. It is simplistic to say it just doesn’t exist. Does it apply to colleges? Absolutely! Is prestige tied to getting a better product? Yes, frequently, but not unequivocally.
Here’s an interesting personal anecdote regarding prestige. I was born and raised in Brooklyn. Let me tell you, the prestige of that Brooklyn label has climbed drastically in the last few years as real estate values in Brooklyn have surged as Brooklyn’s coolness factor has gone through the roof. Whereas in the eighties I was just a bridge and tunnel kid, now I am regarded by 20’s and 30’s-somethings with new respect and awe 
People who went to schools like NYU, Muhlenberg, Northeastern, USC years ago are getting a lot more bang for the buck today. The prestige of these institutions have gone way up in our popular culture. Is the education itself better too? I’d say yes, as they attract better faculty and better students.
And for my final anecdote. My husband’s Carnegie Mellon degree helped him many years post graduation get a job at a private equity fund among mostly ivy educated former Morgan Stanley and the like associates. It was his years of working experience in real estate that got him recruited for the position, but his college degree from a prestigious enough school made him seem a good fit.
Ok, I’ve got friends and family who went to prestigious colleges- and none of them sit around bragging. Nor are they they sort who elevate themselves over those who went to much lesser schools. They tend to focus on the task at hand, have broad interests, solid friendships and know how and when to relax. hmm. And the same goes for the ones who went to lesser schools. None work in IB, but plenty have or had high pressure jobs and some have made super incomes, some less so. You are what you make of your life and what you give back. (Somehow this thread has missed the ‘giving back’ part.) If someone wants to go work for GS, fine. But I’m still going to view them based on the sum total of their qualities, not just because they have some elite diploma and/or more toys and perks.
The gang I hung out with on New Year’s Eve included only one other college grad- and her school is long defunct. I doubt most of them have the vaguest idea what goes on at Harvard, Stanford or you name it- (Or even the local Ivy.) To them, the local business oriented college is the tops. So be it.
What I’ve noticed is that those who have earned really distinguished educations ( multiple degrees including post doc from Ivy universities), are the most humble and the most aware that despite how much * they do know[/], there is even MORE that they * don’t know*.
They also will never allow anyone to refer to them as " Dr", unless they are actually a practicing physician and that person is seeing them in that role.
The one instance that I know of where your undergrad school is a make or deal is if you wanted to clerk for a certain federal judge. She had a very short list of school from which she would accept applicants.
All were much fancier than her alma mater incidentally.
So if one says they feel prestige exists, it is somehow an indication of their values, friendships, lifestyle and personality? Because somehow that’s the self righteous vibe I’m getting here. Lots of judgement for a crowd who doesn’t want others to draw conclusions about their intelligence or success based on their schooling.
For the record I attended two CUNY’s for undergrad and grad school and got an excellent education. New Year’s was spent with mostly CUNY and SUNY grads. My husband was the only private school grad among our friends. Ironically he was originally a MT student at Carnegie Mellon, but changed to an economics major as a sophomore. And yes, the prestige of that degree did help him career wise.
@uskoolfish: I don’t see people saying that prestige doesn’t exist anywhere. I do see people saying that what is considered prestigious (and how important prestige is) depends on the crowd, and what you consider prestigious(or even care about prestige at all) does say something about you.
(BTW, as an aside, I actually know where a few of the folks who are saying that prestige is in the eye of the beholder went to college, and I’m going to venture the guess that they wouldn’t mind if anyone drew conclusions about their intelligence and success based on where they went to school.)
@emeraldkity4 agreed. My math teacher is an Engineering Physics PhD from Cornell, and he’s the most humble guy (and the nicest guy) you’ll ever meet (he admits that he’d be failing his own class because he makes lots of silly mistakes and there’s no partial credit). Even if he’s not the best teacher, everybody loves him. Some people call him Mr., some call him Dr.; he doesn’t really seem to have a preference for one or the other.
Maybe you have worked with someone from these schools and they are too embarrassed to say so? My brother always mumbled his response to questions asking where he went to school. Prestige exists but sometimes it doesn’t work the way you want or expect.
Err…no, contrary to rumors Penn does not confer bubbles to their new graduates at commencement. There are even mixed (gasp!) marriages.
Those aren’t bubbles. They’re Mister Franklin’s Hoi Polloi Infection Prevention Devices ™.
Ironically, Franklin founded UPenn for the hoi polloi. He wasn’t interested in setting up a school that just focused on book-learning (like the colleges located in New England, where he came from).
@mfamum, I’m curious, what working experience do you have?
Because I know what I see in various workplaces and so do other posters on here.
Again, I don’t see people say that there is no prestige or pecking order anywhere. I do see people say that the order may differ or matter more/less depending on the context.
mfamum, I’m going to assume you do not have married children or kids who are at that stage in life yet.
Once you do, I can assure you that whether they graduated from SUNY Buffalo or from Harvard is absolutely the last thing on your mind.
I have friends whose kids have brought home 30 year old men with felony convictions, or 28 year old women who are “back in rehab”. Going to an Ivy League university doesn’t mean that you are immune from any of the social or criminal ills that plague society. Believe me- my friends would be delighted with an honest, drug free son or daughter in law vs. the “prestige educated” partners their kids are seriously dating. Do you want to have to lock the medicine cabinet every time your kid comes home for a visit because the romantic partner is hustling for Oxy or Vicodin in your bathroom? And has a rap sheet along with that fancy sheepskin with the nice Latin honors from prestige U?
As long as my kids end up with partners who are honest and kind and hard-working and are not on the Federal “Do not Fly” list because they are terrorists or traitors, I’m thrilled to invite them into the family.
Your posts are now sounding ridiculous.
No one has said prestige doesn’t exist. What is considered prestigious depends on your cohort, and the extent to which “what about teh prestige???” drives your decision-making says a LOT about someone (and not at all flattering).
And really, mfamum, I find it hard to believe you’re a mother and not a high school kid.
The most “prestigious” people don’t need to chase, display or judge based on prestige. They are above that. It is the insecure wannabes who insist that “UPenn grads don’t deign to talk to or mingle with Penn State grads.”
One of my top 20 - undergrad-and-grad degree friends married a guy from Northern Illinois University. He held her hand as she lay dying from cancer and assured her that their three children, including one with special needs, would be taken care of. Trust me, none of us GAS that he didn’t go to a “prestige” school. Maybe you would have.
Though, @mfamum, if you are concerned only with marrying your kids up (or to the same level), then yes, assortive mating does occur. So if you want to snag a spouse with a high SAT score, the colleges that feature those would be more fertile territory.
Though if you think that expressing disapproval at your offspring bringing home a state school grad will give you the desired results, all I can say is “good luck”.