<p>Does going to an Ivy actually ensure/ help with job success? Or is that mostly a myth?</p>
<p>I think it certainly helps land interviews. There’s a lot to be said for the social capital one acquires with an ivy degree.</p>
<p>I like to quote this study:</p>
<p>“In 1998, Alan B. Krueger looked not just at the earnings of elite-college graduates, but also at the earnings of those accepted at elite colleges who chose to attend a less-selective institution. The researchers found that both groups of students earned about the same. That suggests that the students themselves–not the school–account for the difference. To Krueger, if you’re smart enough to get into Princeton, you’re smart enough to make a lot of money wherever you go to school.” ([Job</a> Pundit: Do Ivy League Colleges really pay?](<a href=“http://www.jobpundit.com/2006/01/do-ivy-league-colleges-really-pay.html]Job”>http://www.jobpundit.com/2006/01/do-ivy-league-colleges-really-pay.html))</p>
<p>There have been a couple of other studies that support Krueger’s conclusion. Far more important than what school you attend is how talented the individual is. Also, where you go to graduate school is more important than your undergrad program in professions like law, business, and medicine. Once you get your grad degree, no one really cares where you did your undergrad – and attending an Ivy League for undergrad hasn’t been shown to be much of an advantage in getting into a top grad school over attending any other top school for undergrad.</p>
<p>Not job success but getting jobs.</p>
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Agreed.</p>
<p>Though I would argue there is one Ivy school that would help you with job success (at least in a particular subset of fields), and that is Penn (Wharton).</p>
<p>It depends what field you’re going into. In some professions going to an Ivy League school will land you an interview, in others it will cause the employer to pass you by. Example: if you want to study wolves, University of Montana is the best place to go. A Harvard or Yale graduate will never be able to trump a U of MT graduate in this field, all other factors being equal, because having gone to the University of Montana has a lot more opportunities and knowledge in this area (seeing as some of their professors are wolf biologists and will take classes down to Yellowstone on field expeditions.) Now, if you want to study birds, Cornell has one of the best bird programs. I’ve never heard anything noteworthy about the other Ivy League schools’ wildlife biology programs and my impression is they are mediocre.</p>
<p>Making connections in school is useful and can definitely open doors later . . . but remember that the Ivy League schools don’t necessarily have the ideal connections IN EVERY FIELD and that the actual education you receive–what you actually learn–is important too. </p>
<p>I think there is a regional bias in play too . . . East coast people seem to be more impressed/set more store by the Ivy Leagues. Around here (the West) Ivy League schools are sometimes sneered at for being (perceived as) effete and stuck up. I could definitely see it being a handicap depending on who is in Human Resources sorting the resumes.</p>
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<p>This isn’t a good argument, since, seriously, how many Ivy grads would actually want to study wolves? How many people in the overall national population actually want to study wolves? That’s a ridiculous example, as it is a very small minority and clearly not representative of a typical field of study (economics, for example).</p>
<p>Ivy League schools come off as very pre-professional, sending most if not all grads to graduate school or professional schools (medical, law, and business). Moneymaking jobs and careers–not going off to the wilderness to study wolves. Please.</p>
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<p>This isn’t exactly true either. Depending which school, the Ivies have 7-15% go on to get a PhD. Typically, ~70-80% of grads of these schools get an advanced degree in something; so I would imagine the number getting an MBA, JD, MD would be below 50% for all eight schools.</p>
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<p>Perception and reality often do not meet on these boards, both in the OP and in this one.</p>
<p>That being said, it certainly has opened doors for me during my time at Brown, however, there’s no telling if I’d be able to nudge my way in through some quality of my own had I not had the Brown name to back me.</p>
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<p>Since they have wildlife biology/forestry programs, it’s a completely reasonable example. What do you think people go to Yale’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology for? Economics or pre-law? Here’s a hint: the page for this department features pictures of a penguin, an ammonite, a forest, and a lemur.</p>
<p>My point isn’t specific to wildlife biology, my point is a student should research what the best school is for their chosen profession is, rather than assuming that the Ivy League is best for everything because, oooo, Ivy League.</p>
<p>For law or economics Yale/Harvard/etc are excellent choices from what I’ve heard. But not everyone is going to study economics or law either.</p>
<p>hotasice, </p>
<p>The poster Naturally was using wolves as an example of one area within Univ. of Montana’s wildlife biology program. That program can be a portal into veterinary school. While that may not be your cup of tea, vet. medicine is a competitive professional degree, and U. of MT would be a better destination for many pre-vet students than Ivy League schools.</p>
<p>I met two vet. students in the last week who are concentrating on wildlife veterinary medicine. (Neither attended U of MT, however.)</p>