<p>I found this article intriguing. We are all working hard to get into BS with one of the potential goals (admitted or otherwise) of getting into ivies and top colleges. In light of this article, do you still think we are on the right track pursuing BS? What are your thoughts? </p>
<p>The cited WSJ journal measured the number of times a college was mentioned as somewhere a firm recruited from and the colleges with the most mentions were deemed “most desirable” by firms. I don’t think you need to conduct research to determine that state schools with 50,000 undergrads will be mentioned more than Ivy’s with under 5 to 10 thousand undergrads. Furthermore, the survey covered many sectors, including “waste management” and “recreation”. To be completely candid, most Ivy League graduates are not trying to pursue a career in the aforementioned sectors. So take the article with a grain of salt; depending on your interests/what you plan to have a career in, Ivy League and other similar top schools are definitely still worth it</p>
<p>If you really want the good, bad and the ugly on what students really think about the colleges they attend, go to student review.com.</p>
<p>Jersey13, Looks like you didn’t read the article closely, they are mentioning “in nearly 30 industries including finance, consulting, marketing and technology,” not just waste management etc. These include all top employment fields including wall st and high tech.</p>
<p>I browse the forum but had to chime in. I’m the head of recruitment for a Fortune 500 multi-national in information services. As usual, the article is too general to be taken at face value but there are some truths in there. </p>
<p>For undergrad I agree that, if you’re only goal is to get a good job, Ivy doesn’t give you an enormous leg up with us versus University of Virginia or University of Michigan. We won’t attract the top MIT or CalTech grad so we don’t even try. The capabilities, intelligence and knowledge differences between Ivy and top state school grads at the undergrad level are trivial.</p>
<p>When we look at graduate students (business school, law, pharmacology, etc) we absolutely go for the top 10-20 schools though. So, in a nutshell, save your undergrad dollars and put it toward a great graduate education.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there are lots of reasons to attend an Ivy other than getting that perfect job. Quality of faculty, the connections one makes, and special departments and programs all have important value. Make your undergrad decision based on what interests you the most; if you are a stellar individual it won’t matter if you are in a top 10 school or a top 50 school.</p>
<p>^^sounds very much like the top BS decision – just replace “perfect job” with “ivy league college”.</p>
<p>^Truthfully, I find that early education (secondary school) has a larger impact than college. Although sometimes college serves as a proxy since better secondary school students tend to go to better colleges. We look for a global mindset, independence, creativity and, of course, a strong intellect in our employees. These traits are really formed at the early stages. They can be developed at a boarding school, a quality day school or a top notch public school provided the student has the right motivation and peers.</p>
<p>Having attended a reasonably good day school (Cranbrook) I can tell you that it made a real difference in my habits and mindset and I recommend a similar path to families who can afford to do so. Just pick the one that gets the student excited and motivated otherwise it’s money down the drain. Hard work is a drag unless you’re having fun at the same time.</p>