<p>This is mainly for those who hire.</p>
<p>What is more important and why?</p>
<p>The school one graduates from for undergrad? or the school one graduates from in graduates school?</p>
<p>Because, let's say someone goes to a state school, but then goes to, let's say, an ivy.</p>
<p>As opposed to someone who went to an ivy, then somewhere else.</p>
<p>Which is better?</p>
<p>Depends on field. I’ve been a hirer for BigLaw and it’s all about the law school.</p>
<p>I work in high tech and it is all about the graduate school… no one cares about the first degree if the second one is from a name brand…</p>
<p>Graduate school.</p>
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<p>Neither. It matters to me where you’ve done your postdoc and what track record you have (publications, presentations, posters, etc.), and how closely your skill set matches the position. Recommendations are a huge factor. I work in biotech.</p>
<p>BB:</p>
<p>Great point - actually in my line of work (computer side of high tech) - for your first job out of college the school will matter - 3-4 year later it is all about what you have done and what you bring to the job - and no one cares about what school.</p>
<p>Either or both; depends on the field.</p>
<p>What types of careers are you considering? And when you say “Ivy” is that a short-cut for just saying a prestigious grad program? Because at the grad level the concept of “ivy” is a misnomer. If you’re choosing an MBA, go to Northwestern over Yale (non-ivy over the Ivy). If it’s law school, go to Stanford over Cornell (all things being equal… but don’t pass up a full ride at Cornell Law school unless the money is irrelevant to your future lifestyle).</p>
<p>But don’t sacrifice your undergrad education to save money for grad school unless you have a very clear career path in mind. Many people don’t go to grad school. Many go for fully funded doctorates (i.e. costs them nothing). Many have employers pay all or part of professional school (MBA, Law, journalism, Master’s in teaching). Many work for a few years to save money and then a combination of aid, savings, and loans can put them through a top grad program. Or have their employers pay the whole tab if they agree to return after finishing the degree.</p>
<p>There are kids at Harvard Business School who went to undergrad schools you never heard of (not many, but a few). There are kids at Yale Law School who went to no-name undergrad (a few, but even fewer than at HBS since Yale law school is so small). There are kids at the top med schools in the country from every sort of undergrad.</p>
<p>So there are ample datapoints that you can get to a top grad program from anywhere. But it is also true that the top grad programs seem disproportionately dominated by kids who graduated from top public and private U’s as undergrads. It is hard to get into a top grad program in Math, for example, coming out a college that is not known as a math powerhouse. (it can be done, but less likely than a kid coming out of Princeton or Berkeley, since the Math professors at the top grad programs are usually quite familiar with the training and exposure you get at the top undergrad schools in math, and not that familiar with the training at lesser schools.)</p>
<p>So does any of this matter? In some fields, where you went to grad school matters a great deal (law, MBA, academia) for certain types of employers. In other fields it doesn’t matter whatsoever (teaching, counseling). In some fields it matters some of the time and not in others. </p>
<p>I would not encourage a young person to pursue a PhD in an academic discipline from a third tier institution. The likelihood that you’d get any quality post-doc experiences, or find a tenure track job in your field is slim. I would not encourage a kid who wanted to be a social worker to take on gobs of debt at either the undergrad or grad level. And if you plan to get an MBA it is worth going for broke at the grad level (I mean that facetiously of course) because in up economies, down economies, or flat economies, an MBA from Wharton or Harvard or Stanford or Northwestern will hold its value better than an MBA from U. New Haven or U. Phoenix. But for public U’s- Michigan, Virginia, UNC, U Texas-- all have very highly regarded MBA programs. But unless I needed to be in Ann Arbor for family or medical reasons… I would take on debt for an MBA from Wharton over Michigan.</p>
<p>YMMV.</p>
<p>I’ve no idea what job I’m looking for. I’m most interested in Electrical Engineering. Could you help me with that category?</p>
<p>In engineering scualum is 99% spot on. The only exception might be in a pure engineering research lab (are there any of those left???) and then burner is right.</p>
<p>I believe most Engineering places hire locally. Why do you need to go to Grad. School for Engineering position? My H is an Electrical Engineer. He got his MBA later because his company paid, he does not need it. His company hires from local school.</p>
<p>So, which/what majors do most people need to attend grad school?</p>
<p>Grad school. That said, experience usually trumps where you went to school.</p>
<p>A Genius - you can go to grad school from just about any major - it all depends what you are interested in. Typically your undergrad major will be related to what you do in grad school though it doesn’t always have to be.</p>
<p>A Genius - people attend grad school from any possible undergrad, from Directional State U to Super Duper Ivy. They attend grad school with any possible major, from Underwater Basketweaving to Nuclear Physics. </p>
<p>For hiring purposes, certain schools give you “smart stamps” and networking opportunities, but really, once you shake the interviewer’s hand and open your mouth, it’s all up to you.</p>