The Issue of Prestige in Schools

College Search & Selection
1

<p>In looking for a job, does the name or prestige of one's undergraduate school matter, if one did not attend graduate school?</p>

<p>I looked at Bill Coplin's wonderful book: 10 Things Your Employers Want You to Learn in College, and it is quite clear that prestige or name is simply not important. But at the same time, I feel a little hesitant to conclude outright that name is not important.</p>

<p>I'm asking this, because I am really considering going to a liberal arts school, but I'm not sure how far I can get without going to graduate school. These days, a graduate degree means more and more and a mere undergraduate degree less and less. And yet, there is the what if factor that worries me. What if I don't go to graduate school?</p>

<p>I'd really appreciate comments from parents and those with experience with jobs. I probably won't trust college students very much on this issue.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>It helps for ibanking/consulting. For most other fields it doesn't really matter.</p>

3

<p>How often does an employer have to decide between two potential candidates, and decides on the one who came from a brand name undergrad school? I've been told that prestige helps, but I guess it helps very little.</p>

4

<p>dchow, prestige matters. However, what is prestige? To an Engineer, UIUC, Purdue and GT are as prestigious as any university. To an Architect, Cal Poli-SLO, the University of Houston or Kansas State University are very highly regarded. So prestige has many different meanings and they all matter somewhat.</p>

5

<p>it can really depend heavily on the industry and/or the individual employer. Any decently intelligent college grad can work for a consulting firm - but good luck trying to grab that McKinsey job comming from a school outside of the top-50. </p>

<p>I've done a few case studies on the topic. Sometimes, it doesn't matter one bit where you went to college. However, there is alot of evidence to suggest that the better of a college you attend, the more likely you'll be considered for that elite job. The best of the best companies get thousands upon thousands of resumes for a few spots (Microsoft = 100K per month). What's the best way to sort through all of this? Easy, rely on the more elite schools to sort out the brightest and the best for you. If you're at a top-15 school, odds are you're very intelligent, and intelligence is the single biggest factor for predicting overall job performance. </p>

<p>To say prestige helps very little is only partially true. It can help very little. Or, it can be the one thing that gets your resume read for 1 minute rather than the usual 5-6 seconds. </p>

<p>I base my conclusion on case studies done at Cornell (some were Harvard business school ones) and from my parents who have done some heavy recruiting for 2 separate fortune 500 companies over the past few years.</p>

6

<p>"but good luck trying to grab that McKinsey job comming from a school outside of the top-50."</p>

<p>-They've been trying to recruit me. I've ignored their emails, letters, student representatives, and alumni representatives. :)</p>

<p>Just some random information...</p>

7

<p>There is some research out there on this. Some folks have looked at incomes of students who were accepted at prestige U's but for one reason or another decided not to go vs. those who attended. In these studies there is very little difference in life time incomes. Having said that, a lot of relatively low income, high prestige jobs are taken up by grads of prestige schools, e.g. Supreme Court justices and college professors. As far as Inv.banking, consulting and the academic world are concerned, think about it this way, if the institution lists your academic credentials in their promotional material your credentials will matter to them. Generally, in the corporate world this stuff is much less important, especially later in your career.</p>

8

<p>After your first job it will hardly matter, if at all. It can help a little with the first job, but like people have said, prestige means different things to different people.</p>

9

<p>Matters a great deal if you have high aspirations, otherwise doesn't matter.</p>

10

<p>"if you have high aspirations"</p>

<ul>
<li>lol.....</li>
</ul>

11

<p>I'm through with standing in line
to colleges we'll never get in
It's like the bottom of the ninth
and I'm never gonna win
This life hasn't turned out
quite the way I want it to be</p>

<p>(Tell me what you want)</p>

<p>I want a brand new house
on an episode of Cribs
And a bathroom I can play baseball in
And a king size tub big enough
for ten plus me</p>

<p>(Tell me what you need)</p>

<p>I'll need a credit card that's got no limit
And a big black jet with a bedroom in it
Gonna join the mile high club
At thirty-seven thousand feet</p>

<p>(Been there done that)</p>

<p>I want a new BMW full of old finances
My own star on Wallstreet Boulevard
Somewhere between Morgan Stanley and
Leham Brothers is fine for me</p>

<p>(So how ya gonna do it?)</p>

<p>I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame
I'd even cut my hair and change my name</p>

<p>[CHORUS]
'Cause we all just wanna be big Investment stars
And live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the consultant stars
Every good gold digger's
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
With her bleach blond hair</p>

<p>Hey hey I wanna be an Investment Star
Hey hey I wanna be an Investment Star</p>

<p>I wanna be great like Bill Gates without the tassels
Hire eight body guards that love to beat up *******s
Sign a couple autographs
So I can eat my meals for free</p>

<p>(I'll have a quesadilla on the house)</p>

<p>I'm gonna dress my ass
with the latest fashion
Get a front door key to the Playboy mansion
Gonna date a centerfold that loves to
blow my money for me</p>

<p>(So how ya gonna do it?)</p>

<p>I'm gonna trade this life
For fortune and fame
I'd even cut my hair
And change my name</p>

<p>'Cause we all just wanna be big Investment Stars
And live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the Consultant stars
Every good gold digger's
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
With her bleach blond hair
And we'll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary and
today's who's who
They'll get you anything
with that evil smile
Everybody's got a
Big Consultant on speed dial
Hey hey I wanna be an Investment Starr</p>

<p>I'm gonna sing those songs
that offend the censors
Gonna pop my pills
from a pez dispenser
Get washed-up Investors writing all my Investments
Writing em every night so I don't get 'em wrong</p>

<p>Well we all just wanna be big Investment Stars
And live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the Consultant stars
Every good gold digger's
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
With her bleach blond hair
And we'll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary and
today's who's who
They'll get you anything
with that evil smile
Everybody's got a
drug dealer on speed dial
Hey hey I wanna be an Investment Star
Hey hey I wanna be a Investment Star</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
Matters a great deal if you have high aspirations, otherwise doesn't matter.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>thethoughtprocess, how would you define high aspirations?</p>

13

<p>The quality of the education matters more than the prestige associated with the name. However, colleges usually get a prestigious name because of the quality of their education.</p>

14

<p>I dunno, being the best at whatever.</p>

15

<p>I think you can grow both personally and academically at a school that fits you better, even if it's less prestigious, and you'll be better off in the long run than if you'd gone through four years of hating your life at the more prestigious school.</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
I dunno, being the best at whatever.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Awesome, prestige here I come :D!</p>

17

<p>^chuy, that might be true, but whats it say about you if you can't handle being around high achieving people. Keep in mind that top schools very in personality as well. For example, someone at Chicago wouldn't fit in as well at Brown, or someone at Columbia wouldn't fit in that well at Dartmouth.</p>

<p>milki - I don't get it?</p>

18

<p>:confused: I like "being the best at whatever", so I was just implying I'll probably give prestige a bit more chance :)</p>

<p>I'm really torn between prestige and fit. Would overall prestige matter more than prestige in one's career track if they have managerial ambitions?</p>

19

<p>I just thought of something:</p>

<p>Isn't it true that if you were a really hard worker who takes the initiative and does internships, who has experience with leadership, who has the skills that employers are looking for, isn't it true that they will excel at what they do, regardless of what college they went to?</p>

20

<p>I guess dchow, but what if the same person attends a more prestigious university? Would he/she have more opportunities?</p>