The Issue of Prestige in Schools

College Search & Selection
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<p>
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There will always be some amount of attention paid to the 'name' of the school you went to and it may open a few doors, but will rarely get you the job. The old saying that the CV gets you the interview, but the interview gets you the job is very much true. </p>

<p>Coming from a prestegious university is certainly not going to hurt and in many cases it will get you noticed and perhaps give one a few bonus points relative to another candidate coming from a 'lesser' university. However, eventually the person-to-person interaction and your professional presentation must take over to secure a job offer. </p>

<p>If I had to choose between two candidates that were otherwise identical, and performed equally in interviews, then I'd be lying if I said I'd totally ignore where they got their degree, but I'd certainly be looking more closely for other indicators first such as leadership trackrecord, interview performance ect.

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<p>Well, the truth is, most hiring is actually done through networking. What a top college provides is access to a better network. For example, most of the early employees at Google were old Stanford buddies of Sergey and Larry. Steve Ballmer is CEO of Microsoft basically because he was Bill Gates's old poker-playing buddy at Currier House at Harvard.</p>

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<p>Though lots of hiring is done through networking, it's not necessarily networking that's done in or through college.</p>

<p>Take my brother, who just graduated from Prestige, Networked U. When he was looking for a job, the Ivy League fairy did not put his resume in the hands of influential people-- instead, he had to work his way through the front door, like everybody else, sending off about 70 letters to various firms. He got two responses, and one went so far as to offer him a summer internship, and then offered him a full-time job. His job pays well (as well as those of his friends doing consulting) and is challenging and interesting to him. The other recently hired co-worker? She is from Local U.</p>

<p>**</p>

<p>I don't know how other schools work, but I am forbidden to ask alumni from my Prestige U for jobs, so I don't really see how the alumni network is going to work in my favor, besides the chance encounter with a fellow alum.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
When he was looking for a job, the Ivy League fairy did not put his resume in the hands of influential people-- instead, he had to work his way through the front door, like everybody else, sending off about 70 letters to various firms. He got two responses, and one went so far as to offer him a summer internship, and then offered him a full-time job. His job pays well (as well as those of his friends doing consulting) and is challenging and interesting to him. The other recently hired co-worker? She is from Local U.

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<p>Uh, well, it just seems that your brother didn't use his network correctly, or just didn't want to use it. Hey, that's fine. You don't have to use your network if you don't want to. But the point is, it is THERE. If you want to use it and know how to use it, you can use it. </p>

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I don't know how other schools work, but I am forbidden to ask alumni from my Prestige U for jobs, so I don't really see how the alumni network is going to work in my favor, besides the chance encounter with a fellow alum.

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<p>Uh, you are 'forbidden' to ask alumni for jobs? Why? Isn't that a violation of free speech? Seems to me that you have the right to ask anybody for anything that you want, and it's up to them to decide whether they want to give it to you.</p>

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<p>Well, it is the University of Chicago..... :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>First, I don't think it was ever made clear to my brother how to use his alumni network. Maybe it was. But think about it: anybody who has the stamina and the motivation to put in 70 letters also has the stamina and motivation to use an alumni network. I should also note that I don't think his field was one that many at his school went into. He's not into the i-banking scene.</p>

<p>As for my school, I think the idea is that there are many high-power alumni, and, in exchange for serving as a resource for students (one is certainly free to e-mail them, call them, ask them about their undergraduate experience, ask them what their jobs are like, etc). An alum does not have to be bothered by undergrads saying the equivalent of "OMG OMG DO YOU HAVE A JOB FOR ME PLZ?" Honestly, spamming alumni in this regard seems quite unprofessional, and if I were a future employer, I might look down on an applicant who thought that he or she could get a job at my place just BECAUSE we shared a place of study in common. The career office probably frowns down on it for exactly this reason. If an undergraduate wanted to go ahead and pester somebody for a job, well, that's just abuse of a privilege, in their eyes. I don't disagree.</p>

<p>At the same time, one can certainly establish an alumni as a contact and an informal advisor, and I'm sure that employers are certainly biased when they read a resume and the name of the school is familiar to them.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
First, I don't think it was ever made clear to my brother how to use his alumni network. Maybe it was. But think about it: anybody who has the stamina and the motivation to put in 70 letters also has the stamina and motivation to use an alumni network. I should also note that I don't think his field was one that many at his school went into. He's not into the i-banking scene.

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<p>Oh, I don't know. I would argue that some people are quite uncomfortable about 'hitting people up' for help, and would rather just do things the formal way. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just that that's not the only way to get things done. </p>

<p>
[quote]
As for my school, I think the idea is that there are many high-power alumni, and, in exchange for serving as a resource for students (one is certainly free to e-mail them, call them, ask them about their undergraduate experience, ask them what their jobs are like, etc). An alum does not have to be bothered by undergrads saying the equivalent of "OMG OMG DO YOU HAVE A JOB FOR ME PLZ?" Honestly, spamming alumni in this regard seems quite unprofessional, and if I were a future employer, I might look down on an applicant who thought that he or she could get a job at my place just BECAUSE we shared a place of study in common. The career office probably frowns down on it for exactly this reason. If an undergraduate wanted to go ahead and pester somebody for a job, well, that's just abuse of a privilege, in their eyes. I don't disagree.

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<p>Uh, there's a pretty big difference between what you said before and now, don't you think? There's a big difference between using your network to ask for jobs and going around pestering people or relying on spam. Hopefully if you can get into a top school, then you know how to use tact, and you know how to schmooze.</p>

<p>I'm not talking about 'spamming' people. I'm talking about chatting people up during, say, alumni events. Meeting people through friends of friends. Basically being a social animal. Or engaging in business ventures together (i.e. all of the Facebook founders were not-so-coincidentally all housemates at Harvard). Nobody is saying that you will get a job 'just because' you share a place of study in common. Rather, it's that you have opportunities to close the deal that others don't because you have common social opportunities with which to 'close the deal'. Only UChicago alumni are invited to UChicago alumni events, for example. </p>

<p>Look, nobody is saying to 'pester' anybody. Think about it like asking a girl out. There's a fine line between politely asking for a date and just harrassing a girl for a date. The former is perfectly acceptable, the latter is not. Furthermore, it's easier to get a date if you already have something in common (i.e. common school) because, if nothing else, that can serve as your conversation ice-breaker. Alumni networking operates the same way, but of course with different payoffs (via dating you may ultimately find a wife, whereas alumni networking may ultimately find you a job). </p>

<p>The bottom line is this. Chatting somebody up is obviously a lot easier when both of you actually have something in common. And, let's face it, jobs often times go to those who can chat people up the best.</p>

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If you rely on college confidential too much, you will learn that the ONLY jobs out there worth striving for are I-Banking and consulting. If you can't do those in NYC, then you'll have to settle on being an engineer/medical doctor/lawyer. If you really screw up, you'll have to (shamefully) do something in international relations or dentistry. If you can't go to a top-20 school in one of those fields, your life is over and you'll be flipping burgers, riding a moped, and living in a homeless shelter.

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<p>Oh, how very true. It even describes my mentality sometimes. Thank you CC. :)</p>

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<p>"A prestigious school will help open doors to your first job. After that, it's all about work experience and your skills."</p>

<p>This is true, but note that your first job has a prestige level, too, which will affect how you will be viewed at subsequent jobs. Coming from a more prestigious school gives you a head start. I would say that if you are deciding between a couple of schools, if all other things are more or less equal, it is rational to choose the more prestigious one due to this benefit. But it is not enough of a benefit to overcome other significant differences, such as poor fit, a program that interests you more, etc. I would also say that it's not enough of a benefit to make the difference between schools in the same general tier (i.e., it would not make sense to choose Harvard over Columbia because of prestige alone).</p>