<p>toneranger,</p>
<p>The job market on wall street for run of the mill jobs has always been wide open. So no change there. Shrinking big money job pool? Agreed. All the more reason why pedigree will matter. </p>
<p>When I was getting my MBA (yes, at one of those top schools that place a lot of folks on Wall Street), there was a lot of discussion regarding why employers paid so much for grads of top MBA programs. The buzz then, and it is still in vogue, was that it was due to credentialing. This is not changing. </p>
<p>To put it another way, employers find that it is less work and less risk to pursue good students from elite universities over the “stars” from lesser places. Two reasons that come to mind: 1. The gating criteria to the elite programs at State U. are often far looser than admission to an elite university. Consider for example, how much weight is given to SAT and NM status for these programs, compared to the more holistic approach for admission to an elite college. 2. The criteria for “stardom” at a State U is often far lower. Put another way, A grades are easy (-ier?) if you do the work (and are not an engineering major?)</p>