<p>I don’t think what researchers here are trying to measure is purely nature vs nurture. Going back to the hypothesis, prestige is also a factor. It is a perception held by many that the best and brightest students attend tier 1 schools and therefore get the best education. Based on the prestige (reputation) of a degree from a highly ranked school, more people are hired for the most lucrative jobs. The question is: can the lack of prestige of some applicants undergrad degrees be overcome by graduate work. If it can, then those candidates from tier 1 through tier 4 schools should be perceived as strong candidates and hired for the same jobs at the same salary after attending a highly ranked grad program. </p>
<p>In other words, most people will agree that the best outcome from college would be when a student comes into a program with a high level of potential (nature) and that in the program their educational needs are best met (nurture.) The prestige factor comes into play when people assume that those with the most potential will only get the best outcome from prestigious (highly ranked schools ). So how much weight does the prestige factor hold in the hiring practice? That is a factor that influences some of the income numbers. </p>
<p>I’ll give an example of what I mean. The top accounting firms in NYC will recruit along with finance and consulting companies at tier 1 schools in NYC like NYU and Columbia. But the top accounting firms will also recruit at Cuny Baruch (tier 4, but highly regarded program ) for the same accounting positions and lots of very bright students accepted into Columbia and NYU will go to Baruch knowing they can land the same job. . So in this case the prestige factor is not as clearly defined among tiers. But later, if that same Baruch student tried to get into a tier 1 MBA program , with identical work experience, same gpa, same scores, they might not be accepted. (The variable being the prestige–or lack of prestige-- of his undergrad program to admissions .) And if he is accepted and goes from Baruch undergrad to Columbia grad, but wants to now switch to finance, he might be behind in salary compared to the student who went to NYU, worked in the same acctg firm and went to Columbia for an MBA.</p>