applejack

I was actually just recently struck by this issue in my life.

I am enough years out of college that networks and all that boohonky have no bearing on my life and my abilities are measured much more by what I've done since college than what I did at Cornell. Nevertheless, I have had two job opportunities in which the hiring bosses went to Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.

Would I have gotten an interview from these particular persons if I didn't go to a school at least within the same realm of quality and reputation as the schools they went to? I would like to think so, but I don't know. Both were very down to earth, caring people working to build a sustainable world. Yet both clearly had an affinity for hiring from top tier schools. Everybody in our departments - even interns - at least went to Duke or Georgetown.

I've met too many brilliant people from very mediocre schools to believe the hype. Yet perhaps the ones who hold the salaries have the biases that reinforce the notion that a top school is important.