Has your "Second-Tier College" Child Outpaced Your "Elite College" Alum?

[sally305]

The place where you find the strongest correlation between swanky sheepskin and high pay is high end law and MBA degrees. If you work at Goldman Sachs or Skadden Arps, there is an extremely high chance that you have a JD or MBA from a top 10 school. And many (but not all) people that get those fancy graduate degrees went to fancy colleges.

There also seem to be regional differences, in that northeasterners seem to be more school-prestige-conscious than others in the same line of work in other regions, based on postings in these forums.

The "who's who" in NYC and Boston and Philly may indeed have degrees from east coast elite schools - but the "who's who" in Chicago often has them from U of Illinois, those in Dallas from UT-Austin, and so on and so forth.

So at the end of the day, as they say, all we have really proved is that prestige is largely regional--a point some of us have been making for years. It just so happens that some of the most high-paying industries are located in the same region of the country as the Ivy League.

(I know this should not come as any surprise to anyone, but CC seems to be the only place in the world where this revelation does not get a "well, duh!")

[CTScoutmom]

More than anything, it depends where you intend to work. If you intend to stay in a particular region, you would do well to go to a school that is prestigious within that region - which may be a state flagship, or a locally known private LAC. A nationally known school will not hurt.

If you want to work in Washington DC, or NYC, you may be better off at HYPS or other nationally known school. If you want to work in London or Paris, again you are better off attending a school known outside the US. There is the benefit of people in those businesses knowing the reputation of your school, but there is also the benefit of networking. You can network at a flagship - and that network may be more beneficial if you are planning on doing business with your state government, or other local businesses. But the elite schools (and I don't mean just HYPS, but some of the smaller LACs) provide a smaller network with a larger reach. It's great to have a huge network, but it's better to have a network that includes that one person that can get you in the door where you want to work.

[sally305]

^^But how many 17 year olds know where they intend to work five or more years later? (Answer: very few.) And how many will change majors (and even colleges) at least once before they graduate? (Answer: very many.)

My midwestern son is attending a little-known LAC in the south. Most people here have never heard of it. This summer, shortly before he left, he met two recent graduates of his college who live and work in our small city. One has a full-time job doing research at a promising biotech startup and the other landed at THE most desirable place for young people in our area--a wildly successful company whose founder just made the Forbes billionaire list. Apparently, the people who read resumes at these two businesses know smart, accomplished kids when they see them...even if they have to do five minutes of internet research on their alma mater before deciding to give them a chance.

[moonchik]

What a great thread! So true about hard work, motivation, and personal qualities being the decisive factor, rather than the alma mater.

Do you think though, that in some lines of business pedigree is more essential? For example, academia/research?

[sally305]

No. For academia/research it's all about the PhD. And students from obscure colleges with hands-on experience, good grades, and commitment do very well getting into PhD programs.

[ucbalumnus]

Originally Posted by moonchik

Do you think though, that in some lines of business pedigree is more essential? For example, academia/research?

Likely any school-prestige effects would depend on your PhD school (in terms of its prestige in that subject), not your bachelor's degree school, in this case.

[GunnarFox]

For those students not at a well-known college I suggest that they seek entry into honors programs offered in their major. It's always good to add a bit more luster and distinction to a diploma, if possible. The competition is tough out there and students may benefit from playing all the angles.

Best,
Gunnar Fox

[LongRangePlan]

My youngest is a freshman so it's too soon to compare. But my oldest, who chose a small, regional private school in our state, where he received generous merit and athletic scholarships, will graduate (4 years) in May...and already has a job offer waiting for him upon graduation, in his field. He's thrilled. The job is with the company with which he interned junior year. He impressed them; they want him, and he LIKES them. Salary and benefits are good, S really likes the location, it's not too far from family...he is HAPPY. Isn't that what it's all about?

[Tarheel1960]

I come from a large family and there were plenty of us that went to State Schools and a few Ivy leaguers... The Ivy Leaguers ended up at about average(financially speaking), when compared to the rest of the family.

[momofthreeboys]

In watching our friend's kids and where they landing and where they are today three years out of college there doesn't seem to be huge salary differences between the prestigious college kids vs. state kids. We don't know enough quantity wise to make any kind of statistically relevant observations, but this is what we're seeing. No one is living or did live in their parents basement so I guess "we" as a group are ahead of the curve. Of course, the ones that are doing the "best" in terms of salary/job are those that went to work for their family businesses.

I think GFC touched on a not often talked about area and that is social aptitude. Socially inept people have a much harder time because they generally don't interview well.

[texaspg]

Talking of twins, does anyone know where the daughter of President Bush who went to Yale ended up?

The one that went to U Texas wrote a book, spent time in Africa and does some stories for NBC (dont know if she still does) but the one who was at Yale disappeared from the grid.

[jym626]

According to all things wiki, Barbara Bush (the Yalie)

lives in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City.[5] Recently she has been working for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, a subsidiary of the Smithsonian Institution.[6][7] Previously, she had been working with AIDS patients in Africa, in Tanzania, South Africa, and Botswana, among other places, through a program sponsored by the Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine's International Pediatrics AIDS Initiative[8][9][10][11] She is the co-founder and president of a public health-focused non-profit, Global Health Corps.[12]
In 2009, Global Health Corps won a prestigious Draper Richards Foundation Fellowship.[13]

[texaspg]

I wonder why people don't mention her much.

[sevmom]

Barbara's probably just chosen to keep a lower profile. Has not married yet like her sister (a wedding always creates buzz) and is not on TV. Doesn't seem unusual to me at all. She may be out there just trying to live her life and be productive.

[GunnarFox]

Totally agree with northwesty that swanky degrees open doors in law and banking. There is an unreal credential fetish at work in those environments.

But also agree with TheGFG that the Republic of Texas is kind of a unique place. If you blew the doors off of Baylor or U.T. Law School I wouldn't count you out in competition with a Stanford, Yale or Harvard Law grad for a spot at a blue chip firm in Dallas or Houston. No way.