@boolaHI I would suspect that a similar percentage of students with similar stats as those in the top tier would be graduating in four years at the public school as well. The public’s graduation rate is so low because they have so many more students who are not prepared for college work. A good argument could be made for a student surrounding themselves with others who are as bright as they are if it resulted in collaboration and not cutthroat competition. I can’t speak to that having never attended a top tier university.
I believe it’s called cognitive dissonance. 
I work for an organization that regularly recruits at ten specific schools around the country. They are schools with strong reputations. It is difficult to get an entry-level interview with this organization without being a student at one of these schools. I suppose that there are many organizations with regimented recruiting policies where the same is happening. Obviously it won’t always be the same schools, but chances are that it won’t be a lower tier or lesser-known school unless that school is very local to the organization or has a well-known specific program.
^But most places of employment (by far!) do not “regularly recruit at ten specific schools around the country. They are schools with strong reputations.”. Most (all?) in our hometown recruit locally. I know specifically in the fields of CS and engineering.
@ReadyToRoll, there are some companies outside consulting/the Street who follow the consulting/Street recruitment model, but “supposing” that there are many organizations who do so without actually doing the research to confirm whether that is actually the case strikes me as weak.
That’s why I postulated this on the discussion thread, so that alternative opinions can be expressed. There would be no real way of “doing the research” on this since it’s too broad a topic. Any opinions are likely going to be based on anecdotal evidence, which is actually what I asked for in my first post anyway.
Of course they can find jobs.
It’s just that some doors may be closed to them that would be open to graduates of more highly regarded schools.
Whether this matters depends on what the young person wants.
“Hanna: were you usually right in your assessment of future stars and stragglers or did some kids surprise you one way or the other?”
There were kids who appeared to be in the middle who turned out to be stars or stragglers, probably influenced by their grades – they either got a huge confidence boost or a smack in the face, and it affected how they interviewed. But the outlier kids who walked into the career office as 1Ls and gave everyone a strong impression…they lived up to their billing. They were already 23-25 years old when we met them, so they had pretty much come out of their cocoons, so to speak.
Some people have charisma and likability and warmth and you can tell that employers are going to love them. Others have various interpersonal challenges that you know are going to be roadblocks for them: they come across as ten years younger than they are, or they are so shy that they have trouble speaking to their own counselor, or (rarely) they seem to be selfish jerks. When they left, we’d look at each other and say, “That kid’s going places” or “We’ve got a hard row to hoe helping that kid find a job.”
I think this is a hard thing to research. How does one find out who comes on campus, really, as opposed to just to see the #1 student? Will colleges be very open? Is there a “schedule” that no students can access?
Many colleges have lists of employers that recruit at their school.
If you ask for a list, remember that just because an employer recruits at X college, that doesn’t mean that the company will interview any student who wants to be interviewed. The company may only accept resumes from students in certain majors or those with averages above a specific cut-off point, and even among those students, only some will be interviewed.
Despite this, on-campus recruiting can be a very good way to get a first job.
@HRSMom, if you have an interview, you’ll get a shot. It helps to be able to quiz current students or recent grads to find out who recruits where.
I concur with MiamiDAP, most companies hire locally. Look into top feeder companies to Investment banks and Silicon Valley and you’ll see quickly that they mostly stick to their own coast in hiring, with schools in the immediate area benefitting the most.
This seems like a redux of the thread about doors closing if you don’t go to an Ivy.
You know the old saying…when one door closes, another one opens.
I don’t remember where I saw this, maybe on Stanford’s website, but they had a list of careers that recent grads had within a few months of graduating, and they listed the student’s majors. I was surprised that those who majored in things like sociology or women’s studies or anthropology were hired at investment banks, consulting firms etc. It seems that if you graduate from Stanford you are in demand regardless of what you majored in. I don’t know if a women’s studies major from a less regarded school could get their foot into an investment bank or could they?
@citymama9, very unlikely.
Certainly, if you are aiming for IB or management consulting, where you go to school matters.
Citymama9 my D will be attending what is considered a " top" school and we were also told at a local school dinner ( designed to persuade accepted kids to enroll) recently about sociology and anthropology majors being sought after for Wall St jobs. One recent grad who was a sociology major told us at the dinner that right after graduation she immediately got hired by Wall St and according to her, it was because of the school name. I also do not know if this would happen at a less regarded school- who knows- maybe it would. My older kid is at a school that nobody here has heard of - she loves it and it’s not a highly ranked school- and she has a major requiring a graduate degree. I do not think she would be able to get a job in a consulting firm etc if she chose not to go on to grad school, but who knows. But I also do not think that my older kid has the personality or interest to seek out these jobs.
My D who will be attending this " top" school received very large merit aid awards ( one full tuition and several at almost full tuition) from a few well known " lesser" schools. I am 100% confident that she would be successful if she chose to attend one of them. I believe kids can be successful anywhere.
I just looked at Dickinson site (the college in question). Their total cost is about $48K or so. The top scholarship is between $20K and $22K adding in a supplemental scholarship listed. I don’t see how this comes close to a full ride or even full tuition unless I’m missing something here.
@artie1, some scholarships are stackable, and some schools do not list all the scholarships you can get on a website. Indeed, some schools will throw merit money at their most desired admits in order to convince them to come.
Dickinson’s COA is $63K. Tuition is $48K.
With a $20K Scholarship, you are still well north of $40K net COA.
A lot of $. But a very lovely school.
I’ve said this before, but a kid in our town has a full scholarship to Dickinson. I have to think that the scholarships posted on the website are either a partial list, or can be combined in some way. I found this happened with Syracuse as well - son’s friend got a full tuition scholarship there and this type of scholarship is not listed on the website. I’m pretty sure this happens with many schools.