I really hope this isn't true about Chicago.

aworldapart
Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:10:14 +0000

My sister works for a public relations firm and they recently held a job fair at the University of Chicago.

She had students from the University of Chicago with 3.9 GPA’s who she said she rated significantly lower than people with 2.8 GPA’s from the University of Iowa and Michigan State.

There were two reason for this that she told me.

She said she couldn’t even hold a conversation with some of the University of Chicago students. They didn’t know how to interact with a potential employer and it showed. She said all of the applicants from “less prestigous” universities were personable and were far more polite than the University of Chicago applicants. Some of the U of C students came off as pompous, others as antisocial. Obviously these problems are magnified with a job in public relations, but it plays a large role in virtually any field. Try making it as a doctor who can’t communicate with patients.
University of Chicago students were not adequately prepared for the real world of employment. She said that some of the University of Chicago students turned in applications that made her laugh out loud. One of them used 18 point font and a complete sentence was nowhere to be found. It was apparent that nobody had ever taught them how to write a resume. Another point she made is that the University of Chicago degrees were so broad that it was hard to pinpoint whether they were suitable for the job they were applying for. A degree in social sciences from U of C tells an employer nothing.


In conclusion, you all may think it matters where someone went to college. You may sit there and say, “Of course I would take a brilliant U of Chicago student over a mediocre U of Iowa student.” But in the real world, most employers don’t think that way. If you choose to go to an “elite” school, then good for you, but don’t forget that interpersonal skills are far more important in the real world.

Obviously there are some fields and careers where this may not apply, but I would bet about 90% are this way.



http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/497067-college-name-not-important-interpersonal-skills-most-cases.html

Are students there really that socially awkward and inept?