I know a fairly recent grad working in IB at Goldman Sachs who graduated from a public university. And not anywhere near one of the favorite public universities on this board. It’s possible.
I think the bigger banks have become more open to hiring from a wide field of schools. Most of them do video interviews for the first round so they’re able to look at a massive amount of candidates. They still favor the top schools, especially for the better groups, but the bulge brackets are becoming more diverse. The elite boutique banks have smaller programs and are generally more lucrative for those pursuing finance as a career because they have better exit opportunities, and those places lean almost exclusively on “top” schools just because it would be inefficient to look beyond that given their hiring capacity.
If you look at the rookie analyst class at most BBs you’ll see 50-75% of new hires coming from a cluster of top schools and the remaining spots sprinkled with a kid here and a kid there coming form non targets. So yes it’s possible. That said, if you look at the size of that school and number of potential applicants majoring in finance, econ, engineering, math , etc (yes they can major in anything but typically come from a few areas), you’ll see that the one kid form state U X at BB Y had to beat out hundreds just within his own university and then the rest of the pool. Maybe s/he’s the only kid at their school that wanted to work in banking but not likely. It’s just very difficult. That same kid would have done quite well anywhere. But he really has to stand out to just get noticed.
Once she’s in, on one cares where they went to school (until they try to get in a top MBA program or a PE / Hedge Fund that cares about pedigree (which many do).
I used to think maybe 5% of public schools would be competitive at top colleges, but I upped this to 20% because I see so many good students attending Honors at state schools due to various reasons and also, rejected students probably would have done just as well academically.
@rickle1 That’s a good point. Having the pedigree of a top school on your resume for buyside interviews is very very helpful. Even from a good bank it’s harder to jump to PE/HF if you attended a school that rarely sends people down that path.
These conversations on CC always seem to circle back around to the narrow field of finance where a small group of employers are very selective school aware. There is a wide world of fields that students pursue outside of high finance.(More students than not.)
Fwiw, our real world, anecdotal experience with our kids (who have had zero interest in banking/finance) is that their college of attendance and post-UG pursuits have not been correlated in a way where their UG institution limited their future opportunities.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Because otherwise, their argument falls apart entirely, and then they may question the exorbitant cost of those schools. 
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I work in the digital creative department of a large, global company. We don’t care if you went to the best art school or graduated from the art program of a state school. We don’t care if you graduated from an Ivy English program or the journalism program of a state school.
We care about what’s in your portfolio and if you have the raw writing/design talent. I attended a Jesuit college. My colleague attended a state school. We both have the same senior-level editorial position.
In some fields, it is most definitely more about WHAT you did while at whatever school you attended than what that school was. 
@itsgettingreal17 Most of the people who attend the top schools are either very financially well off or on considerable aid. No one is advocating going into debt to study philosophy at Yale. I think the pushback you get is because you try to portray it like going to a more prestigious school is a waste of money (it’s not). And pointing out a couple of fields (very popular fields at many schools) where it matters a lot provides a more holistic picture of this debate.
@lmao2018 I agree. If I had the money already saved in a 529 plan and my daughter wanted a field that did not require a protracted and expensive graduate degree, I could easily see paying full price for Yale, if that was the school with the best fit. I don’t see it as a waste of money at all. I would also pay full price at many other schools, if that is where she wanted to go. There is a huge difference between saying something is not worth paying for and something is not worth going into debt for.
@lmao2018 You obviously haven’t read some of the other recent threads advocating significant debt for [insert top school]. And it always circles back to PE/HF finance careers, even when the OP has not indicated any interest in finance (and most won’t even end up with an offer from one of the referenced companies). I don’t think an elite education is a waste of money. I do, however, think it’s not worth the going rate, particularly if any serious financial stretch or debt beyond the federal student loans is required. You may believe everyone is full pay or considerable aid at these schools, but there is a sizeable percentage of families going into heavy debt to afford these schools because they think, as many CC families do, that these schools will guarantee future success. And the example given of such promise is, yet again, finance. It’s a very circular discussion. I also note that many, if not most, go into these careers solely for the high starting salaries and lack of any clear direction of what they want to do longer term. I think CC does students a disservice by stressing the importance of a limited number of schools and one or two particular career paths.
@itsgettingreal17 the financial aid system is far from perfect, but from what I’ve seen it generally does a good job of preventing people from needing to take out much debt. Maybe there’s a better article then this because I only looked briefly: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/15/student-borrowers-from-these-10-colleges-graduate-with-the-least-debt.html
Top colleges seem to have few graduates with debt and a very reasonable amount of debt if any. It seems like a rare case where it requires significant loans to attend these schools. Perhaps when parents aren’t supportive or really weird financial situations, but there’s a strong emphasis on making the school financially viable as to not lose out on strong applicants (thus need-blind admission).
In terms of long-term earnings I think the general trend is that better schools lead to better pay both in the short and long-term. Again, there are likely better studies: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/09/14/this-chart-shows-why-parents-push-their-kids-so-hard-to-get-into-ivy-league-schools/?utm_term=.6cdceec3136f
I’m not saying you can’t succeed or make a ton of money from other schools, but top schools do seem to make it easier to do so.
Maybe finance/consulting is talked about a lot in this thread, but if someone has no interest in those fields then they can ignore it.
My general thought is that this thread’s title is mislabeled. It does matter where you attend, but no matter where you attend you can still lead a successful and happy life.
@lmao2018 The lists discussing student debt are discussing student debt. They don’t acknowledge **parental ** debt. As a family who cannot come even close to meeting our EFC, I can say that the only way we could afford our EFC would be if we were willing to take out loans in order to fund college across all of our kids. It is a fallacy to say that just b/c you don’t see high debt listed means that schools are affordable. Parents can take on debt OR students who can’t afford their EFC don’t attend those schools that are unaffordable (the latter is the approach our family takes. We are far from being unique. Our approach is affordability drives college attendance bc we refuse to take out loans. 100% meets-need schools that don’t offer scholarships are not even an option for applications bc we know they are unaffordable from the get-go.)
FWIW, not everyone agrees that where you attend matters (at least not to the degree argued on CC where elites are defined as the clearly superior path). Kids who attend flagships, lesser state schools, etc can and do work/attend grad school right alongside those elite school grads. Is that how you are defining “successful or happy life” or are you suggesting some parallel but not quite equal outcomes? I know that truly equal outcomes are a reality b/c my adult children have attended those “lesser” schools and have had similar outcomes as their “elite” school peers.
I think it does matter where you go to school… in the sense that the student needs to like the school and feel comfortable there. It should also be affordable.
My older D attended a small instate school that most here have never heard of. She went on to grad school (necessary in her field) and had a job before she graduated. She is living on her own and is 100% self supportive… in an expensive city. She works alongside peers who completed their undergrad at much higher ranked schools.
Other D had no interest in an Ivy or “elite” LAC. We visited several. She attends a very strong flagshiip. I keep repeating myself: she has the same opportunities as her friends who attend Ivy League schools. She is missing out on …nothing.
When I was working as a security guard one of my coworkers had a Bachelors degree in Cultural Anthropology from California State Channel Islands, another had a Masters Degree in Information Technology and another one had a Masters Degree in Psychology. My roommate from college who got his Bachelors in Chicano Studies from UCSB ended up becoming a massage therapist.
@twogirls since neither of your daughters went to an ivy or elite LAC you really don’t know if they missed out an anything or not.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek what is it about EFC that makes it such that colleges think you can pay much more than you are actually able to? The top schools have the most lenient financial aid policies: http://time.com/money/4474375/best-colleges-need-based-financial-aid/
Do you have information/data about unmet need by school? I would imagine the best proxy for that is the student debt percentage?
To take you at face value then you’re implying attending any commmunity college is the same as attending Harvard. I would say it clearly does matter. Rather you attend Penn State or St. Joes matters. They’re very different atmospheres, communities, and campuses. Rather you attend Harvard or Stanford matters for the same reason. If the same person were to attend any two schools then they would likely end up at a different places based on a myriad of factors. Where you attend does matter.
Do you think the Washington Post article I posted is wrong? I’m sure there are flaws in it but I think it does show the general trend/outcome. If there are better studies then they would be helpful for this discussion.
In your case you talk about how anecdotally your kids now attend the same schools or work at the same places a people from top schools. That surely happens all the time. The data available on grad schools admissions and job placement simply suggest that you’re less likely to get there from the lower ranked schools, but it’s still very possible in most fields/studies. Top schools provide a more competitive environment, have greater funding, possess greater alumni connections, and have a better track record of students to help validate future candidates. That’s all overcome by enough intelligence and work ethic.
Then to the controversial point of finance/consulting: http://time.com/money/3034805/ivy-league-careers-business-finance-nonprofits/
If 25-30% of college graduates pursue the field and it’s most common career path at a wide-variety of schools then it’s certainly worth discussing a good amount. Here it does matter a lot where you attend, but if someone is capable then they can still frequently crack in from a lower school. It’s just that this field is selective enough to limit some post-grad opportunities to certain schools, so the path to success is more winding if attending a non-target.
My older daughter attended an undergraduate school that is very well respected in her field. When she entered grad school she was told by the dept head that she was extremely well prepared and had strong internship experiences. Ivy League schools do not have her major.
My younger D has an impressive resume with several research positions, an internship at a world renown institution, strong leadership positions, participation in conferences, etc. She is very close with her professors and has met some very influential people. She is at a well known flagship.
I know her high school friends very well… some attend Ivies. She has the same opportunities that they do… and more. Last summer one of these friends could not find an internship… and it was already May. Ivy League schools are outstanding… nobody is disputing that. However… believe it or not, there are students out there…who can have similar experiences… at non Ivy schools.
I agree that if you want certain fields, an Ivy League school is beneficial if you can afford one.
If you attend a top school within your field of study, then even if it’s not a super highly ranked University overall, it clearly sets you up very well for work/grad school within that field. I apologize if I implied otherwise.
^ I don’t know if you were referring to me. If you were, no offense taken