<p>Why are the Ivies so popular? Besides the education and prestige, certain professions (I-Banking comes to mind) practically require you to go to these schools to make connections with your future associates.</p>
<p>I thought that this was a silly reason to choose a college until I started thinking about it. In Alabama, the state schools (U of Alabama and Auburn), the same system is in place. If you want to break into politics or business, you have to attend the state school. Then, later on, you’ll have a great network to work from. </p>
<p>I wonder, do other states have the same situation? Is there a school that locals attend to make the connection? Or is Alabama the only place where cronyism survives?</p>
<p>it’s everywhere Greensleeves. In Calif, many legislators graduated from a UC (primarily Berk of UCLA). In SoCal, USC has a big edge in connections to business and local government.</p>
<p>Greensleeves,</p>
<p>I can tell you that cronyism is alive and well in Kansas. My son did a law internship last summer with one of the largest firms in the state. He was asked on many occasions about his upcoming college plans. At the first mention that he was looking out of state and particularly at some of the elite schools, he was highly discouraged by the local attorneys. They advised him that if he desired to work in Kansas, he should attend the State U. and one of the law schools within the state. If anything, out-of-state schools, particularly the more elite schools, are disrespected here, which shows the general inflated pretentiousness of this area. This may also speak to the value of the networking to which you referred.</p>
<p>~berurah</p>