<p>Take this situation: two kids equal in ability, one goes to Brown, one goes to Wharton. They both take put in equal effort. Later, they both go for a top, corporate job. It seems the Brown student might actually have a better shot because although the corporation may recruit more at Wharton, the Brown student likely has a higher GPA, less competition from his classmates, and an overall uniqueness because of his “intellectual” background. Also, if Brown is easier as some suggest, that students effort could result in double majors, research, etc. (things that look good, but the Wharton student didn’t have time for).</p>
<p>Does this make sense? Could a student at an “intellectual” university have an advantage over the “pre-professional” student for careers in this way?</p>
<p>Employers aren’t stupid nor single-minded in how they approach hiring. Most importantly, they are hiring a student and not hiring a school. Whether a student comes from Brown or comes from Wharton (or from any Top 20 university) is close to immaterial as what the student says during the interview is going to determine his/her chances of success. The most important question you want to ask is whether ABC College will give you the opportunity to interview with XYZ Employer. After you’ve determined that and gotten into the interviewing room, it’s all about how you express yourself, your choices, your aspirations, your skills, your interests, your experiences. If you’re good, the issue of Brown vs Wharton vs other Top 20 is not a material factor unless there is a hiring firm practice of trying to spread its hiring out across multiple colleges. In this case, the less competitive schools (ie, those with fewer numbers pursuing that job/industry) might actually provide a numbers advantage.</p>
<p>@scansmom, hopefully the Brown student got more internships because, again, classmates weren’t exhausting those resources.</p>
<p>@hawkette, that “numbers advantage” is what I’m thinking about. And the Brown student might have more opportunities for “experiences” to tell in the interview because he didn’t have to deal with all the competition!</p>
<p>Alternatively you can argue that because Wharton is so focused on business, then Wharton students have more available business related experiences than an average Brown student would.</p>
That makes no more sense than suggesting it is better to be a pre-grad student at a pre-professional university because more research opportunities are available.</p>
<p>There are plenty of opportunities to go around, and students typically do not complete internships at their own college (or in that area) during the summer. An art history student, for example, might apply for an internship at the Met or MFA. The Brown student is not competing solely against other Brown students; he’s competing against a number of people from a wide variety of colleges.</p>
<p>jack,
Be careful on that quota strategy as things change. Businesses, schools, even majors can go in and out of fashion. In addition, managements change and they often are the ones setting or changing recruiting practices. If you go to ABC College and XYZ Elite Employer regularly takes 5 from there and only 2 from DEF College, then the numbers can work in your favor. But you’re making potentially faulty assumptions. I think that this gaming approach is sub-optimal on many levels and I’d recommend against it. Pick which college you like best and make that your college. The work/grad school stuff will take care of itself and be dependent on you and your performance.</p>