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True, but you’ll never get a job if you don’t get an interview. You can’t discount the advantage going to a name brand school will give you for getting interviews. You also can’t discount how going to a target school for those lucrative fields like banking and consulting greatly increases your chances at getting an interview. Sure, it is up to you to do well in the interview and no college name can help you there, but you can’t deny that a 4.0 from MIT will get nearly every interview with an engineering company that he applies to for a job.</p>
<p>Where you go to college can help you in an interview too. If you went to a name brand school like Harvard it can add a little wow factor (assuming everything else goes well) and can also confirm a strong resume and interview (“the guy has great work experience, was very articulate in the interview, makes sense for a Harvard grad”). However, where you go to school probably helps more if you share an alma mater with the person interviewing you. “You went to Iowa State? So did I!” and then proceed to spend a few minutes comparing college experiences, giving you material to talk about to make you seem more likeable. For this it’s more luck of the draw than having an advantage by going to a name brand school.</p>