<p>There are two kinds of “plugged in”, though. Going to the same college as the daughter of the CEO of a Fortune 500 company doesn’t make you attractive to Wall Street. SHE is going to get a job there, if she wants it; YOU aren’t. There are colleges, however, from which Wall St. firms actually recruit talented, unconnected young workers in meaningful numbers, simply because they are talented (and perhaps because alumni ties ensure that the pipeline stays open).</p>
<p>The Ivies have more of the first type of plugged-in people than anyone else, but they (or at least some of them) also do a good job of the second type. No surprise there. But Chicago plays in that game, too, and plays well, because out in the world – not your taxi driver in Shanghai, but the world 30+ floors above ground-level in lower Manhattan – people actually respect the education that happens there.</p>
<p>I’m confident that HYP do better than Chicago, sure, across the board. Dartmouth? Brown? I’m sure their numbers are better, but I’m not sure their numbers are better if all you are looking at is smart, unconnected kids who want to work in finance in New York. No college is a guarantee for those kids, and all of the ones we have been discussing provide real opportunities to some. Maybe there’s some difference, maybe not, but the effect on any individual is going to be small either way. And they are all going to be a lot better than Ohio State.</p>