True or False: "School is all about signaling, not skill-building"

[ucbalumnus]

@itsgettingreal21

@Eeyore123 I live in TX and the Longhorn and Aggie networks are insane. So is SMU. My Ivy degree gives me no advantage in Texas over grads from those 3 schools. Ive been involved in recruiting and seeing it in action has boiled my blood more than once. Powerful alumni networks are not limited to elite schools. But don’t tell those obsessed with prestige.

Wouldn’t alumni networks be a form of prestige effect, although the prestige “ranking” within the group of alumni certainly differs (particularly in greatly elevating the alma mater) from the conventional notions of prestige that USNWR ranking tries to approximate?

[ucbalumnus]

@1NJParent

We’re far from a true meritocracy but nepotism won’t take you very far (even on Wall Street).

Nepotism can be a provider of opportunities rather than results. The beneficiaries of nepotism may still have to earn the results. The difference is that the non-beneficiaries of nepotism may be shut out of the opportunity to earn the results.