What college did the most prestigious PERSON you know go to?

Parents Forum
1

We spend endless threads discussing the most prestigious colleges using every version of the term prestigious imaginable. I’m curious, using your preferred version of prestigious, what college (or maybe no college at all) did the most prestigious person you personally know go to?

My husband’s cousin went to Boise State. She worked her way through school as an assistant at a foster care for developmentally delayed adults. When she graduated, she bought the foster home, then bought more, then developed software for foster homes, and then sold the rights to it. Her company still managements hundreds of foster homes.

She an awesome mom, a fun lady, a hard-worker, and a 100% self-made success. I see her as prestigious especially because she does not she herself that way at all.

2

Of the people I know personally, Minnesota State University (used to be called Mankato State)

3

UCLA. And she was gasp a psych major.

4

Two people, for their undergrad degrees: University of Nebraska and Pacific Lutheran University

5

A tie between two people who attended Wayne State (in Detroit) and Morgan State.

6

The guy in the Dilbert cubicle next to mine has a graduate degree in physics from MIT. Our boss has an engineering degree from Univ of Oklahoma.

7

Moscow State University. A new chemical element will be named after this person very soon (although in this case the term “prestige” seems blatantly inadequate)

8

The most impressive person I have ever worked with in the business world is a graduate of a state “directional” college in Minnesota.

The other most impressive person I knew was was one of my siblings who attended a cc before transferring to a tiny LAC.

9

Ursinus College.

10

Union college.

11

Texas A&M

12

Had a history prof that was given a battlefield commission by Patton. Later went to college at Ohio State. He credited failing the West Point entrance exam with saving his life.
In terms of what I’d call prestige, that’s probably the most meaningful person to me. Ever since I’ve kind of felt one should make history before teaching it.

13

Harvard undergrad, University of Southern Maine Law School.

14

University of Virginia, with a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins.

15

The two smartest people I know-

  1. BA Speech USC, MA Advertising U of Illinois

  2. BA Economics Notre Dame, MBA Marketing Northwestern (Kellogg)

The richest people I know -

  1. “conventional wealth” - BA Poli Sci Tulane, JD Notre Dame

  2. Plenty without degrees or “no-name” colleges who have family businesses. And they send their kids
    Wherever they want, because when they take over the highly successful family business, they don’t need to impress anybody by having gone to Harvard et al. Other people need to impress THEM with their business acumen. This is a dynamic missed by the knee-jerk “rich people send their kids to Harvard et al,” which betrays a complete lack of understanding of true “rich people.”

As for “prestigious,” there are plenty of people from my alma mater who are prominent in some way, I including two late night hosts (Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers). A good friend of mine is a highly successful author and speaker - BA Linguistics Northwestern, JD Georgetown (I think).

16

A friend who is an amazing lawyer and shareholder at a huge company in a major metro area with many many successful court cases, published articles and adjunct faculty positions.

She went to Stephen F Austin University… A small regional university in Texas.

17

Smartest Person: Wayne State

Richest Person: No college - a high school graduate

18

Auburn University.

19

Smartest Person: Bristol University and London Business School
Richest Person: Yale

20

University of Michigan