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There are very smart people and not so smart people at EVERY school. Many that go to Ivy Leagues end up being better connected, which gives them a leg up; it doesn’t necessarily mean they are more smart.
Last two words of this post *chefs kiss*
Chief
Yes, I probably would have had better opportunities coming out of school, but once you're out a few years, it doesn't matter to most people.
As someone who went to a very highly ranked school - it doesn’t mean anything. I’ve met some real idiots that went to top tier schools, and some people who went to no name schools that blew me away. A lot of people went to top schools because they had parents who forced them to do the right activities and could stay on top of their grades or whatever. It’s based on your performance from when you were literally 13-17, people’s fully formed adult brains are made up of so much more than this. You need to challenge this insecurity with more positive self talk when you notice it arising in your head, because it’s not healthy nor is it true.
Not just your performance during 13-17, but also your opportunity set
I think Ivies provide more opportunities to operate in a manner like we do in consulting, so people seem more experienced but I wouldn’t say smarter personally.
I can tell you that it’s very much case.
Went to a California state school (CSU not UC)
Went to top 30 for b school.
I can absolutely tell you that being around rich people who understand how real money and true corporate world works and name brand absolutely brings you better opportunities.
People I knew at my safety b school were fighting for an internship I got for showing up.
As someone who hires people all the time I really don't care where your degree is from, just that you have one.
Rising Star
There are a few industries it really helps (IB, HF, PE) and it helps for grad school admissions. But if you just want to work in tech or as a consultant then nah.
Offering the perspective of a recent Ivy grad: school prestige is not a good metric of intelligence. As much as top schools like to deny it, most of my peers were well connected, attended elite/private high schools, etc. Yes my classmates were smart, but so were my friends who went to Tufts and Indiana University
Chief
It definitely helps! But life goes on regardless.
Please do not be insecure about this. Everyone has their thing (I have too many Ivy League degrees but grew up really poor and I worry that I have less exposure to stuff or am not polished enough or won’t be good at building relationships with people.) generally none of that has been true, am I’m sure that’s also the case for you. I for one wish we did a lot more recruiting at state schools because I think we are leaving behind a lot of great talent. I’m glad you are with us and please don’t worry. Just be you and do your thing
Chief
No, I don’t think it makes a difference. I went to a mid tier school and I find I am better at a lot of my Ivy League colleagues because I have more empathy and emotional intelligence. I meet a lot of spoiled brats that came from Ivy, who have been getting everything they asked for growing up and when they hit the workforce they act like conceited children. (Not everyone certainly, and there are some presumptive non-Ivy league children too.) my point is, does not matter much at all IMO.
An ivy league school might not have helped much, if at all. I went to a top non-ivy (Stanford, MIT, University of Chicago), which is on par with or actually better than most Ivins. However, I feel like the ivies had better connected students and alumni.
Idiocy is everywhere, for sure.
My experience is more at the MBA level, but should be relevant here: between education at an Ivy/M7 vs a lower “ranked” school its not necessarily eduction—its probably 80-90% same content. Only example different I can think of is some specializes stuff like 5 factor portfolio analysis, which was taught at my M7 finance program but not at my friend’s lower ranked MBA program. The key difference comes from networking and alumni—I got my job opportunities post MBA through referrals and networking
Pro
You’re doing great and the only person you’re really competing with is yourself. Working at McK you’ve already made it into the top 5% of incomes, maybe higher. Now it’s just a matter of how much “more” do you need to be happy. You set the pace and what you want to achieve. Your Ivy League peers might be brilliant in some aspects but could be much more average in others. There are many ways to the “top” depending on which skill set you use to get there. Someone killing it in enterprise sales at Google probably doesn’t need to care that they can’t solve the same algo questions as a principal engineer
Chief
Yes, for sure. My husband went to Princeton (although his experience was not traditional - went after being in the military so was the oldest in his class), and the opportunities he was exposed to even at University (let alone afterward) far outweigh what I was exposed to at a mid-tier school.
Rising Star
I was nowhere near smart enough to get into an Ivy League school so I don’t think about it all. I went to a big 10 school and am perfectly happy.
Cant say I waste time or energy thinking about this. I went to a cheap online school and am doing pretty great for myself with no student loans.
Nope! Probably making/made more money over my current career than if I went to ivy but also likely would have been in a different profession
I went to a state school and work at one of the most "prestigious" companies out there so not sure why I would feel like I missed out on anything