Spin Off to College Post

Do you think it matters where you went to college? I feel that sometimes those that went to a "name" school have better opportunities than those going to a suny, cuny or community school?

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It honestly depends on where you are planning on working, and in what field. Some companies look for people with a certain "pedigree", but the vast majority of companies aren't.

At my company, I'm working side-by-side with people who went to community colleges then transferred to a 4 year school, Ivy-League graduates, SUNY and CUNY graduates. The people are in the same pay grades, so everyone is making relatively similar salaries.

Spin Off to College Post

I would say that most times it doesn't matter, but personally, if I saw that someone had a degree from a for-profit school like Devry or University of Phoenix, I wouldn't even interview them. The classes at those schools are a joke and people tend to not come out of those schools with any sort of working knowledge in the field.

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Spin Off to College Post

I think so! I jag a very different experience at my college than those who went to school locally for the same field. I was well prepared when I interviewed for jobs and even got bumped up from a leave replacement to a permanent track position in part bc the administrator liked where I went to school.

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I think it really depends on your field. For most professions, I don't think it matters all that much in the grand scheme of things. I also feel the more removed you are from when you graduated, the less where you went to school matters and the more your job experience counts!

Spin Off to College Post

I think it matters--not in all fields but in many--I was told directly by the dean of admissions at two Schools I applied to for Phd programs they took the undergraduate schools standards into consideration when choosing applicants to interview.

Spin Off to College Post

It depends on what field you are going into. I worked in Investment Banking and it absolutely mattered. Our whole department (except me) went to Harvard and they did not even look at resumes that were not from Ivy League.

Spin Off to College Post

Depends on the field. In my field, no. When I hire I literally give zero weight to where a candidate went to school.

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Yes. I worked at a large investment bank out of SUNY. I was the lowest paid and had a lower position than everyone else who started the July after graduation. It's the first time I ever agreed with that saying, the rich get richer

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I definitely think it matters. My undergrad was known for its excellence in the program I had majored in. I had no problems getting interviews and offers after college. I went to Hofstra for law school. I knew it wasn't the best of the ones I had gotten accepted to but I had received a significant scholarship, it's a well known university and I knew would be practicing in the NY area afterwards so I didn't think it would really matter. Well it did. There are firms that wouldn't even grant me an interview.

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Not in my field it doesn't
My direct boss is a VP here now and never even WENT to college, much less a "good" one.

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I think it depends on the field but usually not. Probably something like law school it would matter more.

Spin Off to College Post

for my sister it did- she got a job out of college at accenture and they paid more if you went to a top tier school. i think hers was 2nd tier?

Spin Off to College Post

I dont think it matters. My first job out of college, i was an assistant analyst and had 3 people from Harvard on my team. I went to Manhattan College but had an extensive list of internships on my resume.

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I think that it does not matter in most cases.

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It depends on the field. DH and I are both attorneys and went to Ivy League colleges. Having worked with recruiters in the past and discussed this, where we went to college definitely opened doors and gave us opportunities to interview at certain places. Also, I am practicing in an area of law that is directly related to my undergraduate degree, which is a well known and respected program at that college.

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I went to an Ivy and I absolutely think it made a difference in terms of my career and opportunities. When job searching for my 1st job after undergrad it definitely opened doors and then when I applied to grad school, I'm positive it helped. It also helped whenever I applied for internships, etc. Also, when grades factor in, the grades from certain schools hold more weight - a GPA of 4 is not the same across all schools.

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With the risk of sounding extremely cocky, which I'm not in any way intending to do... Just wanted to give you my story.


I interned at a fortune 500 investment bank during the summer of my HS junior year.

Went to college one semester.

Dropped out of college and started working full time for the same company I had my internship.

Here I am today with 16 years of experience and an impressive resume listing four major international investment banking firms working directly with C-Level Executives.

My salary is comparable if not higher than colleagues that have masters degrees in similar positions.

I'm not trying to show off. I guess the point that I am trying to make is that years ago, it was much easier than today to land a good paying job without a college education. That is not the case today. I am absolutely blessed that I had the opportunity I did to get my foot in the door without the degree and work my way up the corporate ladder through dedication & hard work. And to boot, never in my 16 year career did I ever feel that being a woman ever stopped me from reaching my goals.

It is so different today. I've seen so many changes - especially in my line of business. The position I have now absolutely requires a masters degree for your resume to even be considered.

To answer the OP, I don't know for sure if the actual school you attended matters. But I DO know that actually having a degree from an accredited school does. Experience is great, but nowadays, I've noticed that recent college grads who are willing to work more hours without the weight of family obligations, and are willing to work for a significantly lower salary than experienced veterans like myself are much more of a commodity to the firm - at least from what I've noticed in Investment Banking.

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Spin Off to College Post

It completely depends. An elite school can be a huge advantage in many fields , specially those in the STEM sector.

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i think it depends on your intended career. i work in advertising, which is what i got my degree in, so for that....not at all. your portfolio and experience is WAY more important.

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I don't think that my college ever got me a job (not a career wise job at least, but it definitely got me summer jobs, especially nanny type jobs) but i think it did get me interviews.

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Agree with others that it depends. A social work or teaching degree from CUNY and Columbia are going to land you the same jobs with same income. MBA would be different

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I think it does to some extent but not like it did in the past. I still think experience, who you know, timing and luck also play a part when employers see resumes. I also think employers realize these days that sometimes people CHOOSE not to go to elite schools because of the hefty price tag. Also, as others said, it depends on the field. If you are going to grad school (like law or medical) then the grad school name and grades are going to matter more than the undergrad.

Message edited 11/6/2016 8:22:32 AM.