NSers in the Ivy League.

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Crazy Fool

In the working world I've found that experience plays a large role. I landed my job with an associate's degree up against over 250 applicants-- many with bachelor's degrees--because I had previous work experience at Microsoft and Intel and they were looking for someone technical.

I'm almost finished with my bachelor's degree though, something I know I will need to get where I want to be--but I'm attending school online, so yeah I'm not getting all of the networking that attending an Ivy league school on-campus would provide, but I'm networking everyday with people in my field who hold the positions that I someday hope to obtain.

I agree that networking at an Ivy league school is a huge benefit/advantage-- but in terms of "looks" on a resume, getting an MBA from a decent school will get you far. Also, you have to walk the walk. If you have Harvard on your resume, it might get you hired, but you wont last very long if you only attended for "looks" and didn't make the most out of your time there.

Sep 19 2011 10:58AM

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PhaedeD

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im going to apply to Carnegie Mellon once im done with my undergrad, its not an IVY league school but just as hard if not harder and might as well be.

Sep 19 2011 10:58AM

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Ski_the_east01

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100% of need is definitely not met..schools still need revenue and if they were giving everyone a free ride they sure as shit wouldnt be "making" any money

but to your point I know that 70% of Harvard students receive some kind of financial aid from the school which is about $150 million in scholarships to students inf FY10..they excuse 'it was too expensive to go' doesnt work for these top tier schools - if they want you they will find a way to get you there

and also to the kids who say they would rather get just as good of an education from somewhere else for less money, you dont go to these prestigious schools for what you learn...you go to these schools for who you meet - thats were these schools are the most valuable

Sep 19 2011 11:01AM

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PhaedeD

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Not 100% true but close.

IVY leagues are also rather easy when you get into them. I have heard a lot of them such as yale have pass/fail classes. Also Dartmouth lets you choose your grade in one class a semester which means if you dont meet that grade lets say an A, I think they just give you a Pass which well means you get credit for the class!

Sep 19 2011 11:06AM

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Flying~Squirrel

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hes right, air force is becoming defunct because the navy is just way more useful because they can use carriers as well as land bases.

Sep 19 2011 11:16AM

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no_steeze

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@th1337

ivy league schools aren't known for being the best at sports, we all know that. they're not big enough and their academic indexes are too high to recruit like 40 kids a year who have straight D+ gpa's. that's why it's impressive when ivy league schools do well in sports. for instance harvard rowing against washington is impressive how close it is since UW gets 25 german recruits and harvard gets 5 british kids

Sep 19 2011 12:32PM

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H8CH

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Can somebody define to me what an Ivy League school is? and I mean - Define - why? why is it called Ivy league too? aka the history? Im british, so just wondered what the difference was etc..

We have Oxford / Cambridge yes - but also, all the so called Red Brick university's such as Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Edinburgh etc... I went to Newcastle....

Sep 19 2011 1:06PM

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Basement Dweller

It's technically the name of the sports conference, they are eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. (from wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League#Origin_of_the_name

The first usage of Ivy in reference to a group of colleges is from sportswriter Stanley Woodward (1895–1965).
A proportion of our eastern ivy colleges are meeting little fellows another Saturday before plunging into the strife and the turmoil.
—Stanley Woodward, New York Tribune, October 14, 1933, describing the football season

Sep 19 2011 1:10PM

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Crazy Fool

LMAO

Sep 19 2011 1:38PM

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Crazy Fool

But seriously, explain how you defend either of the statements I mocked.

Sep 19 2011 2:22PM

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timber

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I Went to Dartmouth, and was able to ski 5 days a week in the winter, thanks to the quarter system.

Sep 19 2011 2:23PM

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andstuff

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Only if you're seeking a career where either of those things matter.

Sep 19 2011 2:32PM

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Dan.

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aka every field that requires a degree except engineering, and those hires all come from MIT, which is basically Ivy anyway.

Sep 19 2011 2:42PM

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nevski

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Close enough, and just as good

Sep 19 2011 2:45PM

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Crazy Fool

source please?

Sep 19 2011 2:49PM

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Bmo.

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I go to Grove City College in PA. Anyone heard of it? It's a small christian school near Pitt.

It would be an Ivy League school if they accepted government funding, but they don't...

Its crazy hard here, some kids have come here from harvard, princeton, yale and dartmouth and have done poorly. i have no clue how i got in haha.

Sep 19 2011 3:06PM

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http://theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/

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Crazy Fool

I found this article interesting:

Sep 19 2011 3:14PM

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PhaedeD

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AKA schools dont mean shit anymore....

90% of getting a high paying job out of college like someone that has just graduated from an IVY league school would is all about knowing people and networking.

Anymore its not about what you know its about who you know, its sad but the truth.

MIT is a great school but its not the only one people are going to hire from, when specifically speaking about the fields you named. You may have a better chance at a huge firm but there are jobs out there for engineers that didnt go to MIT. But like I said before, its all about knowing people. Thats what getting a very good job at a young age is coming down to anymore. Its not true all the time but a lot of the time.

I am not just saying this as if its the people your parents know. Sure, that can be a hugeeeee help no doubt. I am also talking about if you interned somewhere when you were 18 and now all of a sudden at 24 you are looking for a new job and bam.. wait I remember I used to work for Mr. so and so I wonder if he can hire me or knows someone that could. Thats how people are getting jobs these days.

Sep 19 2011 4:07PM

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Rosso_Corsa

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Well, for one thing, I think he was probably a closet homosexual who did a lot of cocaine. That whole Yale thing.

Sep 19 2011 4:16PM

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whoa-dere

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just registered for my sat.. hope i do well

Sep 19 2011 5:03PM

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katie.

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Same, writing mine October 1st I'm hella nervous.

Sep 19 2011 5:09PM

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whoa-dere

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mine is in november. where are you taking it?

Sep 19 2011 6:33PM

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Bear_Grylls

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How would you know bridger haha we're in high school

Sep 19 2011 7:50PM

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Crazy Fool

oh my God his name is bridger? His parents named him after bridger bowl? That's awesome. I met another bridger when I lived out there.

Sep 19 2011 7:53PM

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Chubz.

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Sam is going to get into harvard on a fucking crew scholarship. Shits real.

Sep 19 2011 8:01PM

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RickAstley

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WEO hoping to get in for cognitive science this year :)

Sep 19 2011 8:05PM

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Bear_Grylls

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I don't know if they did haha I'm not hating on him we're friends I'm just saying its hard to say a place is a shit hole when you don't go there.

Sep 19 2011 8:06PM

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a_pla5tic_bag

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It's true. One of the reason I went to udel is because Dupont and a couple other drug and chemical companies are based in delaware and they all pretty much run this whole state, school included. All the students who go straight to these companies are looking to hire kids from here as well. I get emails all the time about job offerings, but i'm only a sophomore. Ad it's not just paper filing either, they'rel looking for people to do things like radiotagging dna so they ca follow it through cell division, upscaling chemical reactions, and bunch of other chem/bio related stuff.

speaking of which, I'm trying to do organic chem homework and the people directly above me seem to be looking to demolish this building using dubstep. also they must rearrange their furniture 24/7 or something.

Sep 19 2011 8:18PM

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andstuff

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You are seriously misinformed. Saying that ALL engineering hires are from MIT, or that going to a specific school for the purposes of networking alone puts someone at an advantage is an incredibly small way to look at it. I'm not saying going to those schools isn't helpful. I'm saying people place FAR too much emphasis on it. A degree gets you an interview. It's not as if you can come out of the blue with Ivy League on your resume and the employer says "you're hired" based on that alone. Sure it happens, but you're deluding yourself if you think going to an Ivy League school puts you at a substantial career advantage.

Then there's the whole issue of the thousands of occupations that don't require a specialized degree to do...

Sep 19 2011 10:10PM

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Dan.

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the highest paying jobs in any field will hire through nepotism first, and then from the highest ranked schools, it's how it works. it's why somebody who go their degree form U of (any state in the US) is going to be considered only after all the friends,family,and candidates from schools like the Ivys have been exhausted. obviously, corporations headquartered in a place where they know which local schools have the best programs, but somebody on the other side of the country or in another country isn't going to give a shit that you went to U of ___ if they have candidates from internationally recognized schools in front of them.

Sep 19 2011 10:22PM

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I have what I would consider a prestigious education, and I'd have to disagree. When you sit down at an interview, the degree isn't going to impress people so much as your personality and confidence. Generally speaking, that's how I feel when I look for someone I want to work for me.

Sep 20 2011 12:23AM

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andstuff

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Precisely. Your educational institution is only a factor. It isn't a shoe-in like some people are brainwashed into believing.

Sep 20 2011 12:31AM

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no_steeze

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@th1337

and the other extreme is people who avoid ivy league candidates at all costs since they feel that ivy league grads share a smug sense of over qualification

Sep 20 2011 8:13AM

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hey-dude-its-me

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going to an Ivy league school would suck so bad

Sep 20 2011 8:23AM

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MatRich

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bunch of snobs!

Sep 20 2011 9:03AM

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Basement Dweller

I'm applying to McGill, and Dartmouth, Columbia, and Cornell. But my top choice is RPI

Sep 20 2011 9:53AM

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Dylan_

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Crazy Fool

troy is a shithole

Sep 20 2011 10:35AM

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Basement Dweller

true that, but it's not that bad of a drive to mt. snow

Sep 20 2011 10:36AM

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Dylan_

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good school though, couple friends go there. I'm about 35 mins north

Sep 20 2011 10:46AM

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Basement Dweller

if I go, i'll hit you up for some local's advice on troy/albany

Sep 20 2011 11:06AM

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207

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jaymay goin ivy leauge

Sep 20 2011 11:49AM

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EC-Skier

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you're*

guessing you're not

Sep 20 2011 11:51AM

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alexat955

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lol

Sep 20 2011 11:55AM

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Petersaurusrex

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...my dad went to Yale.

To much work for my liking.

Sep 20 2011 12:35PM

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Crazy Fool

Agreed.

I've noticed that no matter how many people I meet, I'll still have a day that I'm astounded that some University of Phoenix or online college grad is an exceptional worker and/or of what I'd consider superior intellect. Smart people and hard workers don't always go to "awesome" colleges, or have a degree at all. I think a prestigious degree is worthless without the humility necessary to understand when your work isn't up to par, when you need to ask someone for help, or when you just need to shut up and think before you speak.

That being said, I'm a firm believer that a prestigious schools have earned that reputation due to a demanding program and, generally speaking, successful graduates. There are extreme cases from all schools or failure and success, so firm generalizations such as "all Harvard grads get awesome jobs" or "a degree from xxxx is worthless" isn't always true.

When it comes down to it, I evaluate the person as a whole. Their degree shows me basic qualification, and it just might give me a hint as to what kind of experience they've had or work ethic they may have shown in the past.

Sep 20 2011 1:29PM

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