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Ugrad Vs. Grad - Prestige
 

Husky32's picture
(Gorilla, 589
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 10:30pm
prestige.png

What do you feel is more prestigious, a top undergrad with a second tier graduate school or a second tier undergrad with a top tier grad school? I've noticed this recently with people I've spoken to. Guys going from HYP undergrad to state school for law degrees and state school kids getting a harvard MBA for example.

The essence of the question is really, whether you feel as if undergrad name > grad name in terms of prestige or grad name > undergrad name.

I have my own opinion, but hearing others thoughts might help a few of the hs/college kids on this forum out as I was one of the ones who bought into the whole college confidential bs of going to a much lower ranked cheaper undergrad and then going to a ivy grad school.

Tags:
bearing's picture

Going from great undergrad to

ER
(Neanderthal, 2,082
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 8:36pm

Going from great undergrad to shit grad implies regression and you either fucked up or you better have a good reason to go to the school that you did. Going from crap undergrad to great grad implies progression and shows growth.

BTbanker's picture

Grad school always trumps

IB
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 8:41pm

Grad school always trumps ugrad.

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

ColumbiaKid123's picture

Graduate school absolutely

 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 8:54pm

Graduate school absolutely trumps undergraduate any day of the week. Absolutely agree with the regression satement

Husky32's picture

^I feel like this only

(Gorilla, 589
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 9:07pm

^I feel like this only applies with professional schools. Doesn't a Yale BA in economics trump a Ohio State BA in economics + Yale MA in Economics? -> both in terms of prestige and in terms of recruiting for prestige based jobs like banking/consulting/pe

bearing's picture

Husky32: ^I feel like this

ER
(Neanderthal, 2,082
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 9:18pm
Husky32:

^I feel like this only applies with professional schools. Doesn't a Yale BA in economics trump a Ohio State BA in economics + Yale MA in Economics? -> both in terms of prestige and in terms of recruiting for prestige based jobs like banking/consulting/pe

Who gets a BA in Economics; what IS/LM graphs too hard you can't get a BS. Also an MA in economics is equally as useless. Back on topic, weak undergrad is understandable if you got a boat load of scholarship or they were known for a specific major which you originally wanted to pursue.

Husky32's picture

bearing: Husky32: ^I feel

(Gorilla, 589
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 9:24pm
bearing:
Husky32:

^I feel like this only applies with professional schools. Doesn't a Yale BA in economics trump a Ohio State BA in economics + Yale MA in Economics? -> both in terms of prestige and in terms of recruiting for prestige based jobs like banking/consulting/pe

Who gets a BA in Economics; what IS/LM graphs too hard you can't get a BS. Also an MA in economics is equally as useless. Back on topic, weak undergrad is understandable if you got a boat load of scholarship or they were known for a specific major which you originally wanted to pursue.

Okay so would a BS in Economics Ohio st. -> MS in Economics at Yale still be less prestigious than say a BS in Economics Yale -> MS in Economics at Ohio st? Assuming that no scholarships/recruitment for athletics are involved

bearing's picture

Going to Yale grad from ohio

ER
(Neanderthal, 2,082
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 9:29pm

Going to Yale grad from ohio undergrad is more prestigious.

Brady4MVP's picture

Grad prestige trumps

HF
(Neanderthal, 3,158
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 9:33pm

Grad prestige trumps undergrad, especially in law and business, where pedigree can open a lot of doors. Someone who went to harvard ug and then a non-top 15 program badly fucked up somewhere along the way. Either he had no business getting into harvard in the first place or lost his motivation once he got there. In contrast, a guy who did ohio state undergrad and then HBS means that the guy was a late bloomer who excelled from college onwards, displayed achievement and leadership, and is going to be very successful in the future.

Husky32's picture

Brady4MVP: Grad prestige

(Gorilla, 589
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 9:49pm
Brady4MVP:

Grad prestige trumps undergrad, especially in law and business, where pedigree can open a lot of doors. Someone who went to harvard ug and then a non-top 15 program badly fucked up somewhere along the way. Either he had no business getting into harvard in the first place or lost his motivation once he got there. In contrast, a guy who did ohio state undergrad and then HBS means that the guy was a late bloomer who excelled from college onwards, displayed achievement and leadership, and is going to be very successful in the future.

True but there is also a curve in place at HYP. Not everyone at those schools can get over a 3.0 given the insane amount of competition, and so the HYP kid with a 2.5 gpa might get a 3.7+ in econ/business at your local state school. Which is why a lot of firms (a few that I can definitely confirm) would give the ivy leaguer with no gpa listed on the resume the interview and deny the state school kid with a borderline gpa (3.5-3.7 range). Since a 3.5 GPA at state school with a great gre can get into a prestigious grad school, whereas no grad schools will take a 2.5 gpa kid no matter where their from, it leads me to believe that the undergraduate degree is typically held in higher regard by employers who also favor taking a look at the SAT (all banks/consulting firms).

I'm playing devils advocate here so rip apart this argument (that I hear often) if you'd like.

Brady4MVP's picture

Husky32: Brady4MVP: Grad

HF
(Neanderthal, 3,158
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 9:54pm
Husky32:
Brady4MVP:

Grad prestige trumps undergrad, especially in law and business, where pedigree can open a lot of doors. Someone who went to harvard ug and then a non-top 15 program badly fucked up somewhere along the way. Either he had no business getting into harvard in the first place or lost his motivation once he got there. In contrast, a guy who did ohio state undergrad and then HBS means that the guy was a late bloomer who excelled from college onwards, displayed achievement and leadership, and is going to be very successful in the future.

True but there is also a curve in place at HYP. Not everyone at those schools can get over a 3.0 given the insane amount of competition, and so the HYP kid with a 2.5 gpa might get a 3.7+ in econ/business at your local state school. Which is why a lot of firms (a few that I can definitely confirm) would give the ivy leaguer with no gpa listed on the resume the interview and deny the state school kid with a borderline gpa (3.5-3.7 range). Since a 3.5 GPA at state school with a great gre can get into a prestigious grad school, whereas no grad schools will take a 2.5 gpa kid no matter where their from, it leads me to believe that the undergraduate degree is typically held in higher regard by employers who also favor taking a look at the SAT (all banks/consulting firms).

I'm playing devils advocate here so rip apart this argument (that I hear often) if you'd like.

Um, it's very hard to get below a 3.0 at the ivies unless you did like cornell engineering. Especially at HYP, there's massive grade inflation, and there really is no reason you shouldn't get 3.5+ if you do even a modicum of work.

No reputable finance or consulting firm will interview a college student without a gpa listed. Once you've been out for a few years, you can leave it out and get interviews but not when you're still in school.

SirTradesaLot's picture

Husky32: True but there is

O
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 9:56pm
Husky32:

True but there is also a curve in place at HYP. Not everyone at those schools can get over a 3.0 given the insane amount of competition, and so the HYP kid with a 2.5 gpa might get a 3.7+ in econ/business at your local state school. Which is why a lot of firms (a few that I can definitely confirm) would give the ivy leaguer with no gpa listed on the resume the interview and deny the state school kid with a borderline gpa (3.5-3.7 range). Since a 3.5 GPA at state school with a great gre can get into a prestigious grad school, whereas no grad schools will take a 2.5 gpa kid no matter where their from, it leads me to believe that the undergraduate degree is typically held in higher regard.

I'm playing devils advocate here so rip apart this argument (that I hear often) if you'd like.

"Harvard was hardly alone. Still, its numbers were particularly staggering. More than 90 percent of the class of 2001 had earned grade-point averages of B-minus or higher. Half of all the grades given the year before were As or A-minuses; only six percent were C-pluses or lower. By way of comparison, in 1940 C-minus was the most common GPA at Harvard, and in 1955 just 15 percent of undergraduates had a GPA of B-plus or higher."
Source:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/0...

Turbo leverage for capital explosion -- BD Capital

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IlliniProgrammer's picture

The undergrads have more

ST
(Almost Human, 9,227
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 10:07pm

The undergrads have more prestige. After all their parents are subsidizing our graduate tuition.

Work hard, play hard.

huanleshalemei's picture

Hmm, similar dilemma...but

(Gorilla, 518
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 10:23pm

Hmm, similar dilemma...but the key is to compare the prestige of the programs, not the prestige of the schools.

The Auto Show

option1234's picture

This seems like comparing

(Chimp, 14
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 10:41pm

This seems like comparing apples to oranges. If someone is going for an associate job obviously the non-target->Wharton MBA is in a better spot than the Yale->Fordham MBA grad.

Though at the end of the day target->target grad = /endthread

BTbanker's picture

Fuuuck. The very first

IB
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 10:56pm

Fuuuck. The very first comment was sufficient, Lewis.

/Thread

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

melvvvar's picture

IlliniProgrammer: The

(King Kong, 1,693
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 11:03pm
Macro Arbitrage's picture

bearing: Who gets a BA in

HF
(King Kong, 1,369
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 11:10pm

"I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

bearing's picture

Macro

ER
(Neanderthal, 2,082
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 11:21pm
Markov's picture

One thing about grad school:

HF
(Baboon, 149
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 11:49pm
honeyoak87's picture

Husky32: ^I feel like this

 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 11:49pm

Morpheus: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

jgc2122's picture

Grad. Doesn't matter law or

 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 12:06am

"If Henry Ford had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." -Steve Jobs

UFOinsider's picture

Duke has a stronger finance

O
(Human, 10,345
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 12:07am

YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...

UFOinsider's picture

melvvvar: IlliniProgrammer:

O
(Human, 10,345
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 12:11am

YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...

TheBigBambino's picture

If I go to dinner with people

VC
(Orangutan, 269
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 12:33am

"If you want to succeed in this life, you need to understand that duty comes before rights and that responsibility precedes opportunity."

blastoise's picture

your all morons it's

O
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 12:55am
melvvvar's picture

UFOinsider: melvvvar: Ill

(King Kong, 1,693
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 1:23am
IvyLeagueVet's picture

First of all there is no BS

(Baboon, 102
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 5:12am
GS's picture

Preftige brah Preftige

ST
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 5:14am
damngringo's picture

Postgrad is more targeted and

O
(Baboon, 118
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 5:44am
SonnyZH's picture

Obvious, if you go to a less

HF
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 6:17am

The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.

GS's picture

blastoise: your all

ST
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 9:11am
Pwn3r's picture

Wharton Ugrad ONLY offers a

(Monkey, 47
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 9:15am
BTbanker's picture

$50 OP goes to UConn and just

IB
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 10:51am

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

Cookies With Milken's picture

Y'all posting in a troll

O
(Gorilla, 541
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 11:27am
Husky32's picture

IvyLeagueVet: First of all

(Gorilla, 589
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 11:35am
IvyLeagueVet's picture

Pwn3r: Wharton Ugrad ONLY

(Baboon, 102
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 11:47am
GS's picture

Husky32: IvyLeagueVet: Firs

ST
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 11:49am
IvyLeagueVet's picture

Husky32: IvyLeagueVet: Firs

(Baboon, 102
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 11:52am
holla_back's picture

IvyLeagueVet: Husky32: Iv

O
(King Kong, 1,118
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 12:02pm
Pwn3r's picture

IvyLeagueVet: Pwn3r: Wharto

(Monkey, 47
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 1:37pm
holla_back's picture

Pwn3r: IvyLeagueVet: Pwn3

O
(King Kong, 1,118
 
Points)
 on 8/12/12 at 2:01pm
thatruth34pp's picture

Why not just go to a

IB
 
Points)
 on 8/13/12 at 3:58pm
tctc33's picture

I think it depends.

HF
 
Points)
 on 8/13/12 at 6:46pm
Husky32's picture

tctc33: I think it depends.

(Gorilla, 589
 
Points)
 on 8/13/12 at 7:53pm
IlliniProgrammer's picture

Husky32: tctc33: I think it

ST
(Almost Human, 9,227
 
Points)
 on 8/13/12 at 8:34pm

Work hard, play hard.

Ace6904's picture

thatruth34pp: Why not just go

CF
(Baboon, 159
 
Points)
 on 8/13/12 at 11:56pm
Misspartiesalot's picture

HUH, UGRAD PRESTIGE is way

 
Points)
 on 8/14/12 at 6:42pm

--Money can't buy happiness. it can only buy orgasms.
--Who the hell says I want happiness? Orgasms all I need.

melvvvar's picture

Misspartiesalot: HUH, UGRAD

(King Kong, 1,693
 
Points)
 on 8/14/12 at 9:30pm
EconChimp1835's picture

You do know that the majority

(Chimp, 3
 
Points)
 on 8/15/12 at 12:27am

"Successful investing is anticipating the anticipations of others" - John Maynard Keynes
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Economics & International Trade

EconChimp1835's picture

you are completely whacked

(Chimp, 3
 
Points)
 on 8/15/12 at 12:29am

"Successful investing is anticipating the anticipations of others" - John Maynard Keynes
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Economics & International Trade

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