Cut from Bridgewater first year class

I haven't worked at BW but know/have worked with a dozen+ people who have had stints there. I have no idea on the severance, etc but I'll say a few things:

1. They will claim it's a meritocracy. Every place is political and their 'meritocracy' is just a different version of that. As a result, do your best early on to prepare yourself from being emotionally too disturbed if you get cut. Obviously you can't be a robot and turn off all emotion, but don't let it break your identity.
2. BW people are definitely the smartest people I have ever come across. I went to an HYP and still view BW as much more talent dense. Take advantage of that and while you are there, try to learn and become as sharp as possible. It's very possible you will go into all of your subsequent workplaces and never see the same level of aggregate IQ. At the same time, see how the IQ has its faults and leads to certain types of dysfunction (e.g., overanalyzing and not enough action)
3. They pay first years pretty well. So save the money so that if you ever get cut, you have 6-12 months of runway to find a job and not be stressed. Because of how sharp the BW people are, I can say that BW people truly do end up doing very well wherever they go. The most common is tech nowadays and there will be plenty of BW people you can reach out to. 

Main thing is don't get wrapped up into it and let it consume your identity/personal life. There's a pull to it that makes that very possible, so do as much as you can to separate yourself from it and remember your value is not tied to some arbitrary person's view of your performance.