Best possible school vs. still good but not as good
So I'm wondering if going to a top top school like Harvard will actually help you out significantly compared to a school like Umich's Ross or schools like that.
My reasoning is: If you're smart enough to get into Harvard and rank high enough in the class to get an offer from one of the top top IB firms, wouldn't you be smart enough to do the same at another school?
Lets say out of Harvard's class ~25 people get offers at top firms and at Ross ~7/8 people get offers. Do you think that those ~7/8 people that get offers at Ross would be able to do the same at Harvard? On the flip side, do you think that not all of those people from Harvard would be able to get the same offer just because they went to Ross? Or do you think the name will really help those people at top top schools out significantly more?
The difference is Harvard's a target and there are a lot more people from there on the Street, so if you perform the same there as you do at U of M you will have a lot more doors open for you. I think, anyways, could be wrong.
The ratio seems far more lopsided than 25:7. There is no denying that schools like Harvard will make breaking in significantly easier than (still highly regarded) programs such as Ross, simply through sheer prestige and its multitude of connections.
However, your reasoning is sound. Its definitely true that you can get anywhere from any college as long as you work hard, network, and end up at the top of your class. I tend to think of it as taking a risk - by forgoing the supposed ease of entry into banking, you end up saving yourself a boatload of money while not losing out much, if anything, on the quality of education and preparation you'll receive. The caveat of course is that you'll really have to bust your ass - a middling student at semi or non-target is a world apart from their counterpart at Harvard in the chance they'll have.
Good luck
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Well seeing as how I'm a young father and going to Mich will cost me about 15-20k less a year than going to any other school that's better I think I'll have to stick with trying to go to UofM lol. My past classes (music) brought my gpa to a 3.7 anyways so I doubt I'll have to worry about transferring to Harvard/Princeton/Wharton etc.
Harvard's better than Ross, obviously. But, the few best students at Ross have the same opportunities (investment banking-wise) as top IB-seeking Harvard students.
I'm an alumnus of one of these schools, and my girlfriend is an alumnus of the other, so I am speaking from experience.
Damn... I'd really like to increase my chances as much as possible but I don't even know if it would be possible to transfer to one of the better out of state schools financially.
We'll see how my finances go after the next couple of years I guess.
I can't tell you how much of a huge difference going to Harvard makes over going to Umich... or even a better school, closer to Harvard's level like Williams, Cornell, Dartmouth or Penn. You may think it's stupid, but the fact is that it makes a HUGE difference.
If you have the chance to go to Harvard or Princeton, and to a lesser degree Yale, you really ought to take that chance... if you want to go into consulting, PE, IB that is... If you look at the top firms in the industries they are populated hugely with undergrads from H/Y/P. That's not to say there aren't people from Michigan, but it doesn't even come close the amount of people from Harvard. You then have to magnify that by x10 because of how many more people are at michigan.
Going to Harvard or Princeton will also make it way easier to get into HBS/Stanford GSB for business school (though it still won't be "easy"), which is a PRE-REQUISITE for working at the most elite PE firms after graduation.
Seriously--- I don't want to sound like a total prestige whore - I myself went to a less prestigious Ivy and feel I learned 3x as much as the kids at Harvard typically do - but I also want to tell you straight out so that you have no disillusions - YOU WILL BE AT A DISADVANTAGE TO THOSE FROM H/Y/P FOREVER IF YOU GO ANYWHERE ELSE. If you go to HYP and get good grades you'll have flexibility and versatility in your career that no one else has...
i'm sure this post is gonna piss people off, but so be it... I'm open to other opinions
Well I guess I'll be trying next year... my high school grades/beginning college grades aren't close to those levels (truly didn't give a shit... doing a lot better now) so I'm not gonna get my hopes up.
I do think I am an intelligent person and can definitely succeed when I try so even if HYP can't see it, I'm sure some other people will. Thanks for your help.
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