Coming from a decent school, have always wondered if given the same group or same bank, does school prestige carry weight during PE placement? Like an analyst from FIU in the same team as a Harvard grad -- are they considerd the same? At what point do schools stop being a factor and experience/coverage/etc takes over?
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unfortunately school matters a lot for a long time
As long as you are looking to be employed by someone else, school matters.
For instance, in your example, the FIU kid could be far better than the Harvard kid. Put their profiles side by side and all else being equal, why would anyone choose the FIU kid?
In reality yes, the kid's resume could be more impressive, he could be much better at interviews and the job itself etc. But he will consistently have to prove himself against someone that has equally impressive credentials, which happens 100% of the time given how competitive this industry is. This will probably not get easier unless this person just continues to excel at every level.
Now think about scaling this internationally and it's almost laughable how much of an impact this has. Growing up in India, even semi-literate people have heard of Harvard, Stanford and to some extent a smattering of the top universities in the world. Unfortunately, FIU is just another acronym.
A bit of a long one, but just wanted to post this as a general FYI for someone going through the frustrations of feeling like you're getting overlooked. Keep at it and you'll be fine.
"You have the right to work, but never to the fruits thereof. Let not the fruit of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction."
It matters even after employment . If you are looking to do your own thing, VCs or LPs care. There is a reason people joke VC backed founders all went to H/S
I don't disagree, but I meant it more in the sense of school not mattering in the action of filing for an LLC. Semantically, one could argue that as a VC-backed founder, you technically are still working for someone else, even if to a lesser degree.
sick quote
Ya man. For any high schoolers reading this (which they shouldn’t btw , go talk to girls), I am a huge proponent of going to the best possible school you can get into.
I grew up in an area where everybody went to the local state school and never applied elsewhere. Everyone thought I was crazy to go to big fancy expensive school. But I’ve found through the years it’s been kind of life changing— it impacts the social circle you’re in, the career opportunities you get, the way people at work look at you and instantly give you a bit more respect.
Note I’m not saying that this is the way it should be or that it’s good that the world turns this way, but the reality is that this is how it works.
Can a dude from a random state school do well and kill it more than a Harvard dude? Abso fucking lutely. Definitely have seen those cases. But at the end of the day, in today’s hyper competitive world, give yourself every possible advantage that you can muster.
When you are more senior in PE, raising a fund, getting promoted, etc., is wayyyy easier if you went to Harvard. People just trust you more. The uphill battle never ends. Pretty amazing how much power a bunch of upper crusty new england white women (adcoms) have over life outcomes.
Not to say you need it to be successful. But it greases a lot of skids, forgives a lot of mistakes, etc. I've seen Harvard guys have braindead zeros on investments they never should've made and then continue to raise bigger funds, not face a mutiny from colleagues, etc. The IU Kelley guy's path won't be that forgiving. For him, its FAFO.
This also applies in the startup world. Way easier to get venture backing if you went to the right school.
If you didn't go to a good school, find ways to overcorrect elsewhere. Be the President of something legit. Get into a good bank. Ace the GMAT. The NBA/NFL still drafts guys from small schools (Damien Lillard, Giannis, Carson Wentz, Quinyon Mitchell), who were able to make up for coming from the wrong program with their own "Wow Factors".
Does this only apply to HYPSM or other t20 colleges? Does this apply to schools like Duke/Uchicago/NU/Vanderbilt?
It applies most strongly to top 5 schools
I grew up on food stamps. Going to an Ivy changed my life and put me on a trajectory simply not possible from my background. Not only that, so many more opportunities available to me that my state-school friends from HS don't even know about.
Any difference MIT vs H/S for undergrad perception?
No. MIT might give you a slight meritocratic edge, if anything (has never had legacy admits, sponsored athletes, etc)
If I have Harvard/Stanford degree does it matter which field it is in?
Not really
If you aren’t from a billionaire family it’s the single most important thing defining your social and professional status, imo
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