Prestige of Undergrad degree and private equity

I would tell you, to an extent, that is correct. I come from a state school and worked BB M&A myself. My school places 20+ kids a year in BB I-banking positions. Although i did not desire to work at a BB PE shop, many from my school did. The takeaway - I do think it is a hurdle. However, it is not impossible. Plenty of people from my UG have gone onto TPG, KKR, Apollo, etc. The common denominator? They all worked at MS or GS New York, in a solid group, and were ranked towards the top of their class. That is how you overcome the undergraduate degree prejudice. It is what it is. Is it entirely fair? Probably not. Have some people maybe caught some breaks? Maybe. But that is how the world of PE recruiting works. PE partners, MD's, etc. don't have the time or desire to try and filter out the best for themselves. So, they hire another firm and have a formula. That formula typically involves certain banks, certain groups and certain schools. They bring those kids in and if you can pass the interview and fit in with the culture you can make it. However, if you don't fit within their formula, you are going to be swimming upstream.