I wish I went to Oxbridge instead of HYPSM
I'm a graduate at HYPSM (Yale econ, to be exact) and I truly wish I went to Oxbridge or even LSE/UCL/Imperial.
I went to Eton/Westminster, one of the private schools in England known to produce atrocious quantities of influential statesmen, scholars, politicians, physicists and nobel laureates. Due to unforseen circumstances, I could not get into Oxbridge and had to choose between Yale, Wharton or Stanford in 2011. I chose Yale because it was arguably the best university in North America, second only to Oxbridge and POTENTIALLY Harvard in her prime.
Going to a US school, even a first tier one was living hell. Employers across the world (Europe, Pacific-Asia and even Canada) treated me as second-rate in comparison to Oxbridge. The famed "on campus recruiting" and "alumni network" proved to be of little use, paling in comparison to the millennia-old pedigree of Oxbridge, a pair of institutions that pushed the envelope of scientific advancement and shaped human civilization for the past thousand years, as if a divine pair of insurmountable forces of nature.
My schoolmates from Eton/Westminster who went to Oxbridge all led successful lives. Some ended up as c-suite executives at the top few dozen corporations in the world, while others ended up as statesmen including senators, congressman and ministers/secretaries of various influential 3 letter organizations before the age of 35. Others yet became leading astrophysicists, chemists and bioengineers, currently discovering concepts and theorems as integral to scientific advancement as calculus, classical physics or quantum theory.
All of my classmates who chose to forfeit a life of truth and wisdom in pursuit of the acculumation of capital succeeded shockingly well. Many are currently at the director/global head/equity partner or equivalent level at various law firms, banks, private equity funds, hedge funds, asset management firms, management and strategy consulting firms. Most of them graduated with a 2:1 or less, yet doors that our schools in America never knew existed were opened for them without hesitation. Many are likely worth more than 8 figures through both legal and illicit means. I am currently a VP at a middle market shop, making 470k USD in comparison.
Meanwhile, I ponder the absurd notion floating around this backwater, former colony that our precious institutions founded but a few generations ago in desolate deserts and wetlands could stand before the splendor of Oxford and Cambridge, who, in aggregate, contributed more to modern civilization than the Roman Empire. Our institutions lack both the extensive networks carefully bred for a thousand years and the recognition that every single region in this world with roads possess.
If I recall, something like 1/3 of all head of states in history went to Oxbridge. Something like 1/2 of all Nobel laureates went to Oxbridge. Something like 1/3 of all private universities in the world were founded by Oxbridge alumni.
Students across the world that I have spoken to all regard HYPSM and other tier 2 universities as "safety schools" in comparison to Oxbridge. Sure, they may prefer the warm and idyllic scenery of Pepperdine, the proximity to entertainment and media culture of USC or the "big city" ambience of Columbia or NYU, but none prefer tier 2 universities for their career goals alone.
My cousin who graduated from Cambridge in 2019 had opportunities handed to him on a silver platter with a 2:1 that I had to work 5 times as hard (with a 3.96 GPA) to even hear about. There are opportunities reserved only for Oxbridge students in law, politics, finance, physics, astronomy and philosophy. Those in management roles that I have spoken to all prefer a Geography or History major from Oxbridge over a CS/Engineering major from HYPSM.
Dissaude yourselves of the ludicrous belief that our second rate institutions can hold a candle to Oxbridge.