Do you non-Ivy Leaguers feel inadequate?

I was talking with a distant cousin of mine last night. He is a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, a school far from mediocre (to say the least). We got to talking about college and he mentioned that a fair number of his classmates were rejected from Yale, Princeton, Harvard, etc. and that they've developed a pretty serious inferiority complex. He claims that one of them said he will not be able to get a job without an Ivy League graduate degree. I think the whole "Does the Ivy League really matter?" question is settled (it doesn't) but how do you feel about it?

Coming out of a public school I wish I had gone to a serious no name university just to show people up. When I think Ivy League, I think bought degree and political correctness. The smartest people come out of public schools. But I could care less, either way I have to prove myself.

Ivy League typically refers to eight East Coast schools. I would guess graduates of Stanford, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, William & Mary, etc. don't feel inadequate.

Being human, we all feel inadequate in some area(s) of our lives. At least it might be reasonable if we do since "pride comes before the fall."

Uh, UVA is a great school. I think it's just dick-waving childishness.

If I get into Brown, I'm going to go to the University of Chicago so that I can tell everyone that I went to Brown and the University of Chicago because I went to Brown and the University of Chicago.

Originally Posted by FabricOfSociety

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Ivy League typically refers to eight East Coast schools. I would guess graduates of Stanford, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, William & Mary, etc. don't feel inadequate.

Being human, we all feel inadequate in some area(s) of our lives. At least it might be reasonable if we do since "pride comes before the fall."

I really don't think you can group Carnegie Mellon and William & Mary with the Ivies, Stanford, and MIT. Anyway, back to Connie's question, your undergrad university is very important. My understanding is that some banking firms basically don't hire people from non-Ivy institutes.

Originally Posted by jonglover

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Uh, UVA is a great school. I think it's just dick-waving childishness.

Yes, I think UVa has academics on par with several of the Ivies.

This thread reminds me of ones where I get lambasted for thinking 150k / year does not necessarily mean you are rich. How many schools are Ivy? Eight? How many people a year can possibly graduate from them in finance and business?

I think it is possible to find financial success in the US without going to an Ivy.

Originally Posted by coachvu

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I really don't think you can group Carnegie Mellon and William & Mary with the Ivies, Stanford, and MIT. Anyway, back to Connie's question, your undergrad university is very important. My understanding is that some banking firms basically don't hire people from non-Ivy institutes.
My understanding is that the vast majority of college graduates never even consider a career in banking.

My understanding is that a vast majority of college graduates never consider living in the Northeast.

I think the inadequate generally feel inadequate. Then again, there is a fair proportion of the misguided adequate in there as well.

Originally Posted by Connemara

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My understanding is that the vast majority of college graduates never even consider a career in banking.

Of course not. I never said more than 50% of college students want to be investment bankers. However, finance is a popular career choice, considering how lucrative a field it can be. Also, there are probably more Ivy-league grads working at investment banks than grads from non-Ivy schools. I'll defer to other forum members who actually work at these Manhattan investment firms.

Originally Posted by Connemara

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He claims that one of them said he will not be able to get a job without an Ivy League graduate degree.

This is certianly hyperbole, but it may not be as outrageous as you think.

In the world of physics, if one intends to be a physicist at a large research university, then one needs to get his PhD from a Top 30 school. There are exceptions, but generally the faculty at even the least prestigious research universities are made up of Ivy Leaguers and and graduates of other top physics schools.

A Physics PhD from UVA will certainly be fighting an uphill battle if he intends to work in academia.

I'm not sure how true this is for other fields, but my point is this: in many fields, his statement is not entirely laughable.

Originally Posted by coachvu

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I really don't think you can group Carnegie Mellon and William & Mary with the Ivies, Stanford, and MIT.

For engineering fields, CMU is often comparable to or better than MIT or Stanford.

To answer the original question, I think it depends on what you want to do. For computer-related stuff, Cornell is the only Ivy that really stands out. That doesn't mean there aren't good people at the other schools: there are fewer and you have to dig deeper to find them.

This also doesn't mean that a name-brand school offers better training (often it doesn't), but people of a certain inclination and talent will be attracted to certain schools, so the chances of finding a good person at a good school is higher.

But someone with talent who works hard, and has the desire to do well will always do well at any reasonable school.

--Andre

Gordon Gekko went to City College.