9 ms·

I was just going to ask this. Silicon valley would be better served (and better serve others) when they stop giving hand service to the same schools they they

I was just going to ask this. Silicon valley would be better served (and better serve others) when they stop giving hand service to the same schools they they went to and the people who think and act exactly like them.

katm 10y ago
We try to mix it up. Here's where we went last winter: https://blog.ycombinator.com/winter-2016-college-tour/ https://blog.ycombinator.com/winter-2016-college-tour/. And last fall: https://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-office-hours-in-11-countries-this-fall/ https://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-office-hours-in-11-countries...
- ilamont 10y ago
  When YC posts about visiting the top-tier schools, it gives the impression that they are the only schools that matter. And I have to ask: If the Ivies/MIT/Stanford aren't the only schools that matter, why call them out in a post that's distinct from the winter tour post?
  - katm 10y ago
    I'm calling out the schools this time because when I submitted a post titled "YC Winter Tour 2016" last year, this is how it performed on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10881402 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10881402.
    - John23832 10y ago
      Is there a requirement that YC announcements perform well? I'm not trying to be negative, but just announce all the tours the same way and let people make of it what they will.
      - katm 10y ago
        No requirement. But why not try something different if the first version doesn't work well?
        John23832 10y ago
        If the point is just to announce, then why change what you did before? Announce it through the normal channels and be done with it.
        gist 10y ago
        Why can't a 'super user' just pin something at the top?
        sokoloff 10y ago
        They could, but I'm glad they don't by policy. I can't imagine the amount of crying from the community if the hosts of the site would take special privilege to pin their posts at the top. (I'd be fine with it, as it's their house, but I think they actually are better served to only take a small privilege with the jobs and show posts and otherwise leave the site to the users to vote/curate.)
    - ilamont 10y ago
      I think one of the issues is the title is too generic. Maybe call out some specific schools on the tour next time?
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
- Cyph0n 10y ago
  Will you be visiting Georgia Tech this year?
  - katm 10y ago
    Not in the next month. But that doesn't mean we won't try to make it out sometime this year.
- Balgair 10y ago
  Sooo, only NC State then. When I think Non-top tier I think Chico and Northern Colorado, not Duke and U-Penn. Guess that shows more about what my idea of top-tier is looking up than what I would think looking down.
wmichelin 10y ago
I went to a very small state school, and I made my way to Silicon Valley. It's not impossible.
- katm 10y ago
  I recently tallied up the schools that founders from our Summer 2016 batch went to, and they attended over 180. There are many schools on that list that most people haven't heard of.
morgante 10y ago
Top schools attract a disproportionate of intelligent young people. Ignoring that would be stupid.
- John23832 10y ago
  Being set up for success is different than being inherently intelligent. Who YC chooses to give separate attention does deserve scrutiny.
  - morgante 10y ago
    > Being set up for success is different than being inherently intelligent. Sure, but you're arguing against a straw man. It's simply objectively true that students at elite are on average much smarter than students at other schools, and more ambitious. They're much more likely to have a viable YC application. In fact, students who get into elite schools but don't attend them still far out-perform students who never got into one.
    - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
      >It's simply objectively true that students at elite are on average much smarter than students at other schools, and more ambitious. P(smart | elite school) != P(elite school | smart)
      - morgante 10y ago
        Sure, but do you disagree that P(smart|elite school) > P(smart)? I feel like people on HN have a giant chip on their shoulder when it comes to top schools. They're filled with lots of very smart students and ignoring that is ridiculous. Nowhere do I pretend that all smart kids are at top schools, or even that the majority is. But if I wanted to select a school to go to with the highest average IQ it would definitely be an elite school. It's not like everyone is buying their way into elite schools. I certainly didn't, nor did many of my classmates.
        10y ago
dave_sullivan 10y ago
Yeah, but what do you want them to do? Nationwide tour of schools? Why only American schools? Why not highschools? Why schools at all; why not start hosting events in libraries? But they're not. They're showing up at a few places, then doing other things. Fair enough, I think. It's not their job to do otherwise and you don't own their time.
- atonse 10y ago
  Why does this have to be taken to an extreme? People are (rightfully) pointing out that if you go to a the same 10 schools, you will by definition lack a diversity of thoughts and perspectives. Anyway this has already been argued above. They did announce it last time.
  - dave_sullivan 10y ago
    > if you go to a the same 10 schools, you will by definition lack a diversity of thoughts and perspectives I agree. I'm pointing out that YC can't be everything to everyone (that would be extreme) and elite colleges are kind of their thing (for worse, I think). It just strikes me as a whiny thing to complain about.
    - sanderjd 10y ago
      I really hate it when I see constructive criticism labeled "whining". The commenter was giving useful feedback, not complaining.
    - John23832 10y ago
      Why is it whining? The echo chamber of CS/Silicon Valley types is a real thing and if our objective is to move forward and become more influential/helpful to the public at large, existing within an echo chamber hurts us.

katm 10y ago

We try to mix it up. Here's where we went last winter: https://blog.ycombinator.com/winter-2016-college-tour/ https://blog.ycombinator.com/winter-2016-college-tour/. And last fall: https://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-office-hours-in-11-countries-this-fall/ https://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-office-hours-in-11-countries...

ilamont 10y ago
When YC posts about visiting the top-tier schools, it gives the impression that they are the only schools that matter. And I have to ask: If the Ivies/MIT/Stanford aren't the only schools that matter, why call them out in a post that's distinct from the winter tour post?
- katm 10y ago
  I'm calling out the schools this time because when I submitted a post titled "YC Winter Tour 2016" last year, this is how it performed on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10881402 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10881402.
  - John23832 10y ago
    Is there a requirement that YC announcements perform well? I'm not trying to be negative, but just announce all the tours the same way and let people make of it what they will.
    - katm 10y ago
      No requirement. But why not try something different if the first version doesn't work well?
      - John23832 10y ago
        If the point is just to announce, then why change what you did before? Announce it through the normal channels and be done with it.
      - gist 10y ago
        Why can't a 'super user' just pin something at the top?
        sokoloff 10y ago
        They could, but I'm glad they don't by policy. I can't imagine the amount of crying from the community if the hosts of the site would take special privilege to pin their posts at the top. (I'd be fine with it, as it's their house, but I think they actually are better served to only take a small privilege with the jobs and show posts and otherwise leave the site to the users to vote/curate.)
  - ilamont 10y ago
    I think one of the issues is the title is too generic. Maybe call out some specific schools on the tour next time?
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
Cyph0n 10y ago
Will you be visiting Georgia Tech this year?
- katm 10y ago
  Not in the next month. But that doesn't mean we won't try to make it out sometime this year.
Balgair 10y ago
Sooo, only NC State then. When I think Non-top tier I think Chico and Northern Colorado, not Duke and U-Penn. Guess that shows more about what my idea of top-tier is looking up than what I would think looking down.

wmichelin 10y ago

I went to a very small state school, and I made my way to Silicon Valley. It's not impossible.

katm 10y ago
I recently tallied up the schools that founders from our Summer 2016 batch went to, and they attended over 180. There are many schools on that list that most people haven't heard of.

morgante 10y ago

Top schools attract a disproportionate of intelligent young people. Ignoring that would be stupid.

John23832 10y ago
Being set up for success is different than being inherently intelligent. Who YC chooses to give separate attention does deserve scrutiny.
- morgante 10y ago
  > Being set up for success is different than being inherently intelligent. Sure, but you're arguing against a straw man. It's simply objectively true that students at elite are on average much smarter than students at other schools, and more ambitious. They're much more likely to have a viable YC application. In fact, students who get into elite schools but don't attend them still far out-perform students who never got into one.
  - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
    >It's simply objectively true that students at elite are on average much smarter than students at other schools, and more ambitious. P(smart | elite school) != P(elite school | smart)
    - morgante 10y ago
      Sure, but do you disagree that P(smart|elite school) > P(smart)? I feel like people on HN have a giant chip on their shoulder when it comes to top schools. They're filled with lots of very smart students and ignoring that is ridiculous. Nowhere do I pretend that all smart kids are at top schools, or even that the majority is. But if I wanted to select a school to go to with the highest average IQ it would definitely be an elite school. It's not like everyone is buying their way into elite schools. I certainly didn't, nor did many of my classmates.
      - 10y ago

dave_sullivan 10y ago

Yeah, but what do you want them to do? Nationwide tour of schools? Why only American schools? Why not highschools? Why schools at all; why not start hosting events in libraries? But they're not. They're showing up at a few places, then doing other things. Fair enough, I think. It's not their job to do otherwise and you don't own their time.

atonse 10y ago
Why does this have to be taken to an extreme? People are (rightfully) pointing out that if you go to a the same 10 schools, you will by definition lack a diversity of thoughts and perspectives. Anyway this has already been argued above. They did announce it last time.
- dave_sullivan 10y ago
  > if you go to a the same 10 schools, you will by definition lack a diversity of thoughts and perspectives I agree. I'm pointing out that YC can't be everything to everyone (that would be extreme) and elite colleges are kind of their thing (for worse, I think). It just strikes me as a whiny thing to complain about.
  - sanderjd 10y ago
    I really hate it when I see constructive criticism labeled "whining". The commenter was giving useful feedback, not complaining.
  - John23832 10y ago
    Why is it whining? The echo chamber of CS/Silicon Valley types is a real thing and if our objective is to move forward and become more influential/helpful to the public at large, existing within an echo chamber hurts us.