IMO the alumni network is massively overrated. It might be different in services or finance, but in tech I've gotten way more mileage out of academic and open

IMO the alumni network is massively overrated. It might be different in services or finance, but in tech I've gotten way more mileage out of academic and open source communities. I do agree that there's a heavy power law on program value, but I attribute it more to the scarcity of great professors and the peer learning advantage of highly selective programs. Your ycombinator analogy still applies pretty well actually.