4 ms·

It's hard to measure the brand value of an Ivy League diploma. There have been studies that show that ivy league grads earn more than grads of other schools, bu

by easp 18y ago

It's hard to measure the brand value of an Ivy League diploma. There have been studies that show that ivy league grads earn more than grads of other schools, but their controls haven't been very good. Earlier in the decade though, there was a study published that took great pains to get the control group right. Their control group was people who'd actually been accepted to an Ivy League school, but chose to go elsewhere. When comparing "ivy league material" that chose to go elsewhere, with those that did end up going to ivy league schools, they found no significant difference in earning potential down the road. Between the two groups. Neither the ivy league education, nor the connections that supposedly come with it, nor the prestige of the diploma made a significant difference when comparing between equal starting material. There was one exception, students from disadvantaged backgrounds. If you accept post-college compensation as a proxy for the value placed on educational credentials, it appears that, in the end, there is little extra value from, say, a Harvard diploma.

rantfoil 18y ago
It's interesting that "Ivy" has come up multiple times in this discussion, because I guess Ivy is synonymous with prestige. And I'd say prestige helps a little but not much if tokenadult's goal is to start a software startup after college. However, a quick note about the Harvard diploma. I have a bunch of Harvard friends, and they're really great people. And the one thing that's interesting about them is almost across the board, they expect to do great things. And this can be both obnoxious and incredibly inspiring. The overwhelming desire to change the world and (for some) absolute conviction that they will is something that I do think gets forged into some people in some institutions like Harvard. That very feeling can be worth it in and of itself. The other thing I'd like to point out is that in general software startups (and the big guys like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Adobe, etc.) that are hiring don't necessarily care as much about Ivies. They care about TOP CS talent. And that's Carnegie Mellon, UIUC, Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, etc. If you want to start a company after college, you want to come out of one of those schools if that's an option. I think I've mentioned this elswhere in this thread, but your peers will push you harder and the competition is great. You'll meet super smart people who will push you to be better, and these can/will be your cofounders in the future. And cofounders will make or break your startup.

by easp 18y ago

rantfoil 18y ago

It's interesting that "Ivy" has come up multiple times in this discussion, because I guess Ivy is synonymous with prestige. And I'd say prestige helps a little but not much if tokenadult's goal is to start a software startup after college. However, a quick note about the Harvard diploma. I have a bunch of Harvard friends, and they're really great people. And the one thing that's interesting about them is almost across the board, they expect to do great things. And this can be both obnoxious and incredibly inspiring. The overwhelming desire to change the world and (for some) absolute conviction that they will is something that I do think gets forged into some people in some institutions like Harvard. That very feeling can be worth it in and of itself. The other thing I'd like to point out is that in general software startups (and the big guys like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Adobe, etc.) that are hiring don't necessarily care as much about Ivies. They care about TOP CS talent. And that's Carnegie Mellon, UIUC, Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, etc. If you want to start a company after college, you want to come out of one of those schools if that's an option. I think I've mentioned this elswhere in this thread, but your peers will push you harder and the competition is great. You'll meet super smart people who will push you to be better, and these can/will be your cofounders in the future. And cofounders will make or break your startup.