This doesn't really make sense. People who are different from the usual person have unusual backgrounds. This often includes highly-skilled "best of breed" indi

This doesn't really make sense. People who are different from the usual person have unusual backgrounds. This often includes highly-skilled "best of breed" individuals. You don't get somewhere unusual by doing all the usual things. It does not make any sense to either ostracize or acclaim candidates just by virtue of their having a degree; there are many dumb people with a degree and many smart people without (and vice-versa). A degree really does not tell you anything useful. Unless a candidate has advanced degrees, I almost never mention education in interviews because I really don't care about it. It is not a reliable metric of anything, really.