Will attending an ivy league school guarantee better job opportunities?
Does going to an Ivy League make you more likely to receive more job opportunities? #college #career #graduate-school #college-admissions #job-search #college-bound #undergraduate #ivy-league
3 answers
Stephanie Murnen
Stephanie’s Answer
You will have a lot of great networking opportunities by going to an Ivy League school, and many large corporations and top grad school programs recruit directly from the Ivy Leagues, so a lot of doors can be opened for you just because of the name on your degree.
That being said, you can do very, very well at any size of school if you have strong grades, unique internship or job experiences, a well-rounded background, and community involvement. Employers are most interested in bringing in an employee who is a quick learner, driven, collaborative and a team player. Having specific in demand skills like coding, computer engineering, foreign language skills, graphic design, copywriting, etc also make you a very valuable asset to any organization regardless of your educational background. The company is investing in you and all that you can bring to them over your career. Just having a degree from a fancy school isn't necessarily enough to make you investment worthy.
The book "David and Goliath" by Malcolm Gladwell talks about being a big fish in a little pond (in respective to education) versus being a small fish at an Ivy League and it gives a really interesting perspective. I'd definitely recommend reading it!
Thank you for your answer and for the book recommendation! I will check it out!
Jackie
Nicole’s Answer
I see that you are posting this question where your location is in Phildelphia PA. I can vouch for a pretty good Ivy League school there ;). I do think that having a degree from an Ivy League school has benefits. That said, there are no guarantees.
As I respond to your question in the year of 2021, we as a global community are still feeling the economic effects of a global pandemic. Many businesses either closed or slowed down and many individuals have lost jobs. It would have been incredibly difficult to factor a global pandemic into job prospects but as we are slowly climbing out of this pandemic, there is more of a focus on skill set than where a person got their degree. Importantly, there is a general shortage of workers in many different industries. Again, unlikely that at this time, the school from which an individual got their degree matters more than whether or not an individual has the skill sets needed for the jobs that need workers.
Hope you find this answer helpful and best of luck to you!
Gina’s Answer
Yes, absolutely. As an employer, I always put an ivy league applicant at the top of the list. As a candidate, it has opened EVERY door I've ever knocked on.
I'm not sure I'll ever get into one, but I hope so! I have interned at an Ivy-associated institution, hopefully that will be good enough!! Thank you!
Jackie