| > you Americans fetishize brand name universities I'm sure some people do this (American and non-American). But whether you like it or not, attending a brand name university has advantages. I went to a mediocre state school for undergrad and a "brand name" university for PhD. 2 + 2 = 4 in both locations. But if you compare their respective alumni networks, they are LIGHT YEARS apart. On the "fancy" alumni network, I routinely see posts like, "I'm trying to get an interview with Jeff Bezos/Bill Gates/<famous person>. Anyone have any contacts?" And they will get contacts! Or... "My Greenwich hedge fund is looking for a <blahblahblah>..." On my undergrad network, it's middle-managers as far as the eye can see, each trying to sell "volume discounts" to the other. Is that 'fair'? I have no idea. Is it self-perpetuating? Absolutely. But the "reverence" that people hold for name schools is because those schools wield considerable power. |