[throwaway598]

Could you conclude they are people that were smart at 17 and 18 when applying to university?

Could you make a link between applying to well known colleges aspirational for their social circle, and then applying to well known companies aspirational for their social circle?

I lived next to a smart guy in university. His ambition was to join Accenture. Apparently so did a lot of others at the time as their hiring process was hideously 'entitled', if a post-2010s word makes sense when applied to companies. Quite a lot of people had their lives similarly mapped out, controllingly so. He now has a 4 bedroom house and has paid off the mortgage. His kids go to fee paying schools like he did. An effective rotation of the socio-economic cycle. He'll probably live to a ripe old age. I'd hate to disappoint myself, perhaps my fear manifests itself in risk taking.