Is Elite College Worth It? Maybe Not
This can cut both ways. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done well in 1-2 rounds of software interviews, to then be told the company suspects my compensation requirements are outside their budget (even when we have not spoken about compensation at all at that point), and it’s almost surely down to the degree programs I went through.<p>If you sincerely get into elite programs by merit and demonstrated talent, and you do not come from a wealthy family, then elite institutions don’t help you much at all. I’ve never once had doors open because of my degrees, but certainly have had doors closed presumably because people form a pre-conceived opinion about me or believe the degree prices me out of the market.<p>I’ve experienced similar things when I’ve shared my Stack Overflow profile during interviews. I am very highly ranked in a number of relevant technology tags, but this has not once helped me in any way, yet it has seemed like a liability.<p>Meanwhile, I know plenty of great engineers from a variety of “non-elite” schools, and they have never expressed having this problem. They express just having a pretty normal success rate with job applications and being evaluated for their skill and experience, and never sensing that their degrees have any significant effect on anything.<p>Being a “success outlier” often just puts a target on your back. People will write you off as elitist, coming from a wealthy family, getting places in life through favoritism, and never stop to meet you and see what kind of person you are or question their assumptions.