School prestige and rankings of very little value?

[sanantone]

There are a handful of fields where prestige and rankings are important, but it appears that they don't matter in most other fields.

Several people here have been concerned about whether or not they could get into a good graduate school with a Big 3 degree. The answer is that graduate schools don't care about the ranking of your undergraduate school. They are looking at your GPA, essays, letters of recommendation, and test scores. 

https://mygraduateschool.wordpress.com/2...rs-degree/


If you've taken statistics, you know that correlation does not equal causation. While those who attend prestigious schools may have higher earnings and are more likely to attend graduate school, it may be that prestige has very little to do with the success of graduates. One study looked at students from top tier schools and students with similar test scores who couldn't get into a top school for whatever reason. It found that there was little difference in earnings. This suggests that an individual's aptitude is more important than school prestige. Prestigious schools just filter for very high aptitude students.


https://mobile.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/we...=2&referer=

One thing pointed out in the article that I mention all the time is that the quality of the department with your major is more important than the overall ranking of the school. For example, Harvard might be ranked #1 or #2 every year, but it is not one of the top 20 schools for engineering majors.

[Life Long Learning]

I have seen elite college grads who are lazy in the workplace.  That is yet another factor that folks forget.  I think work ethic generally separates most employees not college degree names.

[Joeman200]

I think work ethic generally separates most employees not college degree names.

I agree. Unfortunately, you have to be good at selling yourself in an interview to land a job. I wish there was an easy way to show potential employers ones real work ethic. I suppose calling past employers helps with that; however, I feel for high schoolers who don't have any experience.

[sanantone]

Most of the screening techniques HR employs have very little validity when it comes to predicting future job performance. One of the worst screening tools is contacting references. Most employers won't say anything beyond that you're either eligible or ineligible for rehire for fear of being sued. No one is going to write down a personal reference who is going to give a bad reference.

I read that one of the best ways to evaluate applicants is to test them in situations that are similar to what they would encounter on the job.

[Joeman200]

Most of the screening techniques HR employs have very little validity when it comes to predicting future job performance. One of the worst screening tools is contacting references. Most employers won't say anything beyond that you're either eligible or ineligible for rehire for fear of being sued. No one is going to write down a personal reference who is going to give a bad reference.

I read that one of the best ways to evaluate applicants is to test them in situations that are similar to what they would encounter on the job.

In that case, I'll consider myself very fortunate for the previous employers I've had.    I've always had a good relationship with my previous employers and stay in contact with them.  They've put in a good word for me in the past.

[dfrecore]

Most of the screening techniques HR employs have very little validity when it comes to predicting future job performance. 

It's like using the SAT to predict success in college - there is almost no correlation there.  They've known it for many years.  But for whatever reason, they keep using it...

[sanantone]

Most of the screening techniques HR employs have very little validity when it comes to predicting future job performance. 

It's like using the SAT to predict success in college - there is almost no correlation there.  They've known it for many years.  But for whatever reason, they keep using it...

It makes weeding out candidates easier. Some graduate programs at top schools have stopped requiring the GRE.

[clep3705]

If I'm paying for it, I value cost over prestige. If my employer is paying my tuition as two different employers have, I go value prestige over cost because there is no cost to me. My prestige private university at 3 times the cost of my state university really did provide a better education, but it was only marginally better than my state university, not 3 times better.

I have received benefits from having a degree from a prestigious university but not enough for me to tell people to spend their own funds for a prestigious school.