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I believe that it's an uphill fight and the hill is becoming much steeper.

Over the past decade or so I've witnessed a real trend toward quantifying employees by their educational background. This includes top law firms, banks, and even television. The kid who graduates at the top of his class from a state school is knocked out by the kid who graduated at the bottom of his class at an Ivy. This wasn't always the case, but it's trending that way more every single day.

The kid who graduates at the top of his class from a state school is knocked out by the kid who graduated at the bottom of his class at an Ivy.

Kids who go to public school also attend Ivy's and do well.........kids who attend private school also attend states and may not do well.

I didn't realize this discussion was about post high school education/graduation.

The kid who graduates at the top of his class from a state school is knocked out by the kid who graduated at the bottom of his class at an Ivy

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Law firms have always been elitist, and an Ivy degree is helpful in gaining admission to some professional schools, and in academia.

In business and industry, an Ivy degree is often counter productive. The Ivies simply do not have the best programs in many fields.

In the specific area of chemistry in which my husband earned his Ph.D., there were NO Ivies offering this program. It was exclusively found only in the state universities. My husband then went to work at one of the world's leading chemical firms and had an outstanding career. He published many papers, lectured world wide, and earned 6 patents. He was awarded "Distinguished Scientist" at the young age of 40 40, which was a very high honor from this major company. This company rarely gave a job to an Ivy grad.

The Wall Street Journal reported that businesses are now shunning the Ivy graduates. These graduates too often have an overweening sense of entitlement that is difficult to integrate into the workplace team environment. The truth is also, that often the Ivies do not have the best programs to be found in many technical areas. In my own profession, that is absolutely the case.