[Rally]

I didn't attend Stanford, I went to that decent little Jesuit school down the peninsula.  You can't, generally speaking, prove a negative, and I can't say what I've missed without a Stanford degree, except perhaps in the broadest of strokes.  So I know the following:

* When I joined BofA out of SCU, I got to talking with the recruiter who mentioned that the really plum entry level jobs were saved for graduates from 17 very specific schools.  Stanford was one, SCU was not.

* I know over the years I've missed out on opportunities to people with degrees from the most selective schools.

* I only applied to two schools, Santa Clara and Stanford.  I was accepted to SCU with honors, didn't get in to Stanford.  Had I been accepted to a better school, I'm not sure my ultimate career trajectory would have been any different.  I'm reasonably intelligent, but I don't have that mental fifth gear that I see in so many Stanford grads and so few of my fellow Broncos.  I had my first national role at age 29, international role at 36, CXO at age 43.  My suspicion is that a Stanford degree would have accelerated all that by five years, I would have had a better network and learned things I didn't learn at SCU.  More than likely, same role at a much larger firm.

My message to a young person...go to the best possible school you can.  You will feel the results your entire life.

Anyway, my life is richer for having known grads from both schools over the years, and yes, I even have friends from C.al.  But not U$C...;)

Thank you for sharing, Mick.  I don't have that fifth mental gear either.  I have certain gifts that I have never been able to control, so I can never count on them.  Not a fifth gear if you don't know how to shift to it.  Earlier when I said I only applied to Stanford I forgot that I also applied to Santa Clara, only because it was close to Stanford.  I don't remember but assume so.  Certainly with no money offered else my father would have taken notice.  I was also accepted to U.SC without ever applying.  That's another story and the source of my disdain.

[Rally]

I didn't attend Stanford, I went to that decent little Jesuit school down the peninsula.  You can't, generally speaking, prove a negative, and I can't say what I've missed without a Stanford degree, except perhaps in the broadest of strokes.  So I know the following:

* When I joined BofA out of SCU, I got to talking with the recruiter who mentioned that the really plum entry level jobs were saved for graduates from 17 very specific schools.  Stanford was one, SCU was not.

* I know over the years I've missed out on opportunities to people with degrees from the most selective schools.

* I only applied to two schools, Santa Clara and Stanford.  I was accepted to SCU with honors, didn't get in to Stanford.  Had I been accepted to a better school, I'm not sure my ultimate career trajectory would have been any different.  I'm reasonably intelligent, but I don't have that mental fifth gear that I see in so many Stanford grads and so few of my fellow Broncos.  I had my first national role at age 29, international role at 36, CXO at age 43.  My suspicion is that a Stanford degree would have accelerated all that by five years, I would have had a better network and learned things I didn't learn at SCU.  More than likely, same role at a much larger firm.

My message to a young person...go to the best possible school you can.  You will feel the results your entire life.

Anyway, my life is richer for having known grads from both schools over the years, and yes, I even have friends from C.al.  But not U$C...;)

Thank you for sharing, Mick.  I don't have that fifth mental gear either.  I have certain gifts that I have never been able to control, so I can never count on them.  Not a fifth gear if you don't know how to shift to it.  Earlier when I said I only applied to Stanford I forgot that I also applied to Santa Clara, only because it was close to Stanford.  I don't remember but assume so.  Certainly with no money offered else my father would have taken notice.  I was also accepted to U.SC without ever applying.  That's another story and the source of my disdain.