According to a Wall Street Journal survey, recruiters would rather hire entry-level workers from state universities than Ivy League schools.
Been pinching pennies to send your teenage daughter to Princeton in hopes that she’ll be able to score a good job straight out of college? The results of a new survey may stun you and help you save some cash: according to the Wall Street Journal, recruiters prefer to hire entry-level workers from state schools, rather than Ivy League colleges.
The 479 large companies surveyed selected their top 25 picks for job candidates, and 19 of the schools listed were public state universities. There was just one Ivy—Cornell—among them. Recruiters most preferred students with degrees in subjects like finance or accounting, which have practical applications in the workforce. The recruiters claim public school graduates tend to be the most well-rounded applicants, and can fit well into the companies’ cultures.
This isn’t to say that a Harvard grad is out of luck, however—many Ivy League graduates tend to pursue master’s level degrees, and wouldn’t be counted among the recruiters’ applicant pools. But for students who are hoping to land a good job just after college, there’s no need to overwhelm yourself with debt to get your foot in the door: for an affordable, high-quality degree, try your state school instead.