Challenging the Elite Education Bias: The Benefits of Looking Beyond Prestigious Universities

Different Backgrounds Produce Different Skill Sets

There’s a prevailing misunderstanding among young people and parents alike that students must attend a prestigious university to guarantee themselves a good job after graduation. While the school you attend is important to some employers, it is certainly not true that only top-of-the-class students from brand-name schools are capable of making excellent employees. What a student does at school is much more important than the school they attend or degree they graduate with. All graduates, from large state schools to small liberal arts colleges, should be evaluated on their merits and accomplishments, rather than on whether or not they could afford to attend an expensive household-name university.

Diversity is an Asset in and of Itself

“Talented graduates can come from any university.”

If your goal is to gather a group of talented and driven individuals that are willing and able to complete the jobs assigned to them, you should focus on hiring well-rounded people, instead of hiring one type of student. Talented graduates can come from any university, and it’s up to you to look at what each prospective hire has done during their time at school. Hiring only Summa Cum Laude graduates from elite universities limits your team’s scope of view. To guarantee a certain degree of diversity among your staff, you must look beyond the elite education bias for the “hidden gems” that may, in fact, benefit your team the most.

Resumes Say More Than Degrees

While the name of a prestigious school is an attractive addition to any resume, a student’s degree can tell you where their skills are focused. For example, a young Business major that paid her way through college may graduate with a Bachelor’s from a lesser known university, but it shows she is driven, self-motivated and capable of overcoming difficult obstacles. Someone from a large state school might not have graduated with honors, but their internship in a relevant field shows enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. Each college graduate has a story: whether it’s how they overcame great adversity to chase their aspirations or how they furthered their studies with extracurricular activities. These stories can be just as telling about a student’s character and qualifications as the university they graduated from or their GPA.

The Importance of a Well-Rounded Skill-Set

“A student’s second major, minor, internship, or community engagement will tell you a lot about their strengths and interests.”

Unless you’re hiring for a specific role, well-rounded students are preferable. Look at the student’s extracurricular involvement to determine whether they have the diverse skill-set needed for the job. A student’s second major, minor, internship, or community engagement will tell you a lot about their strengths and interests. For example, a Philosophy major with a minor in Computer Science, who interned at a computer engineering firm may be a better fit for your project than a Computer Science major with a high GPA and an empty resume. Private schools have fantastic professors, but a school can only do so much for its students; it is then that the great hires stand out among the good.

Take A Chance On Greatness

“Someone from a lesser-known college may be a perfect fit for the job and for your team.”

Undergrads with great grades and graduates from prestigious universities could make fantastic employees, but there’s a lot of room in-between: filled with creativity, innovation and drive. Diversity among your staff provides varying perspectives on your projects, while maintaining an environment where everyone can learn from each other’s experiences. By only hiring students from a select number of schools, you miss out on the possibility that someone from a lesser-known college may be the perfect fit for the job and for your team. “Hidden gems” are being snatched up by companies and projects all across the world, but finding them is all about knowing where to look.