Beau Allen's top 4: Minnesota, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Stanford

[GopherGod]

I would classify the Minnesota Wall Street network as very tightly bound. I know a good percentage of the undergrads that have gone on to Wall Street jobs in the last 10-15 years and I mentored and helped place a couple of them directly. Obviously, it doesn't compare to the network of other schools but it isn't all that bad either.

But what I was saying in my post is that D-I athletes have their own network. They get jobs that aren't available to non-student athletes through leads from boosters or people looking for their background. I have worked with olympic athletes, Stanley Cup winners, NCAA champions, etc and companies eat that stuff up because of the dedication it takes to achieve those accolades.

I didn't say that for instance you couldn't get a Wall Street type of job from Minnesota, it is just tougher which we are in agreement on. In fact, I had a friend from Carlson that did it but it took a ton of work and money on his part which entailed him flying out there frequently just trying to get an interview while these firms were actively recruiting and interviewing at the national recognized universities. I also realize that athletes have their own networks but if you as a athlete can tap into that network that also happens to have a more extensive alumni network of the school in general wouldn't you want to tap into that, which is an advatage that a schoo like Notre Dame has? I take it you are a headhunter then? Again, I hope Beau Allen doesn't go to one of the other schools.

 

[grunkiejr]

I didn't say that for instance you couldn't get a Wall Street type of job from Minnesota, it is just tougher which we are in agreement on. In fact, I had a friend from Carlson that did it but it took a ton of work and money on his part which entailed him flying out there frequently just trying to get an interview while these firms were actively recruiting and interviewing at the national recognized universities. I also realize that athletes have their own networks but if you as a athlete can tap into that network that also happens to have a more extensive alumni network of the school in general wouldn't you want to tap into that, which is an advatage that a schoo like Notre Dame has? I take it you are a headhunter then? Again, I hope Beau Allen doesn't go to one of the other schools.

No I am not a HH. I worked at an investment bank. After reading what I wrote, I should have said referred them or gave recommendations at my firm and other firms instead of "placed them." Aside from referring people I had two U of M grads that worked directly for me too.

I completely agree if you want to go to Wall Street that is a different equation than an athlete that just wants a good paying job after college. I haven't heard if Beau wants to go that route.

 

[re3886]

actually it's not...

The objectives of the school are irrelevant when judging them. You could make the case that this is unfair, I actually totally agree. That doesn't make it any less true however. Yale is very selective, with almost no premonitions about educating the state of Connecticut. That doesn't lower the school's quality of education however. At least not by most criteria.

I love the outpouring of support for Minnesota education though. Maybe write Governor Pawlenty with similar complaints about budget cuts eh?

How you perceive quality is a huge part of the picture. Minnesota reaches the top end while still educating the large number of the in-state candidates. The credibility of your argument seems to weigh heavily on some idea of exclusivity. A question for you. What's a better School? Harvard, Yale, Carleton, or Middlebury? If you go by U.S News and World Report or the Princeton review it's Yale or Harvard. By college admission people it's Middlebury, Carleton, Virginia, and several other's then Harvard or Yale based on how hard it is to get into. Of course once you get there, you're screwed if you want to go any form of the Sciences, with the exception of Virginia. Perception trumps reality in College ratings.
Now that the "U" is doing a better of graduating the mass number of it's students, we will get a Governor who has not declared war the state's students, and hopefully fund the state's colleges to a reasonable level, and things will get better.

 

[Jwill535]

I used to work in government in Wisconsin and UW-Madison accepts students heavily on class rank, so if you go to a strong suburban school you have a much harder time in getting into UW-Madison than a student who went to a small rural school. Pissed off parents who constantly contact myself and others about how their son or daughter did not get into Madison because of this admissions process. I have heard of students with 21's getting into Madison where students with high 20's will get wait listed or not accepted to Madison. Their admission process has always been a sore subject with the state government in Wisconsin for some time but it will probably never change.

I can speak to this from personal experience. I had a 29 on my ACT and only a 3.2gpa(hated homework) and didnt get accepted, while someone I knew got in with a 21(He had a certain "liberal" advantage though). A set of twins that I graduated with both had the about the same GPA(.1 difference) and the same ACT and one got in, while the other one didnt. We all went to high school in Madison, which makes it harder to get into UW then living in one of the suburbs. I would also add that UW(I think UM does too) doesnt take weighted classes into account and actually decreases your GPA from and boost you got from then during the application process.

 

[KD6-3.7]

is it just me or is gopherprof starting to sound like another poster on this board. the one that rhymes with tadpole.

sock puppet?