A very real advantage of going to a prep school is the connections you make. Forget about the parents networking - most of them are already well off - it’s the kids that make nice connections.
Who cares about inteligence? It’s all about getting into good colleges and these schools are very effective in that area (as I mentioned before some of these schools send 50% of their students to ivies). I really don’t think it’s a keeping up with the jones’s mentality for the majority of these parents, it’s just that for some people 40k a year is nothing and if that what it costs to increase little johny’s chances to get into Harvard by however small an amount, parents will do it.
+1
Rich, white, preppy parents send ttheir rich, white, preppy kids to a rich, white, preppy school where they can rub shoulders with other rich, white, preppy kids and eventually get hired by a rich, white preppy guy who went to the same rich, white, preppy school.
^Stormy just got an ulcer.
Yep. It’s the true circle of life!
I agree and disagree…
Intelligence is definitely affected by genetics but i have to say your surroundings have a lot to do with it as well.
while it’s hard to measure the exact percentage, i will give a simple demonstration.
Say in Asia, many parents send their kids to private schools where their kids are taught in English. Now, clearly not every kid is genetically more intelligent, but even the dumbest kid in these private schools come out speaking relatively well English (better than the top students from an average school) - why?
Same pattern goes for math, science, and other subjects.
Yes, you will then say, “but academic success does not equal to intelligence!”
But imagine the student coming from a background with higher language and math skills, that person is likely to be more confident in social situation compared to other kids and higher chance in getting into university, working in international companies or government. More opportunities = better chance of learning even more advanced skills/ knowledge = possibly more intelligence.
It’s easy to mock or laugh at monster parents doing crazy things to give their kids a better chance in life, but so many of us are doing exactly the same, collecting certificates and degrees just to build a CV to either feel better about ourselves or more employable.
I doubt there’s a high correlation between intelligence and getting a good job on Wall Street. Maybe for physicians and rocket scientists.
Really? Really? Please, just stop, stop right there
^ Not sure if you’re being sarcastic or not. Networking and the school you went too determines a lot, especially early on. Once you get good experience, you can bull$hit your way to other good jobs.
It is a myth. I worked at all top investment banks and i can tell you one thing. You don’t make MD in Trading/Strats/Tech unless you are very, and i underscore very sharp. I am not sure about Sales/Operations any other areas, as i have not been exposed those areas, but for Trading/Strats/Tech - it is absolutely a merit based environment
Even if finance is mostly meritocratic, you need to be exposed to opportunities that will allow you to take advantage of that meritocracy in the first place. A large part of this involves going to the right schools, and obtaining the best education in finance, technical fields, or other things. This starts at an early age. Going to a good high school with AP classes, arts and science funding, PhD teachers, good college placement, and other advantages like that increases your chances of admission to an elite college, which in turn enhances your chances of being hired by a leading financial firm. Plus, we should acknowledge the role of elite education in shaping the person’s technical ability and leadership skills in the first place.
There is obviously a correlation between competence and success, in finance and in any other field. However, competence is not just something that you are born with, and neither is it the sole determinant of success, since yes, “networking”, chronyism and luck are also important.
Of course, as I have said before, I believe that the US is special among many countries in that it offers the opportunity of success to individuals with extraordinary will and talent, regardless of their circumstances. However, I will be the first to admit that some people will always have advantageous over others, and people born under unfavorable circumstances will always have to work harder or be more talented to achieve the same success.
I don’t think anyone disagrees that going to good schools will help you, it is a question of degree and the cost associated with it. Going to a non hksw school will be great, and worth the 40k+/- but going to a 40k elementary school? I’m skeptical. Even these high caliber private schools will be competitive and you will need to do very well there.
For you it’s excessive, for some families, $40K isn’t a “big deal”.
Honestly if you look at it from their perspective, a first class ticket can easily be over $10K, a family trip of 4 that’s $40K already.
The face value of a first class ticket is very expensive, but most people that fly first class either get there through status upgrades (e.g. with Executive Platinum status on AA, you have a pretty good chance getting into first/business while paying economy fair at least 1/3 of the time in my experience)
how do you get that upgrade to first/business
If any of you had FU money and could send your kid(s) to a $40K/year school, you would. No doubt about it.
Why? Beacuse you CAN and the kid(s) are better off.
Next…
bang the air hostess
wonder what he does if its only hosts…
+1