UVA is good semi-target school with a low acceptance rate. I assume it’s the best state school in Virginia, but I wouldn’t call it a fancy degree (ie Harvard / Yale). If he went to Darden for his MBA that would be a different story, but for undergrad, it’s just a good degree.

The reality is, as a recent grad, your college sells your profile a lot. It’s all you have aside from (hopefully) internships. Once you’re 5+ years into your career, it’s a nice to have, but your work experience and post-grad accomplishments are much more relevant.

I’ve worked primarily with people that went to top tier schools. They usually had the right mentorship, they had on-campus recruiting, and they had a strong alumni network. The degree programs are hard to get into they imply a minimum level of attention to detail and competency needed to perform jobs in high fin and consulting - they’re natural fits.

That said, they all got in because they did the right things and took advantage of the opportunities they had. I also have encountered a large number of individuals from target schools who did next to nothing or made poor decisions in their first roles, but who feel entitled to special treatment well into their mid career. These people all generally underperform and they continuously reference their undergrad, largely because they don’t have professional accomplishments to stand on.

Yeah, if you’re a 7-yr associate manager, then your college shouldn’t be more than a humble brag intro in your “tell me about yourself”. Not a primary talking point. Given he felt the need to specify this on his Reddit post, its giving me the sense that this is a case of entitlement - especially since Accenture federal isn’t particularly selective.