The University of Chicago

Date: Jul 21 2004
Major: Anthropology (This Major's Salary over time)
The strength of the University of Chicago "brand" really lies in academia and specific sub-sets the private sector (investment banking, medicine, law).

When you are not travelling in academic circles, investment banking/medicine/law circles, or elitist coastal social circles, no one will know or care that you went to the University of Chicago. At first, I thought that this didn't matter (I didn't go there to impress your Aunt Susie).

Having settled down in the middle of the country, however, Chicago's lack of notoriety can be a little aggravating. Admittedly, Midwesterners generally could care less about where people go to school. But when even the "educated" people in a city (in my case Minneapolis) can't tell the difference between your gut-wrenching 4 years of intellectual rigor at Chicago and their alcohol-induced stupor at Mankato State University…

In the end, success will ultimately be affected by the quality of your education than by its perceived reputation. That being said, and I don't mind being self-congratulatory here, my education has always served me well, whether it be in graduate school or the real world. My knowledge base, as well as my analytical skills, usually separate me from my peers—whether those peers be lawschool classmates or fellow young lawyers.