Boston College named among Forbes' New Ivies
The Ivy League is forfeiting its standing as Americaās producer of great talent, while a cohort of ascendent public and private universities, including Boston College, is emerging as the academic institutions employers rely on for new hires, according to Forbesā listing of the āNew Ivies,ā published April 29.
Based on its research, Forbes, the century-old national business magazine, reported that American companies are not only souring on hiring Ivy League graduates, but also prefer the hardworking, high-achieving graduates from the 20 prominent U.S. universities that comprise their list.
Split into two categoriesāāPrivate and Public New Ivies"āBoston College heads the list of 10 private universities that are āturning out the smart, driven graduates craved by employers of all types,ā while āthe Ivies are more apt to turn out entitled ones,ā according to the magazine.
Joining ņņņ½Ö±²„ in the private school āNew Iviesā listing are Carnegie Mellon University; Emory University; Georgetown University; Johns Hopkins University; Northwestern University; Rice University; University of Notre Dame; University of Southern California; and Vanderbilt University.
āForbes' āNew Iviesā listing is an external validation of the quality of our students and their ability to use their liberal arts education to become leaders and solve problems in an increasingly complex world,ā said ņņņ½Ö±²„ās Grant M. Gosselin, dean of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid.Ā āItās a quality that is in demand among hiring leaders.ā
"We are thrilled to be recognized by ForbesĀ as one of the 'New Ivies,'" added Associate Vice President for Career Services and Integrated Learning Joseph Du Pont. "This designation underscores our commitment to fostering an environment where academic excellence and career preparation go hand in hand.
"Our Jesuit tradition of educating the whole person is fundamental, encouraging our students to pursue work that is not only meaningful but also impactful, preparing them to make a positive difference in the world," he added. "Our students are equipped not just with knowledge, but with the adaptability and drive that today's dynamic job market demands."
The magazineĀ surveyed nearly 300 subscribers to its āFuture of Workā newsletter, 75 percent of whom possess direct hiring authority. According to the publication, ā33 percent of those making hiring decisions said they are less likely to hire Ivy League graduates today than five years ago. Only seven percent said they were more likely to hire them.ā
Entrepreneur, āShark Tankā investor, and Indiana University alum Mark Cuban noted in theĀ ¹ó“Ē°ł²ś±š²õĢżarticle: āI donāt give an edge to Ivy League schools. Thatās not to say that I wouldnāt hire one.Ā Itās just that I never believed they make better employees.āĀ
“Forbes' āNew Iviesā listing is an external validation of the quality of our students and their ability to use their liberal arts education to become leaders and solve problems in an increasingly complex world. Itās a quality that is in demand among hiring leaders.”
To determine their āprivate and public Iviesā list, theĀ ¹ó“Ē°ł²ś±š²õāĀ researchers first disqualified the āAncient Eightā (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale)āalong with the what it characterized as the commonly accepted āIvy-plusā universities such as the University of Chicago, Duke, MIT, and Stanfordāresulting in 1,743 colleges with at least 4,000 students for their survey.
Using 2022 admissions data, they screened for colleges with high standardized test scoresāschools that still heavily rely on objective measures of successāand where at least half of the applicants supplied their scores, whether required or not.Ā Their focus on SAT or ACT results was based on findings from the non-profit research firm Opportunity Insights, which demonstrated that standardized test assessments are āboth more predictive of success in college than grades, and fairer to all applicants,ā the article noted.
The researchers also screened the schools with a selectivity measure (below a 20 percent admission rate at private schools and 50 percent at public universities), resulting in 32 colleges remaining for the hiring manager respondents to assess.
¹ó“Ē°ł²ś±š²õĢżreported that 31 percent of the hiring managers thought that non-Ivy private universities like ņņņ½Ö±²„ were doing a better job of preparing job candidates, while 37 percent praised state universities for their studentsā preparedness.
“This designation underscores our commitment to fostering an environment where academic excellence and career preparation go hand in hand. Our Jesuit tradition of educating the whole person is fundamental, encouraging our students to pursue work that is not only meaningful but also impactful, preparing them to make a positive difference in the world. Our students are equipped not just with knowledge, but with the adaptability and drive that today's dynamic job market demands.”
According to the magazine, the Ivies have ātaken the value theyāve spent centuries creatingāa degree that employers cravedāand in just a few years done a lot to forfeit it.ā
The state universities identified byĀ ForbesĀ as āpublic Iviesā included Binghamton University; Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus; University of Texas-Austin; University of Florida; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; University of Maryland-College Park; University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; University of Virginia-Main Campus; and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
°Ā³ó¾±±ō±šĢż¹ó“Ē°ł²ś±š²õĢżreadily admits that the Ivy League schools havenāt completely ālost their luster,ā Jacqueline Reses, a Penn alumna, donor, and member of Whartonās Board of Advisors, said, āI wouldnāt forego the opportunity to hire brilliant, tenacious, smart wonderful kids, but Iād be more thoughtful in how Iād screen them.ā