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I went to a good private school in NYC and am considering leaving it on my resume for NYC OCI. I know the general rule is to take everything high school off but I wanted to leave it on in case someone I'm interviewing with is either an alumni or a prospective parent looking to get their child in. Is this a terrible idea? Will it be held against me by those who have never heard of the school?

Take it off the resume

Probably not a terrible idea if you limit it to one line. Elite private boarding school connections can yield positive results; not sure about the NYC elite private day schools, however.

Just put in your interests section: "Reallyexpensive Prep Alumni Outreach Club" or something like that.

If a kid put Dalton C/O 2008 on their resume for a job interview nearly a decade later that would definitely rub me the wrong way. I think you can safely drop it in when asked where you're from/where you grew up, but you'll want to gauge based on the interviewer whether or not that's the right play. Not everyone will share your background.

ETA: what the person above said is not a bad idea.. Have it as a volunteering activity/alumni org

It is better for a talking point during OCI.

The only times I have heard of ppl leaving the HS on is when you are in a very ties driven market. NYC is the complete opposite of that

I would take it off and contact your school's alumni office to get in touch directly with alumni at the firms. You get the same benefit without risking turning an interviewer off.

Apparently in St. Louis this is actually a big deal. I've had friends working out there tell me people ask your high school over your whole life. So bizzare.

Probably wouldn't include anything on an adult, professional resume that reflects your experiences as an adolescent.

Maybe this is palatable if it's mentioned as an aside in some description of a continued interest. For example, "Building on my love for playing polo as a member of The Dalton School Stallions, I founded international program for aspiring low-income Liverpudlian equine enthusiasts during my time as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford."

I'm being facetious, but you get the idea.

OP here, off it goes. Thanks for the advice.

Also, fuck Dalton.

I went to a shitty public school, and I do OCI interviews for my firm on occasion. If I saw this line on there, it would an almost immediate disqualifier / a massive hurdle to overcome. I can't even express exactly how douchey it would look to me. I'd take it off and only bring it up in conversation if it happens purely organically and you're sure it's relevant.

double post

Take it off. Be sure it's on your LinkedIn though.

bruinfan10 wrote:Apparently in St. Louis this is actually a big deal. I've had friends working out there tell me people ask your high school over your whole life. So bizzare.

Nashville is the same way. It comes up in literally every professional conversation I have. Great for busting balls in interviews though.

It's a big deal in a couple of non-Northeastern US cities as well.

If it always comes up, there's no need to include it.

Can be a big deal in AZ if you went to a particular high school

Anonymous User wrote:I went to a shitty public school, and I do OCI interviews for my firm on occasion. If I saw this line on there, it would an almost immediate disqualifier / a massive hurdle to overcome. I can't even express exactly how douchey it would look to me. I'd take it off and only bring it up in conversation if it happens purely organically and you're sure it's relevant.

For what it's worth, I do OCI interviews and feel the same way. I think there's more downside than upside here.

What's the consensus on name dropping your high school on a cover letter when talking about ties to the city/area?

I think the only time it is useful is if the high school is in a market that you grew up in but haven't lived in since high school and are trying to get back. For those that went to ultra elite high schools, our OCS told us to list it in the "other" or additional information section as "Continuing involvement in Phillips Academy Alumni Association" etc.

trebekismyhero wrote:It is better for a talking point during OCI.

The only times I have heard of ppl leaving the HS on is when you are in a very ties driven market. NYC is the complete opposite of that

i went to a specialized public high school in nyc that is very highly regarded and i always get asked about it on interviews. if you went to a truly elite high school, definitely put it on. NYC is a ties driven market, when your fellow alum happens to be looking over the resume. At any rate, it can't hurt.

But my advice assumes that your school does actually have name recognition outside a very small circle.

What's funny is I went to an Arizona Law School and when I mentioned my local shitty suburban high school during OCI a few firms recruiters immediately starting talking HS Football. When I went there we lost every game by 70 or more and had 1 TD all season but I guess they're great now. Who knew? I didn't gaf but it was an ice breaker.

victortsoi wrote:

trebekismyhero wrote:It is better for a talking point during OCI.

The only times I have heard of ppl leaving the HS on is when you are in a very ties driven market. NYC is the complete opposite of that

i went to a specialized public high school in nyc that is very highly regarded and i always get asked about it on interviews. if you went to a truly elite high school, definitely put it on. NYC is a ties driven market, when your fellow alum happens to be looking over the resume. At any rate, it can't hurt.

But my advice assumes that your school does actually have name recognition outside a very small circle.

NYC is literally the opposite of a "ties-driven market". Unless you define that entirely differently than how people usually use it, that isn't at all correct.

victortsoi wrote:

trebekismyhero wrote:It is better for a talking point during OCI.

The only times I have heard of ppl leaving the HS on is when you are in a very ties driven market. NYC is the complete opposite of that

i went to a specialized public high school in nyc that is very highly regarded and i always get asked about it on interviews. if you went to a truly elite high school, definitely put it on. NYC is a ties driven market, when your fellow alum happens to be looking over the resume. At any rate, it can't hurt.

But my advice assumes that your school does actually have name recognition outside a very small circle.

What?

I actually agree that in some cases it's helpful to leave on, but ONLY if the high school is a very prestigious public magnet school. I know employers who are from New York do look favorably upon job applicants from Stuyvesant or Hunter, even if the job is post-college. If someone went to Thomas Jefferson, that'd probably also be worthy of being left on.