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Comment by edtechdev | Hacker News Reader

Getting admitted isn't as valuable a signal as getting a degree. Both are a signal or proxy for intelligence (IQ), but getting a degree is also a signal of persistence and conformity to get through the grind of college courses.

Bryan Caplan has written much about 'signaling theory' and education in posts like this one: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2006/02/mixed_signals.ht...

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>Getting admitted isn't as valuable a signal as getting a degree.

It depends. In the limited world of software startup hiring, a compsci student that got admitted to MIT/Stanford but drops out after his freshman year conveys a more valuable signal than graduating from the University of Alabama (a much lower ranked school) after 4 years of study.

If it's an older institution doing the hiring such as IBM or Goldman Sachs, they'll want that official piece of paper showing you graduated regardless of the school's low ranking.

What signal does that show? Other than not being able to follow through with things (although dropping out of college can be due to a multitude of factors that has nothing to do with the candidate's work ethic or dedication)

What exactly do you mean? Perhaps if that student founds a startup or joins as an early employee immediately after dropping out. I doubt a student who just washes out or lacks work ethic gets a particularly valuable signal if they decide to apply to a startup some time after, although it's probably easy enough to present the departure in a more favorable light, in which case the dropout would regain some prestige.

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