Hiring from Ivy League or Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Mud, etc. means you are at least guaranteed the top 1% of IQ. It means you are getting someone who probably posses a combination of good analytical skills and competitiveness.
36% of Harvard students come from legacy admissions programs, their admission has less to do with their personal merit than their last name. Other Ivy leagues aren't far behind.
A non-zero part of the product these schools sell is the ability to make friends with rich and powerful people. It's not the whole story, I'm not saying they're not good schools, but your average student isn't going to be that much smarter than your average well regarded public school, just a lot more wealthy.
"Harvard’s Class of 2022 is made up of over 36% legacy students, according to The Harvard Crimson. The year before, the share of the freshman class was just over 29%. (CNBC Make It has reached out to both The Crimson and Harvard’s admissions office to confirm these figures.)
As of 2015, legacies were five times more likely to get into the world-famous university than applicants without relatives who went to Harvard.
Stanford University gives legacies a significant advantage as well. “It used to be that every application would be read twice. Now, only one reading is guaranteed, although — thanks, Mom and Dad — every legacy application still gets two sets of eyes,” a 2013 Stanford Magazine article about the school’s admissions process reported."
