According to Fortune, a 2025 survey of over 150 companies found that 26% are now recruiting from a brief selection of schools, a significant jump from 17% in 2022. The research from Veris Insights shows most other firms focus on “target schools,” prioritizing candidates from prestigious universities near their headquarters. Recruiters cite the high cost of broad outreach and the homogenizing effect of AI-generated resumes as key reasons for the retreat from “talent is everywhere” hiring. Major firms like GE Appliances have slashed their campus visit lists, and McKinsey has axed language saying “We hire people, not degrees” from its career page. This shift comes even as public faith in higher education plummets, with only 35% of U.S. adults now saying a college education is “very important,” down from 70% in 2013.
The pendulum swings back
So much for the democratization of opportunity. The post-pandemic mantra that talent could be found anywhere, that a degree from anywhere could open doors, is fading fast. And honestly, it’s not that surprising. The “talent is everywhere” model was always expensive and logistically messy. Sending recruiters to dozens of campuses across the country costs a fortune. Now, with budgets tighter and a push for in-person work returning, companies are circling the wagons. They’re going back to what they know: the tried-and-true pipelines from elite schools and local universities. It’s a classic case of corporate risk aversion. Why sift through thousands of AI-polished, look-alike resumes when you can just go to the schools that have historically delivered “acceptable” candidates? It’s a filtering mechanism, plain and simple.
AI’s unintended consequence
Here’s a bitter irony: the very technology meant to streamline hiring might be making it more elitist. The article points out that AI-generated résumés have made countless applications appear identical. When everyone uses the same tools to optimize and polish their profiles, how do you distinguish one candidate from another? For many recruiters, the answer is to fall back on the oldest prestige signal in the book: the university name on the diploma. GPA is making a comeback for the same reason. In a sea of sameness, these are crude but efficient differentiators. It’s a lazy solution, but you can see the logic from a harried HR department’s perspective. They’re basically outsourcing the initial quality filter back to the admissions offices of top-tier schools.
The value proposition crisis
Now, this is happening against a really weird backdrop. Public sentiment toward college is in the gutter. As noted, Gallup polling shows the perceived importance of a degree has cratered, and an NBC News poll found only a third of voters think it’s worth the cost. Nearly half of younger generations think it was a waste of money. Yet, at the same time, institutions awarded a record 2.2 million bachelor’s degrees in 2025. So we have a massive disconnect: people are skeptical but still enrolling in droves, while top employers are simultaneously becoming *more* selective about which of those degrees they value. The premium is still there—the Cleveland Fed puts the college wage gap at about 90%—but it’s plateauing. The real message? A degree might be necessary, but for the best jobs, it’s no longer sufficient unless it’s from the right place.
A return to the old playbook
What does this mean? For elite institutions, it’s a lifeline. As their broader societal value is questioned, their role as a feeder system for corporate America is being reinforced. For companies, it’s a retrenchment. The brief, optimistic fling with a wider talent pool is over, replaced by a focus on efficiency and perceived quality. For everyone else? It’s a tougher road. This trend solidifies a two-tier system: one path for the elite school grads with direct pipelines, and another, much harder path for everyone else to even get their foot in the door. The recruiter quoted in the article says it best: “I’d rather be a student with a degree than without a degree.” But the unspoken second half of that sentence is now, “…and I’d *much* rather be a student with a degree from a top-tier school.” The gatekeepers are back, and they’re standing in familiar places.
