Easy is the same as appearing safe - potato potato - your argument for it BEING safe however is nonsense... VC returns don't come from minimum competency. They come from a disproportionate number of home runs. Funding for familiarity with the school is absolutely NOT making the best investment with the money for which you are responsible, because it's not a decision criteria for putting risk capital to work - it's a risk avoidance strategy. (As you seem to instinctively see by your use of the word safe.)
The question isn't whether "if all else is equal should I hire someone like me" it's whether you should prioritize a certain credential over other factors, as happens in a lot of hiring. But to come back to your "is it really that bad a decision?" I think most evidence points to YES, increased diversity of background and opinion benefits decision making groups - in this case companies companies - more than homogeneity, with its tendency towards systematic error.
To challenge your final point given the fact that a lot of the top schools have large numbers of legacy hires, and getting into them often involves far more factors than mere merit you're hoping that the delta in better schooling techniques outweighs recruitment drawbacks. Maybe, but I think it's far from proven.
Nobody is saying DON'T hire people from top schools, with great reputations, and track records of turning out quality candidates. Of course not. What's being said is that optimizing your hiring process to a handful of schools, given how many others are doing the same, makes it unlikely you're getting the very best candidates on the market - I don't see how this is anything other than statistically self-evident.
The question isn't whether "if all else is equal should I hire someone like me" it's whether you should prioritize a certain credential over other factors, as happens in a lot of hiring. But to come back to your "is it really that bad a decision?" I think most evidence points to YES, increased diversity of background and opinion benefits decision making groups - in this case companies companies - more than homogeneity, with its tendency towards systematic error.
To challenge your final point given the fact that a lot of the top schools have large numbers of legacy hires, and getting into them often involves far more factors than mere merit you're hoping that the delta in better schooling techniques outweighs recruitment drawbacks. Maybe, but I think it's far from proven.
Nobody is saying DON'T hire people from top schools, with great reputations, and track records of turning out quality candidates. Of course not. What's being said is that optimizing your hiring process to a handful of schools, given how many others are doing the same, makes it unlikely you're getting the very best candidates on the market - I don't see how this is anything other than statistically self-evident.