Quentin Tarantino, sociologist Robert Merton and the Pope have little in common, but one thing they can agree on is the power of a biblical allusion.
Merton famously references the book of Matthew. “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” (Matthew 25:29)
Merton’s “Matthew Effect” is everywhere. You need job experience to get a job, being in shape makes it easier to work out and compound interest is an investor’s best friend but a debtor’s worst nightmare. Romanticized accounts of success insist “it’s never too late”, but the Matthew Effect suggests that success is “path dependent.” Freshman year isn’t just a time to “find yourself” — it‘s the first momentum-building opportunity of adulthood.
As a freshman, I was told, “Don’t obsess over grades. In the real world, they don’t matter.” While it’s true that people stop requesting your GPA after college, a great first job is extremely useful in scoring a great second job, and grades are highly relevant to landing that first job. If a student didn’t work hard in college, an employer shouldn’t trust them to, either.
Not only do grades matter, but freshman grades especially matter. Internships and clubs can also enrich your college experience as well as your resume. Applications often ask for GPA, which is based on only one or two semesters.
An important property of the Matthew Effect is that it’s hard to activate. Grades are a great start, but so is showing up.
“Demonstrated interest is a very large portion of clubs,” said Akash Bansal, finance and business honors junior. “I showed up to basically all the (USIT) coffee chats.”
Bansal is the president of the University Securities Investment Team, a 450-member investment organization. Bansal rose to prominence in the organization after winning a leadership position that accepts 2% of applicants. He was able to get an internship in private equity his freshman year, and an upcoming internship investment banking.
Of course, the Matthew Effect isn’t just relevant to career “hustle.”
“(Be) a lot more extroverted than you can possibly be in the first few weeks of college,” Bansal said. “All the clubs and orgs that are recruiting, and they all have their coffee chats and things like that. It’s very socially draining, but it’s also really important that you do well at them and you meet a lot of people. Those first few weeks are so important because after that, everyone has their friend groups, so making sure you’re putting yourself out there is really important.”
This isn’t an unusual approach for successful students.
“Freshman year, my number one goal was to get to know as many people as humanly possible,” said Hudson Thomas, a government, history and Plan II senior.
In his freshman year, Thomas was an inaugural fellow of the Civitas Institute and pledge class president of his fraternity. Sophomore year, he joined the Texas Cowboys and as a junior, he won the race for student body president.
Part of college success is learning how to process conflicting advice. In that spirit, taking the Matthew Effect seriously doesn’t mean you can’t “pivot.” An initial trajectory isn’t a life sentence, and the sunk cost of wasted time isn’t a reason to stay in a major or organization. The inherent uncertainty of the future is a reason to take the Matthew Effect more seriously. Excellence today gives you the opportunity to change your mind later — for example, you can’t transfer into McCombs without good grades. Domain experience is valuable in one domain, but proven excellence is valued across domains.
A great freshman year isn’t enough for a successful life — for every Akash or Hudson, there may be students who fizzle out. However, I have not met an exceptional upperclassman who was mediocre as a freshman. New students should know — they are unlikely to be the first.
McKinley is a second-year finance Ph.D. student from Houston, Texas.
