Close your eyes and picture the big-name universities. Harvard. Oxford. Stanford. Cambridge. Chances are, you conjured up images of distinguished faculty and state-of-the-art facilities. Wide networks and deep pockets. Long traditions and consequential alumni. They are the schools that jump off a resume and their degrees convey ambition, expertise, and potential. For many, they are the equivalent to a fast-pass. When you are an alumni, you never need to apply – you just need to ask.