I went to an "elite" school, but I worked at one HFT where the local team of 5 people had only me with a background from a similar school, and another HFT where I was one of three on my immediate team of ~12 engineers. At one point, one of my colleagues at the second firm asked me why I was there as opposed to the alternatives of (1) a company with more of a focus on the elite and cultivating power or (2) being an artist supported by my well-off parents.