The path to the venture capitalist business is paved with old-school ties.

So says a new industry survey that found that more than 40 percent of U.S. venture capitalists attended at least one of five elite schools.

The study by the National Venture Capital Association and Dow Jones VentureWire disclosed that 42 percent of VC investors went to Harvard, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, Duke, or MIT.

While that percentage included those who identified themselves as managing director, managing partner, general partner, partner, venture partner, or principal, one in three respondents in the VC industry overall attended one of the big five schools.

No. 1 was Harvard (12 percent), followed by: Stanford (9 percent), University of Pennsylvania (8 percent), Duke (5 percent), and MIT (5 percent). (The percentage total from the five schools exceeds 33 percent because some respondents attended more than one of the schools.)

Though a handful of schools produced a disproportionate slice of VCs, only 4 percent of those in the industry entered their current jobs directly from school. Prior to entering the venture capital business, 22 percent were either C-level entrepreneurs or startup employees; 20 percent worked at a larger or middle-market company; 20 percent worked at a different venture capital firm, and 19 percent worked at a law firm, consulting firm or investment bank.

The survey of 500 professionals at U.S. venture capital firms also found that the industry continues to be dominated by white males, though gender, racial and ethnic diversity is increasing among recent hires.

Eighty-six percent of those who identified themselves as investing professionals were male, a number that falls to 75 percent of respondents overall. Among those investing professionals who had been in the industry for five years or less, however, 77 percent were male.

Eighty-eight percent of venture professionals were white, while 8 percent were Asian Pacific, 2 percent Hispanic, and 1 percent African-American. As with the gender question, the percentage of whites drops to 82 percent among those in the industry fewer than five years.