Afraid my College isn't ranked high enough

<p><em>I was going to post this in the College Search forum, but decided to put it in the parents forum, since the majorty of parents here, have children in college, or are college graduates themselves.</em></p>

<p>I applied to University of Nebraska, Indiana University, and University of Iowa. I was accepted into U. Nebraska and U. Iowa. And have pretty much decided to go to U. Nebraska (lots of scholarship money).</p>

<p>I'm still debating if I want to go there or not because I'm afraid that if I want to go into a top MBA program, grad school, or job, that I'll be limited vs say Indiana U which is ranked #11 u-grad I believe.</p>

<p>Edwards Jones offered me an internship as did Scottrade already prior to college, so I'd imagine I'm on the right track. The research opportunities at Nebraska are great and so are the new dorm renovations which I think are looking good. The problem is that it's not even a top 50 b-school. I'm looking at majoring in Economics and possibly either actuarial sciences or finance. How much of an affect will it have on me being in a school that's not a top business school, or even a top 50 school overall?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>I would look at who recruits at Nebraska. </p>

<p>Where do you eventually want to live?</p>

<p>Are you sure you aren't going to get any money from Indiana?</p>

<p>Warren Buffet went to Nebraska and he did all right.</p>

<p>If you are concerned about MBA you will need to worry about your first job more so..........most top MBA programs want several years of work experience before application. I'd say that your first job may be geographically impaired if you look at it that way but in your defense you may benefit from that. Much of what matters is doing well in the school you are in......not what school. Big FA money is always a modifying factor......that is a nice thing to have.</p>

<p>i agree- it greatly depends on what you do before grad school and how well you do it.
i have a friend who went to a very low ranked undergrad school and is now in grad school at an ivy. I also have a friend who went to an ivy as an undergrad and got rejected from all her grad schools.</p>

<p>You are accepted by a school you really like and you have a good scholarship. Don't worry about the nebulous issues of which school might have a better reputation or a higher ranking. Be happy your college application process is over. Now you can look forward to next year.</p>

<p>Agree with edad. There will be great opportunities at Nebraska and with hard work you will be able to stand out. This is what matters to job recruiters and eventuall grad schools when they look at your letters of recommendation--how much did you stand out as a student.</p>

<p>I hope this story helps. I know of a guy who went to the U of Bridgeport (at a time the school was struggling). He graduated and worked a couple of years. He went to law school, passed his bar exam, and is successfully practicing law. If you look at the stats of U of Bridgeport students you will be amazed- 25% midrange is something like 380 on the sat.</p>

<p>I agree that it's a lot more important to look at your first job and your GMAT scores than worry about which undergrad school you went to.</p>

<p>congrats! u got in to iowa with a 93 ai thats awesome</p>

<p>So for a MBA the job and the GMA is what pulls you through. But what about graduate school and trying to find a job? How much will I be affected?</p>

<p>A high GPA at the U of Nebraska, plus some good internships will get you in good position for work out of college. In Nebraska, the U network is excellent. After some good work experience, a strong GMAT score will also help.</p>

<p>If you do end up at UN, start researching Fortune 500 and fast-growing companies in and around Nebraska so you can focus on the best available internship and future job possibilities.</p>

<p>As a Stanford MBA, I agree with all of the above. I actually don't even have a clue where the undergrad degrees of most of my classmates were from. MBA programs do want that couple years of experience before b-school. Do well at UNebraska, take advantage of those internships and work experience. Focus on your interests - as you already are. If you can be a standout at UNebraska, that will serve you well for grad school, jobs.</p>

<p>Kinglin,</p>

<p>I don’t have an MBA, and I am not corporate. But I would think that one of the first things you should ask yourself is, will I make my living in Nebraska or thereabouts or won’t I. Do I love this place and do I want to make a life here…what is the most likely path my life will take: love interests, family, friends, environment?</p>

<p>Most people will at least begin their career in their home state or region. However, if you read thru many of threads on cc you would likely come to believe the opposite to be true; I believe ccer’s are the great exception. UN will be a great spring board in Nebraska and it’s nether regions, but maybe not in NYC or Philadelphia. </p>

<p>The following, by reidm, is excellent advice:

[quote]
If you do end up at UN, start researching Fortune 500 and fast-growing companies in and around Nebraska so you can focus on the best available internship and future job possibilities.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Most of the successful business people I have known did not go to big name schools.</p>

<p>I think ingenuity and the willingness to work hard are much more important than where you get your degree (I suppose brand name schools are more important if you want to go into something like investment banking).</p>

<p>Also, it is a big plus if your scholarship enables you to get through college without going deeply into debt. See the article in the Nov. 14 issue of BusinessWeek on this topic -- debt can be a huge burden, holding you back from what you really want to do in life.</p>

<p>Wait guys! Kinglin is asking a different question than we are answering. He is contrasting U of Neb with Indiana. I agree completely that an econ major who is outstanding at Nebraska will get good job offers, and can land a good grad slot, but would he be better off at Indiana?</p>

<p>I would look closely at the business, government and econ programs programs at both schools - what are their specialties, strengths and weaknesses. Also spend some time with the career center website, get a feel for what types of companies are recruiting for jobs/internships - are you more intersted in one industry than another?</p>

<p>Honestly, if there is no big advantage to one program over another, I don't think the ranking will make that much difference if you do well. The money may make a big difference if you are debt-free at one vs the other. Also if having that money will free you to make decisions about study abroad, or unpaid internships, etc without having to worry about cash - that may have a bigger impact on your overall education than 30 places difference in the rankings.</p>

<p>I think this rating numbers are extremely overrated. You still have time to do deeper research on what those programs will offer for YOU, what will be YOUR opportunities at both places. Plus money for most people is very deciding factor.
I know of the story of one girl at little known on this forum LAC who wanted to do research project at Iraq few years ago. Since US did not have diplomatic relations with Iraq at that time , college managed to get her temporary Swiss citizenship and she went to Iraq for 6 months and did her research. Several Ivy schools were fighting for this girl when she applied for graduate program.</p>

<p>I've heard that Omaha is growing pretty quickly as of recently. Is anyone framilar with any big companies in Nebraska?</p>

<p>More importantly, call the Nebraska career center and get a list of companies that typically recruit on campus. You might be able to find some information on their site as well.</p>