<p>I would have to agree with you on this. But the thing is, some people who did not agree with me (except for a few like Hunt) don’t really know what they’re talking about, or how their posts are helpful to the OP’s plan of settling in Japan after college. </p>
<p>For example, the OP said she’s worried that a CMC degree might not weigh heavily in Japan and if given a choice to choose other schools that are far more prestigious in Japan than CMC, would it be a good idea for her to do enroll in any of those more respected schools. Of course, the answer is a clear, yes. But hawkette gives her data of the enrolled stats instead. pizzapie girl questioned why people must value prestige. THEAjay89 pimped her school even more despite that his admission that his alma mater school has no name in Japan. And the_prestige, as usual, he does what he does best. I wonder how their posts have helped the OP.</p>
<p>I know. And I also know that Berkeley isn’t the only prestigious school out there. There are a number of prestigious schools out there. In fact, in one of my posts, I grouped Berkeley with Michigan, Cornell and UCLA. I believe these schools are prestigious schools too. And since we’re talking about American schools that are prestigious in ASIA, again in ASIA, you’d be dead wrong if you think CMC carries the same prestige as Berkeley does in Asia. You may say whatever you want to say. But at the end of the day, Berkeley is famous in Asia whilst CMC is not. It’s not even in the radar of 99.99% of Asia’s elite society. But that’s not to say CMC isn’t a good school. It’s just that it isn’t prestigious in Asia.</p>
<p>Harvard would be the best example I can use to make you understand why I was saying.</p>
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Here you are again twisting words and stories.
When did I ever say that Berkeley is great when it comes to desirability? I would not say such a thing. I wouldn’t even say that same thing for MIT, Caltech and Harvard. I only said Berkeley is more prestigious than CMC in Asia. If you disagree, prove me wrong. </p>
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I am aware about that. Are you also aware that Berkeley is meager to OOS and Internationals when it comes to scholarships and grants? Yield is also a factor of affordability. Let’s face it. A Berkeley education is expensive. And for OOS, it would even come out more expensive than attending a top private school.</p>
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But then again, California is endowed and blessed with several elite, prestigious schools.</p>
<p>Truer words have never been spoken! However, RML, should you not wonder why UCB added such interesting qualifier in the form of “true Berkeley guys.” </p>
<p>By the way, inasmuch as I do not want to add anything to this rather silly discussion, I believe that in your relentless desire to mock CMC you pushed the envelope too far when including a more general Claremont. After all, there is an individual who deliberately spent most of his life toiling in the obscurity of a small school in a sleepy suburb of Los Angeles instead of seeking academic fame in the type of “ultra” prestigious research university you admire (and still covet) so much. Of course, that severe handicap did not stop him from reaching a level of demi-god in … Japan. </p>
<p>I am certain that a person of your intellect, experience, and knowledge of the business world will have no problems identifying this most misguided academic and business guru. </p>
<p>RML – I’m going to assume that you believe the statistic that you quoted</p>
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<p>I’m also going to assume that you think if someone has the opportunity to go to Harvard that they should go because it is a such prestigious institution. Then you must think that it isn’t important if a person is happy in college or not.</p>
<p>Maybe that is the fundamental difference between us. I think a person should be happy in college just like I think they should strive to be happy the rest of their life. Not happy meaning going to parties and having a good time but happy in the sense of enjoying the academics and the environment of a college. I loved college which I believe is because I went to a school that was the right choice for me.</p>
<p>If the original poster thinks they would be happy at Berkeley then I think that is where they should go. If they think they would be happier at CMC then I think they should go there. What Berkeley has above CMC in terms of name recognition in Asia could easily be compensated for by what a smaller school like CMC can offer in terms of job placement and alumni networking.</p>
<p>To the original poster, if you want to live and work in Japan you’ll get there. Attending a wonderful school like CMC won’t keep you from getting there just as attending Berkeley won’t guarantee you anything after you graduate.</p>
<p>Life is short, go to the school that you really want to go to.</p>
<p>xiggi, I never claimed I have studied in Berkeley, and I understand the intention of UCBChemgrad’s post. And if you’re already feeling nauseated of my using Berkeley for this argument, feel free to replace it with Cornell or UCLA or Michigan.</p>
<p>Cornell is more prestigious than McKenna in Japan. And, anyone who’s planning on working in Japan someday would be better off attending Cornell than McKenna.</p>
TBH, I have yet to be convinced that CMC, McKenna in particular, would offer better opportunities for their graduates than Berkeley does, even in America.</p>
<p>RML, I have no need to replace Berkeley with Cornell or Michigan, especially since I do not think it is worth to debate the merits of schools in the manner it has been done in this thread. Deciding on the schools worthy of an application --let alone one to attend-- should be an individual process based on weighing personal criteria. It is really up to the OP to weigh facts he can discover on his own against his own criteria, and then perhaps measure his results against the knowledge --of lack thereof-- and prejudices of the people he needs to please. Of course, the first step for Genre is to be admitted at the various schools he has applied to. After all, based on his prior posts, it seems that the ultimate decision will be made by … others. </p>
<p>And, fwiw, I hope you solve the extremely easy “riddle” I posted earlier. I believe it should go a very long way in correcting a few of your misconceptions.</p>
<p>Going to Cornell (or any other “prestigious” school) will not get you a job. You may get opportunities, but no one will hire someone based off of the school they went to. If an applicant is better from CMC, they’re hire them because they are better, they won’t NOT hire them because they went to CMC…</p>
<p>Go to the school that you believe will make you grow and open up and experience confidence and new ideas. Do not go for some credential on a piece of paper just because you think it will look good for someone else. Then it will be an empty honor.</p>
<p>It is foolish for some posters here to paint negative perceptions of those prospective students in preferring certain schools based on prestige. After all, prestige and brand name are powerful tools in this world. However, each individual has different personalities and goals in life. </p>
<p>If one can receive a high utility by attending high prestige school - whether it is because of the respect that the Ivy tag will give him by others - or better job prospects by attending an Ivy, then it makes a perfect sense for this individual to choose colleges largely based on prestige. Then, there are others who are not necessarily concerned about impressing others, who would not necessarily get emotional/psychological utility benefits from attending high prestige institutions. Maybe for these individuals, ‘fit’ should play larger role than perceived college prestige in choosing which college to attend. </p>
<p>Put this another way, if there is a guy who is very sensitive to the brand names of goods- it makes perfect sense for this person to buy a Rolex watch even if this would cost him a lot. He would get a lot of benefits/utility from the sheer fact that he is wearing very recognizable Rolex watch. On the other hand, if there is a guy who is not very sensitive to brand names, but rather is more keen about the style of the watch, he may choose to buy other brand name watch that carries much less recognition than Rolex.</p>
<p>So, my message to Pizzagirl is that you should not act to be the righteous person by pretending that college prestige should not guide some people in choosing colleges. Maybe some people value the brand name/prestige of colleges much more than you do, and these folks would be served well by attending high prestige schools.</p>
<p>Uhm… well the vast majority of the private institutions - including those who are tiers below Ivies - still cost $50k a year to attend. In fact, the top privates and Ivies may be much more affordable to attend than lower ranked privates due to the abundance of the resources at these top schools. Many students at top privates receive generous financial aid. For example, the val from my high school is at Yale right now and he is receiving so much fin aid that the cost of his Yale education is cheaper than the cost of the flagship state school.</p>
<p>Even if one doesn’t get much aid, why not go to a top school paying $50k, if the cost of attending a top school is similar to other lower ranked private schools with same price?</p>
<p>By the way, I agree with RML that UC Berkeley is a very prestigious institution. If OP is keen about the brand name of the school (which it appears to be), Berkeley should be a better option than CMC, for example.</p>