<p>As I look at colleges to apply too, I have come up with a problem. I feel sometimes like I need to go to a college that is well known in my area (NC). I have been some looking at colleges out of state, but I feel that the fact they have no reputation here might not be as acceptable. I know that this sounds confusing, but I am unsure how to verbalize it any better. Bottom Line: I feel that reputation has a lot to do with which college I go to. Does anyone else feel this way or have thoughts about this? I am pretty seriously looking at Rollins College in Florida, but as I have been told, it has very little reputation outside of Florida. </p>
<p>welcome to a wider world, OP. There are definitely schools any one of us has not heard of. And they still produce some great, well-prepared students. You want a university that helps you to maximize your potential intellectually, emotionally, socially… The reputation is irrelevant for that goal. Anyone who’s worried about reputation gets what he or she deserves in terms of a college experience. Find the campuses where you are most likely to excel and that your family can afford. What other people think of them is no concern of yours unless you want to grow up to be someone who’s concerned more about reputation than quality of an individual experience. .</p>
<p>Those were some welcomed words jkeil! I personally did not think reputation was a big deal, but was afraid other would, including my parents. (My brother does much better than I in school and is applying to schools known around the nation.) I think that that was part of the problem. Thank you very much for those words.</p>
<p>What is known in NC is not what is known in FL or LA. Start to educate your parents about schools they’ve never heard of that have good reputations like Eckerd, Colby, Kenyon, ColoradoC, Reed, etc. These are very good schools for which your brother may be a better fit, but there are hundreds of other schools of which your parents have not heard but where you can be admitted and, working very hard, get a terrific education. It’s much more about what you do than where you do it. I’m not affiliated with any of these schools.</p>
<p>yes. but it’s way too early to tell. this time next year it will be easier to tell. get those grades up. study for the SAT/ACT. grow in to the person you want to be. Perhaps familiarize yourself and your family with the schools in the Fiske Guide. See also USNWR’s “A+ Schools for B Students.” Please observe that you can select national universities, liberal arts colleges, regional universities, etc. from the tabs at the top of the page. Come back and see us in a year.</p>
<p>A time will come for most students to apply for internships, and, later, for their first job. Even after, alumni often rely on their college placement office for job leads. Reputation matters. Reputation is often correlated with the college’s academic excellence. Do employers in NC know the colleges you’re considering? Have they hired graduates from those colleges?</p>
<p>Whether reputation matters depends a ton on the major/field AND where you want to work. If you want to come back home to work, check with employers who hire for jobs you want before deciding to go to a locally “unknown” school. In a competitive market, you don’t want to be surprised later. Many employers do have favored schools for those new hires. Some do not.</p>
<p>If you plan to stay in FL, then Rollins could be a great choice as it will be more known there. Be sure to check to see where recent grads have been hired (or gone to grad school, etc).</p>
<p>All three of my boys are attending or will attend schools that residents of our local area do not recognize, but none of the three plan to come back here for life. The only one who might plans on med school after undergrad, so his undergrad choice won’t matter a bit for local hiring.</p>
<p>IMO, some serious thought does need to go into this question - not just pat answers. What will work for one may very well not work for another. Employers decide who they will hire - some care about undergrad choice and others do not. Investigate your “field.” </p>
<p>Reputation matters up to a point, and there are many factors that will determine your success. At this point, with your grades and scores, very high rank colleges are not in your reach, but this does not mean you can’t be successful. People have done well coming from all kinds of colleges, and much depends on their drive, achievements, interests, and abilities.
Of the range of colleges that you are considering, look closely at the aspects that fit you well, ( including costs ) so that you are most likely to do well. As other posters have mentioned, where recent grads have been hired or admitted to graduate school is another indicator to choose from.
Since you are interested in Rollins, and NC colleges, consider Lenoir-Rhyne University. It’s similar in size and selectivity, and less expensive than Rollins. From your interests on your other thread, this may be a good fit for you.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the great answers. I really do not where I want to live after college, but it will not be in NC. Florida is definitely a possibility. </p>
<p>after a few yrs out of college, the college name and gpa dont matter much ( what my son has been told by from large corps and recruiters). Its what you do that matters. Of course, those with an elite college name will continue to use that. I was looking at high tech firms in the silicon valley and noted where execs went to school. some were at MIT and Berkley. Some at same firm went to Univ of MD or VA Tech and others had not listed of their school names (maybe they were small schools). So the end result, is you can do whatever you want and become who you want if you have the goals and ambition. It may take longer than someone from an elite college, then maybe not. thats only cause of networking. I know many from Ivy schools that are unemployed. or maybe they are lazy… idk. Success depends on the person. </p>
<p>Once one has been on a job, what they’ve done at that job matters far more than where they went to college. My advice was based upon getting that “first” job. </p>
<p>OP, if you don’t care to return home to work, then look at schools anywhere and just be sure graduates from those schools are doing things you can see yourself doing when you graduate.</p>
<p>FWIW, we encourage our kids to travel away to go to school as I feel it’s good for kids to learn about new areas, etc, but we know it doesn’t help their chances locally. That’s ok with both us and them. If they wanted to return local, we’d still have some networking connections that would help them out, so it’s not ALL about college names, but that latter part will depend on the depth of the connections.</p>
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