<p>do you guys think the location of a school adds to its prestige? my initial hypothesis for why schools like WUSTL, grinnell, northwester, carleton, UW-M are underrated is because of their midwestern locations. agree?</p>
<p>I don’t know why that would necessarily hurt their prestige. UW-M and UM(ichigan) are both considered pretty prestigious public schools. And WashU, Northwestern, and Chicago are all probably evenly respected for what they have to offer.</p>
<p>If you’re asking whether it impacts decisions to attend the schools, I’d say absolutely. I’m from the cold part of the Midwest, I always advise people from a warm climate state to think hard about going to a Carleton/UM(innesota)/Macalester or similarly northern school. The cold is actually crippling in the winter.</p>
<p>I actually think the prestige of Midwestern State schools is much higher in the Midwestern States than an East Coast State school is in an East Coast state, if you get what I mean. In the states near me, at least (Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa) a degree from the flagship State U is prestigious enough to give you a leg up from the pack in-state. Its obviously no HYPSM, but with a lot of employers, I think it carries the same prestige as would a degree from a school like NYU or USC or the little LACs that aren’t well known with the general population.</p>
<p>First of all, Northwestern and Wash U are underrated? Is the definition of underrated different nowadays? I would think Tufts and Wake would be considered underrated. Also, yes location sometimes does add to a school’s prestige. Look at NYU.</p>
<p>hmm…maybe underrated wasn’t the right word…maybe underknown? In a national perspective, the average joe would say “washington university? that’s in seattle right?” atleast on the east coast, not realizing how great of a school it is. same with grinnell. by prestige i mean name power, reputation of academic excellence, etc.</p>
<p>and of course nyu is overrated because of it’s location</p>
<p>I don’t think location adds prestige, any adcom who knows what they’re doing can isolate out which school is prestigious and which isn’t. Location does add recognition, though, and therefore opportunities as well.</p>
<p>NYU is very overrated.</p>
<p>As for location, certain schools have better name recognition in their regions.</p>
<p>Location can be LEVERAGED by a school to make itself more desirable (and therefore prestigious)–NYU being probably the most prominent example of this–but I don’t think the location itself magically = prestige</p>
<p>In CC demographics, maybe, since this site is oriented around the east coast</p>
<p>I think the phrase you’re looking for is “name recognition.”</p>
<p>^ I was JUST about to emphasize that.</p>
<p>it shouldn’t, but people on the eastern seaboard think it does. The fact that Northwestern and Notre Dame are close to Lake Michigan and not the Atlantic Ocean really is meaningless to everyone but Ivy elitists.</p>
<p>Also, Wash U was certainly overlooked for years because of its St Louis location (and confusion with the state of Washington). If Wash U were located within 300 miles of New York City or Boston, it would have been considered an Ivy equal decades ago.</p>
<p>Schools everywhere (not just the Ivys) have a greater influence in their own region.</p>