<p>Does the location of a college influence where you may get a job afterward? For example, if you know you would like to work in the DC area after college, would it be wise to choose to go to college there in the first place?</p>
<p>Yes, for many it is easier to find jobs near where they went to college–mainly because of internship opportunities. </p>
<p>Just a tip–you can ask more than one question in a post so putting all of your question in one post will be MUCH easier to keep track of then starting 16 different threads.</p>
<p>Thanks! I wasnt sure if I should ask several non-connected questions in one thread. I will from now on - there are so many questions! I am hoping that once school starts, my son’s guidance counselor will be able to answer some of them.</p>
<p>In my experience, yes, if (1) you will not be attending one of the top schools in the country, and (2) your intended career field is one that uses on-campus recruiting.</p>
<p>At top schools, on-campus recruiting is national. But at less prestigious schools, most on-campus recruiting is local. (Local, though, doesn’t mean that you have to attend a school that’s actually in Washington, DC to get recruited for a job there. Schools in Maryland and Virginia are plenty close enough.)</p>
<p>On the other hand, not all employers use on-campus recruiting systems. Some of the ones that don’t are concentrated in Washington, DC (e.g., the White House, Congressional offices). So if that’s the kind of employer you would be applying to, the geographic location of your college won’t matter. You would be applying directly.</p>
<p>To tag along with Marian’s post, in most parts of the country and for most companies outside of New England, that degree from Harvard will not carry any more or not much more, weight than a degree from a local school. It might get you an interview, but then again, they might look at it and say “why would they want to work here” :D. Don’t assume that you have to go to a so called “top” school to get jobs.</p>
<p>Top schools arent an option. 
He has a 3.7 GPA (mostly honors and AP), a couple of ECs and has been making 1900(ish) on his practice SATs. </p>
<p>He has been looking at the internship opportunities at some of the schools and I just wondered if actually attending a college near where he would like to end up would benefit him in the post-graduation job hunt/war.</p>
<p>Adding on to what others said, it’s also easier to apply and interview locally where you go to school.</p>
<p>Spritle–most schools really only consider the CR and Math portion of the SAT so use those numbers vs the full score. It will help. I would also suggest that he look into taking the ACT as often that melds better with learning styles and kids can score higher, bu not always. With his stats he is a good match for most LAC around the country as well as most flagships so focus now on location and size of school. If he likes Dickinson, for example, sounds like he likes smaller schools so look for schools with 2000-7000 students and see if anything strikes him. The best thing you can do now is visit a small, medium and large school-just pick something close-just to get on campus and see what he likes. It’s an overwhelming process if you don’t narrow down by size to start.</p>
<p>Actually, the location/employment question played a huge role in my D’s choice of a college. She “knew” she wanted to work in a major city after graduation (no more suburbia for her), so she focused on schools that had good business programs, lots of internship opportunities, and an extensive alumni system in the city of her choice.</p>
<p>She focused on schools in Boston and Chicago. It appears that the strategy worked for her: she had several internships in her field while in college, graduated with good grades and good contacts among local businesses, and starts her new job in this city in September. Most of her friends who graduated last June have jobs they obtained from on-campus recruiting.</p>
<p>So, location (and major, and local reputation of one’s college) can definitely have an impact on internships and job offers. I don’t think D’s university would be a household name outside of the Midwest, but it is well-respected in her field and in her city.</p>
<p>D graduated from a school in California, returned home to the East Coast, and landed a good job where she’s been working for the past three years. Much of one’s success in getting that first job can be attributed to networking, e.g., internships; however, networking can also work in other places. It all depends on how much effort you put into identifying contacts, etc.</p>
<p>Is that 3.7 GPA weighted or unweighted? The fact there are a lot of honors and AP is a good thing. Where does he rank roughly in his class? I would say don’t be so quick to count out top 20. He may well get in. And have him take the ACT if there is still time. Some people do much better on it than the SAT.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s really that big a help. If he loves DC, then that’s a reason to go to school there, but my D goes to college in Ohio, and it doesn’t seem to be a problem for her friends to get jobs in New York, DC or SF. As Little Mother says, it’s all about the networking, and at least in our case, the alumni networks are extensive in all the big cities she might want to work in…</p>
<p>you should not choose a school before you even start because you think you might want to work someplace after you graduate! your mind about what you want to do and where may change 25 times over those 4 years!</p>
<p>Networking plays an important role in many people’s job searches.</p>
<p>But there’s another route to getting a job for people who are finishing up a college degree – on-campus recruiting. This does not require networking. What it requires is being at a college where the specific employer recruits and having the qualifications that the employer is looking for.</p>
<p>On-campus recruiting can be a powerful tool for finding jobs. At colleges with strong national reputations, it can help students get jobs all over the country (and sometimes, even in other countries). At colleges with strong regional reputations, it can help students get jobs in that region.</p>
<p>If you want to work in the Washington, DC area and you attend a nearby school with a strong regional reputation (such as, for example, the University of Maryland at College Park or George Mason University), you will have opportunities to get jobs in that area through on-campus recruiting that you would not get if you attended a similarly strong school in a different part of the country.</p>
<p>I would investigate what companies actively recruit at the schools your son is interested in. Depending on your sons intended major you can get this from the department (the engineering and business schools can tell you who is recruited their students) or from career services. This will tell you if it is very regional, or a larger area. </p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t encourage my student to choose a school based on where they think they may want to end up living. To many things are fluid. Kids change majors, they end up going to grad school in another part of the county, they are offered a job at higher pay elsewhere and due to student loans they can’t afford to pass the opportunity by, they fall in love and end up following their sweetheart where they settle, they go on study abroad and decide the worlds a big place, maybe their original thought at 18 doesn’t fit them at 22. Any number of things can, and usually do, happen.</p>
<p>My S3 has loved going to school in DC–he chose American Univ. because it is in DC but has a real campus–he wanted both experiences, and he has not been disappointed. He has thrived in a number of diverse internships that have helped him figure out what he likes doing, and, just as importantly, what he does not like doing. He has loved being able to have internships both during the semesters and over the summers. He is also amazed at the connections and network he has developed. </p>
<p>S2 is now in a graduate program at AU as well, and he is having the same experience. Fabulous internships and incredible networking and connections.</p>
<p>Yes, only because the vast majority of companies recruit locally and area employers “know” the college name and have undoubtedly hired or worked with people from that college. That doesn’t mean that you can’t move to a different region after college and job search but that can be financially tougher unless you have some savings, financial backing or a some sort of job lined up. you don’t have to attend college in to take your case D.C., but it would be easier to be in the D.C. area than clear across the country.</p>
<p>We recruit largely from the Big 10… so if you’re at CalTech or Berkeley or MIT or some such, sorry :). The reason is largely because we are located in fly-over country, and know that only people who have spent time in the Midwest will like it…</p>
<p>I think the location of the school matters, but for different reasons. Location issues that should be considered are: climate, distance from home, proximity to mass transportation, size of city/town, or distance form a sizable city/town.</p>
<p>With both of our daughters it was surprising how their criteria in these areas quickly whittled down the list of possible schools.</p>
<p>After that, you can look at each school more closely and get a feel how good a fit it is for your child. If it’s a good fit, the job possibilities will follow.</p>
<p>Have fun!</p>