Does the fact that nobody's heard of the amazing LAC you got into bother you?

Applying to College
61

<p>Don't worry. Anyone, even outside of the Northeast, who knows much about higher ed at all has heard of those great liberal arts colleges.</p>

<p>I went to Bowdoin, back in the 1980s, so I've been toting that degree around on my resume for a long time. More often than not, someone interviewing me for a job comments positively on my education.</p>

<p>Funny thing...the only person I encountered who did not know what Bowdoin was was at Harvard. Many years ago, I applied for an admistrative job at Harvard. The personnel office drone wanted to make sure that I knew that the job required a bachelor's degree. I was confused, until I realized that she thought the A.B. degree from Bowdoin was an associates degree. Ummm....Harvard gives out A.B.s, rather than B.A.s, too! You can't take someone like that seriously, she most certainly wasn't the decision maker in that hiring process, just the front office application rubber stamper. The hiring manager did, in fact, know what Bowdoin was.</p>

62

<p>Years back when I went to MIT, I encountered an elderly couple in the student bookstore. The wife inquired "Why do all the things in this store say mit (she pronounced it the way you would say baseball mitt). The husband replied "I think its a school around here." I almost died laughing. It still brings a smile to my face when I think about it even today, Ahh memories ...</p>

63

<p>People around me have never really heard of bentley which is a great business school, and when my friend telles people hes going to Seton Hall they congraulate him because they think its such an awesome school. Not that Seton Hall sucks or anything its just that when they hear the name they immidiately think its prestigous because its in hte big east. This just really gets under my skin. If i hear where's Bentley one more time I might scream.</p>

64

<p>Today I was arguing with a friend. He was claiming that BC was almost as good as the Ivys. I told him that BC is overrated because of it's name and sports and that there are many better LACs. I specifically named Williams and Middlebury. He told me they obviously weren't that great because no one has ever heard of them and that they definitely didn't compete with BC.</p>

65

<p>Yeah, it's real annoying trying to justify choosing AMherst over Carneigie Mellon and a Hopkins waitlist to my friends. I mean, half of them think I'm talking about UMass Amhest, not Amherst college.</p>

66

<p>hahaha the BC comment makes me laugh..I go to BC now and I just got accepted to UChicago as a transfer, so I am probably going there...everyone at BC seems to have that same attitude, that is they think that BC is so prestigious that people would turn it down even for Harvard. I must admit, my parents liked telling people that I go to BC and they wont like it as much if I do end up at Chicago, because sadly the majority of people havent heard of it. Oh and tell your friend that BC should start by being the best school in the ACC, then try to conquer the ivies.</p>

67

<p>"that is they think that BC is so prestigious that people would turn it down even for Harvard"</p>

<p>A friend just turned down Brown for Bc. Why? I have no idea.</p>

68

<p>Umm.. what's the difference between A.B. and B.A.?</p>

69

<p>actually, I would have done the same thing, but I cant stand Brown. Thats just me though. I visited Brown and I thought it was the worst place ever.</p>

70

<p>I got into Columbia, UC Berkeley, and Amherst. I love Amherst so much, its like the no.1 LAC in USA...but when I told my parents, they were like, whats this liberal art ********? My counselor hadn't heard of it, my friends hadnt heard of it..it was pretty depressing. I understand the feelings of the original poster, after all, once you get into such a highly selective and highly ranked college like Amherst, you WANT people to be congratulating you for such an achievement because its no mean feat! Ultimately however, its important enough that YOU know its amazing because you'll have an amazing time there nonetheless!!</p>

71

<p>There's no difference between an A.B. and a B.A. The first stands for "Artium Baccalaureus", it's Latin. It's the same thing as a Bachelor of Arts. Some schools originally bestowed degrees in Latin and it's a hangover from that. </p>

<p>S.B, "Scientiae Baccalaureus" is the same as a B.S. Some liberal arts colleges give the A.B. even to science majors...Bowdoin and Williams do that. </p>

<p>Many colleges give the Latin version...the few I know about: Harvard, Bowdoin, Earlham, Duke. There are many others. It was common until the mid 19th century.</p>

72

<p>Orasool, your guidance counselor has never heard of Amherst? That is a case for firing someone if ever there was one, incompetence to an extreme degree. As for the three schools you got into, all are fantastic, as you know, and all are quite different from each other. It is a matter of personal preference. Forget what others say, Amherst is extraordinary and being accepted there is a great achievement. Do not let the ignorance of others spoil how you feel about your choice. I would be THRILLED if any of my kids ended up at Amherst.</p>

73

<p>Not a lot of people in my school have heard of Davidson, and if they have its from the mens basketball team. I think two or three people actually have known about the school itself.</p>

74

<p>and that MIT story is amazing. I wonder if they were just lost in Cambridge? How do you just wander into the MIT bookstore without having heard of the school?</p>

75

<p>LOL, orasool, what kind of counselor is that? amherst is a fantastic school and a fantastic college, and offers a better undergrad education than many full-fledged private universities. it's a great sin for your counselor to keep his job. and yes, you're gonna have an amazing four years there, great that you've made a decision./</p>

76

<p>Sweetlax, Amherst and Williams are not better than Dartmouth or Brown. They equally split cross-admits, have similar admissions criteria, and similar graduate placement. They are for all intensive purposes equals...</p>

77

<p>Here's what happens many years down the road, if you go to a fine LAC such as Amherst, Oberlin, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, etc:</p>

<p>It gradually dawns on you that you've stopped expecting the man-in-the-street everyday guy to have heard of it. That's because it gave you confidence in your own education to value the school for its many merits. Why would someone who didn't go someplace know much about it, except for what others say about it? So your opinion isn't shaped by others' perceptions, nor do you seek their approval to validate the decision you made at age l8.</p>

<p>It also teaches you a humane acceptance of what the man-in-the-street knows and has to offer that you do not.</p>

<p>You discover that when you NEED the prestige, for example to apply to graduate school or apply for a top-shelf job, the decision-makers in those places HAVE heard of it, or had friends who went there or to similar quality schools. </p>

<p>Your friends who go off more noisily to the Ivy League schools become more nuanced each year about realizing that the LAC's train top level academics. In their own course catalogues, they'll read the professors' credentials and see how many of them have their undergrad degrees from the LAC's. They'll read books written by grads from both Ivies and LAC's. After a while, they'll too get the idea that while their Ivy schools ARE fabulous, they are not the only show in town in terms of an undergraduate path. </p>

<p>THe real proof in the pudding is who gets into grad schools, at which point you'll compete with Ivy Leaguers and do as well on admissions, provided your academics grow and develop as they should and your MCAT, LSAT, GRE or whatever score is high also. Every now and then you'll read some grad school prof writing about how the LAC kids in his/her grad school classes were actually better prepared than from their own Ivy undergrad. Well that's a bit much but I've read it. My guess is you'll be prepared "as well" as the Ivy undergrads. </p>

<p>So the respect is in place where you really need it, namely grad school admissions and good jobs. Private university-educated people know all of this about LAC's. The fact that your pharmacist, driver ed teacher etc. never heard of it happens to remind you that there are other values in this country, too. You probably can't name a top school for learning to be a chef (hint: Culinary Institute of America in upstate NY) so for someone in that field, you don't really know much. No matter; you all find what you need.</p>

<p>So, yes it's annoying right now, and it doesn't change, but your gracious acceptance of this will develop.</p>

78

<p>BrownPlease, it's fine to feel annoyed and disappointed that these people haven't heard of your schools. It's human and understandable; you'd like people to recognize what an achievement it is to be accepted to these schools. But don't let their reactions (or lack thereof) change your mind or decision or make you feel badly about what you've accomplished. That would make you less intelligent than the people who haven't heard of Middlebury. ;)</p>

79

<p>This topic is silly. People from "bad" undergrad schools go on to top grad schools as long as they work hard and do well. If you plan to get a job right after college thats different. In terms of recognition, it just comes down to where you live. People around here are super impressed by UVA but Im sure on the West people are like "is it good or something?" Point is, people in the know will know...some people on CC are never satisfied.</p>

80

<p>^^^^ Agree with your post.</p>