I know that the nescac schools are all very good and place well for jobs and grad schools. It’s just when ever I talk about them to people (specifically the three in Maine) no one really grasps how good they are and they think the schools are just regional colleges. This just makes me wonder if educated people in New York don’t recognize them will employers around the country recognize them. I know this might seem niaive I just am wondering if there are any downsides to this. Thanks!
Bowdoin Colby and Bates are gold standard type schools in the eyes of sophisticated employers in New England. And within grad schools nationally. They will open a lot of doors that then require the individual to get through on their own. And all the schools have a national alumni network in the highest ranks of business and academia.
Are they alone in these attributes. No. But don’t worry about name recognition. They are hard tickets to earn and if you do earn a spot please consider seriously.
If you’d like, you can compare early career salary data through *U.S. News/i. However, in terms of comparisons across colleges (whether large or small), consider factors that may influence the data (such as whether engineering is offered).
Back in the day, the term, “small New England college” had a cachet all its own, whether or not the person in question could name more than one or two of them. Nowadays, it’s more advisable to refer to “small private colleges” in general, bringing in such fine midwestern institutions as Carlton, Grinnell and Macalester as well as southern schools like Davidson and W&L. People have an image what that means, rich, elite, but, above all - smart. Lack of name-recognition has not been a biggie in my experience.
I worked for a Fortune 100 company that used to be based out of NJ. Bowdoin was one of the top schools they recruited from. I don’t think name recognition is any problem.
No, name recognition is no issue. As PB alludes, the Maine Three kids tend to graduate with many vital skills and interests. And the confidence to move forward. And they do.
Who cares if some “educated” people you know recognize the name?
“Small NE college.” Well, there are a ton of small colleges in New England. It’s not just any one of them, but those that educate and empower.
Oh, if the OP is planning to live in the south or southwest, he may have to explain where Bowdoin is (and where in Maine, and why Maine) many times over. That’s okay. Going to one of the New England small schools is not a red carpet entrance to every business and college out west. Yes, you may have to explain why an English degree from Colby would make you a good candidate for the job.
Most people are happy to learn about a ‘new’ school but not everyone immediately recognizes every 2000 student school in every tiny town in New England. Some people don’t even recognize Rutgers as the big school in New Jersey; I remember it was a question on Jeopardy! (something like “This state is the only one without the name of the state as part of the flagship university”).
There are just too many colleges for most people to keep them straight so go where you will get a good education, not a “brand”. When I used to hire, did I know if Knox or Lawrence or Bard was the “good college”? Or all three? No. And I went to a college similar to those. If people really want to know they can look up rankings. In the end, it’s more what you do than where you go to school.
This sez everything you need to know, right here:
https://catalog.claremontmckenna.edu/content.php?catoid=21&navoid=2192
- That’s one of those new, up and coming schools here in New England. LOL.
Even people who haven’t heard of NESCACs have probably heard of Forbes, which lists four NESCACs, including the top school, in this article on ten colleges that are “worth every penny”: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliesportelli/2017/04/26/10-expensive-colleges-worth-every-penny-2017/.
I would say no. It might not help you as broadly as a more recognizable name, but once you’re out in the work world, it’s really more about your connections, your reputation, etc. My ex husband just refers to his school as a top 20 small liberal arts school if people don’t know its reputation, and that’s the end of it. In the case of Bowdoin, you could probably even refer to it as a “little ivy”
I went to a NESCAC (Amherst) and my experience is there is excellent name recognition among the kind of people you will need to impress to get a job or get into grad school. Sure, the person sitting next to you on your Southwest flight will be more likely to know the universities that are playing in bowl games or in the March Madness tournament than small liberal arts colleges, but you don’t need to impress that person. I have colleagues who attended Colby and Bowdoin, and both of them are extremely impressive individuals.
It is true that NESCAC schools may have less name recognition INTERNATIONALLY. A college friend of mine who was from an Asian country told me only half jokingly that the only U.S. colleges people in her home country reliably knew about were Harvard and UCLA, so she had to provide some context when interviewing for jobs. (It made me laugh that she said Harvard and UCLA because I was expecting her to say “Harvard and Yale” or “Harvard and Princeton.”) That said, she landed a very good job at a bank back in her home country, so it doesn’t seem to have been much of an impediment. (I think attending college in the U.S. in general had some cache.)
While it is true that “sophisticated” employers probably should recognize these schools as talent gold mines, the reality is that many of these “every day” people that people say it does not matter to impress are actually working people too. I can confidently say that the college recruiting teams of some of my last employers would not recognize the names of most of the NESCAC, and that includes a multi-billion dollar Fortune 500 company that I will be working with post-graduation. This is silly and likely leads to lost talent, so it is something I am trying to address once I find myself in a position to do so. A lot of my friends have felt similarly about their professional teams.
^I think the point here is that if the OP is sending out cold copies of his resume six months after graduation, then something has gone terribly wrong in the career counseling process. That sort of thing is more common at a state school. Among the few colleges I’ve seen that publish job results after graduation are Ivies and NESCAC colleges and they indicate a minority of students actively seeking employment six months after graduation.
It’s a mistake to confuse the NESCAC schools with the hundreds of other small colleges/unis in New England.
Frankly, even others from my kids’ hs who did go to these other smaller colleges have done well with jobs. NYC, Boston. DC, and further. Mostly because they have the goods. Not the school name.
You have to realize the NESCAC schools are all very good. Take a look at the list.
I think about this as well. We are in the Chicago area and our S is applying to five NESCAC schools in addition to some LACs in the south and the midwest. He may have to work in NY or Boston for his first job out of school but he’s just fine with that. I think people who need to know do recognize Williams and Amherst but the rest not as much. That being said, people here don’t even recognize Carleton or Grinnell half the time so it’s also just a liberal arts school thing, not just a NESCAC thing.
This all being said, we are looking closely at each school’s career centers. Some do seem to place a larger percentage of kids in jobs versus grad school. Right now, S19 is planning to work a bit after undergrad so we’d like to see some history of kids getting jobs instead of joining the Peace Corp or Teach for America, etc.
What on earth are you talking about? There are only about 200 genuine LACs in the entire country. The entire country.
So call it scores in NE. Doesn’t change my point. And I see a quote of roughly 500 LACs. Not sure what makes one more “genuine” than the next. It doesn’t matter. The point remains: the NESCACs are solid. And the ultimate success is on the kid’s shoulders. Not the college name.
“It’s just whenever I talk about them to people (specifically the three in Maine) no one really grasps how good they are and they think the schools are just regional colleges.”
What this tells me is that you need to talk to different people. I went to an Ivy and lived in NYC for 10 years after college and pretty much EVERYONE I encountered knew about Bowdoin, Colby, and Bates — and knew they were good.