<p>My dad works at a tuition exchange school, which means I have free tuition at a select number of smaller private schools. I want to go into computer science, but none of these schools have a ranked computer science program. I live in North Carolina, near UNC Chapel Hill, NC State University, and UN Charlotte, whose CS programs are ranked #20, #47, and #99 respectively. These are state schools, so they are affordable...but unless I pick up a lot of outside scholarship money, the tuition exchange schools are much cheaper (I would only have to pay for board, books and supplies). In your opinion, is the prestige of these programs worth paying the extra money for, or does prestige even matter that much?</p>
<p>I will definitely pursue graduate school after undergrad. I will no longer be eligible for free college for grad school, so I will likely be attending UNC Chapel Hill or NC State for my masters and doctorate degrees. With this in mind, does the prestige of the program at which I attain my undergrad degree even matter if I attain my graduate degrees at a highly-ranked institution?</p>
<p>One more thing: what is more important to employers, the prestige of the program or the prestige of the school itself?</p>
<p>this is a very controversial issue as there are proponents for either sides; that is prestige matters vs it doesn’t matter. Personally I feel the prestige doesn’t matter for undergrad study. Employers would be more interested in where you went to grad school, so that’s when the prestige would come into play, but if you can enroll in a college where you have free tuition, i see no reason why not? </p>
<p>Unless the comp sci program at the schools that are listed under the tuition exchange program are terrible or have a reputation for being low-grade program then i can understand if you dont want to attend.</p>
<p>socially and in informal circles, identity is just as much linked (if not more so) to the undergrad institution than the grad school he/she attended. professionally, the grad school matters more, though prestigious employers typically value attendance in a highly selective undergrad as well. I attend Harvard for grad school and went to Northwestern for undergrad but I feel Northwestern is a greater part of me socially and I benefit from the social cachet it has.</p>