<p>I live in Houston, and except for UT and A&M, I am not thrilled with the options for college. I didn't get into A&m because I didn't finish the prereq's. I was recently accepted to SUNY binghamton and Stony Brook but I know they aren't really known in Texas. If I wanted to come back to Houston after college, would having a degree from an out of state college make it harder to get a job? I am majoring in Geology and I plan on getting a Masters degree, which I may do at A&M. This may be a silly question but thanks for any imput!</p>
<p>I am not sure if forgetfulme accidentally miswrote his post or if he thought UT and/or A&M was located in Houston. In either case, I am not trying to argue with forgetful as I am not sure what exactly he meant to say.</p>
<p>As for the original question, I agree that SUNY Binghamton and Stony Brook are not going to have that great of reputations in Texas, especially no where near UT or A&M. Both are definitely a clear step up from a college such as University of Houston (on a selectivity basis alone, the Carnegie Foundation ranks them as “more selective” as opposed to UH’s regular “selective”). However, after they hire all the UT and A&M graduates, I am not sure if the somewhat-higher national reputation of those out-of-state schools is good enough to overcome the local alumni loyalty to colleges in the area like UH.</p>
<p>But if you don’t like the other colleges in Texas, and you can truly afford it, I don’t see why you would decide to go to a local college for four years in hopes that you can get into your graduate school of choice for only two years at the end of four long years. You are going to have even less opportunity to enjoy college in graduate school. Your undergraduate degree institution is going to matter much less than your graduate degree institution, so if you can only go to A&M / UT for one degree, do it for your Master’s. However, you have to make sure your undergraduate college will provide you the opportunities necessary to accomplish what is necessary to get into a good graduate school.</p>
<p>I came from a school where a honors program student with a high GPA, internships, and some extracurricular activity was still rejected by a more prestigious (but not super-selective ivy or anything like that) because it still was not enough to overcome our school’s very bad reputation even within the state (yes, it is an accredited non-profit). Check the graduate school admission statistics / info for all your undergraduate options.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think the best option, if possible, is to go to a college (whether in or outside the state) you can afford, that you like reasonably, and will give you what you need to get into a good graduate school. You might even consider transferring to UT or A&M ASAP if you really like them better? Either way, at the end, do your best to get your graduate degree from UT, A&M, Rice (if you only excluded that based on cost for undergraduate), or an even more prestigious out-of-state college whose reputation extends even to Texas.</p>
<p>I’ve applied to UT, but I’m not sure that the school is right for me. I really want to go out of state, just to try something new (and somewhat to get away from family for a while).</p>
<p>I’m just a little concerned that if I decide to look for a job in Houston (and I don’t get into a master’s program) that an out of state degree will hurt. I am also open to the idea of trying to find a job in NY. Not sure what the job market there is like though…</p>
<p>Still trying to weigh out the pro’s and con’s…</p>