<p>My D has some big state schools and some small LAC on her list. She could be happy at either and there are pros and cons to each. Since she doesn't yet know what she will major in, it is a little tougher to make a choice. It has been said over and over that finding the right fit is very important but really, she is the kind of kid who could fit in and be happy in many different schools. Since I view college as preparation for life and a career, how much importance should a school's reputation and prestige play in the decision? A well known state university vs a little known up and coming university? Will going to a school few people have heard of narrow her job opportunities when she graduates? How important in a strong alumni network?</p>
<p>Depends on what she’s likely to end up doing, right? And what part of the country she’s likely to want to live/work in after college. And what kind of person she is when it comes to taking advantage of whats on offer at her school of choice.</p>
<p>You can’t keep every option open forever: She has to make the best decision she can, based on what she knows about herself, her future goals and her current interests. There are always trade-offs and there is no ‘one size fits all’ - otherwise college selection would be easy: You go the the top school if you have the best record, the second best school if you have the second best record, etc…</p>
<p>I think that generally, a school’s reputation can help you get your first job (or actually, your first interview). After that, it’s mainly what you do. And it’s not even as simple as that. I know people who were denied interviews because of the school they attended because of school rivalry, nothing to do with academics. Even the effects of a “strong” alumni network aren’t really clear. It would seem intuitive that a bunch of alumni in different places would help. But it’s also true having one person in a career center or faculty member involved in your job search can be even more effective. If she makes the most of internship opportunities and building relationships with professors, she’ll do fine where ever she goes. Sorry, guess that doesn’t really help since that’s where you started from.</p>
<p>Is your D a junior or senior?</p>
<p>Few people have heard of Amherst and Willims, but these schools are heavily recruited for elite jobs. We’d need to know the schools to comment.</p>
<p>Reputation is situational. I asked a young lady who was interning at an institution in our area where she had gone to college. She answered “Williams College,” and without missing a beat continued, “it’s a small college in Massachusetts.” Had she said “Northern Illinois University” (or more likely, just “NIU”), no explanation would have been needed.</p>
<p>I think M’s Mom’s and sadilly’s answers are right on.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. She is a junior and considering: Elon, UDel, UC Boulder, Northeastern, Indiana - Bloomington, UMD and Tulane (as a reach). Elon is the outlier. It has a lot to offer but not well known.</p>
<p>It sometimes feels like the Average Joes only know the names of the big sports schools. D1 could also bloom anywhere, so we were happy she choose the college that will stretch her, where peers give her a run for our money. </p>
<p>If it’s hard to choose between, say, Elon and UDel, look at the actual programs she can participate in or the experience she can gain, whatever it is you feel she might benefit from- not just name recognition. Widen the criteria you are considering. That could be study abroad, internships, some aspect of sports, whatever you know about her interests. Good luck.</p>
<p>I don’t know where you live but in the mid-atlantic area and much of the northeast, Elon is better known than Northeastern or Indiana - Bloomington. At least that’s been my impression from the schools my kids/friends kids are considering.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. She is a junior and considering: Elon, UDel, UC Boulder, Northeastern, Indiana - Bloomington, UMD and Tulane (as a reach). Elon is the outlier. It has a lot to offer but not well known.</p>
<p>Your D has a lot of out-of-state publics on her list. If you’re prepared to pay the high OOS costs, then fine. Some of those are running about $40k per year. If you’re not fine with paying that much, then she needs to have other schools on her list.</p>
<p>Do you know how much you’ll spend each year?</p>
<p>
Depending on what she is interested in, Elon may actually be very well-known by relevant people. It has excellent connections in journalism/communications and theatre, for instance, and although it’s no Wharton, its business students do pretty well, especially in Atlanta. </p>
<p>Most people like to claim that their college will be the next hot thing, but I think in Elon’s case it might actually be true. Several posters have echoed Joblue’s comments about Elon being popular in the Northeast, and I’ve even seen kids sporting Elon shirts here in California.</p>
<p>Yup, here in the Mid-atlantic, as Joblue says, Elon is both well known and well-regarded. Several really nice and talented kids in our neighborhood attend.</p>
<p>Pushydad - I see from another thread that your family is in AZ. That’s an interesting list of schools that you all have proposed. What are the priorities that led your D to them?</p>
<p>pushydad (which I seriously doubt you are:)), your daughter’s selections so far look sort of random to me, but maybe there is an underlying thread that connects them. Is she focused on a particular career path already, or more of a “seeker” at this point? If she has specific career interests, she should explore colleges based on which ones offer programs that best fit her professional goals. In many cases, the reputation of specific programs matters a lot more to potential employers than that of the entire institution (the journalism school at the University of Missouri is a good example of this). If she has no idea what she wants to do, I would go with your in-state flagship, Elon or a smaller LAC where she can refine her interests before grad school or going out into the working world.</p>
<p>Thanks all, my D doesn’t have a career path yet (or even a major). She is drawn to anything with either International or Global in the title because she loves to travel. Her choices so far are kind of random but each offers something that she is looking for (Tulane has a great reputation and global studies program) Udel is known for it’s study abroad and it’s location is near family and friends, Indiana has Big Ten sports and is well known, UC Boulder is in a great town also near family, Maryland is well known on the east coast with big sports, and Elon has great service learning, study abroad and is small enough to enable strong teacher engagement without being too small. Also, her stats are good but not great. GPA 3.3uw 3.6w SAT 1970 1 AP in junior year 3 AP in senior year</p>
<p>oh and the draw at Northeastern is the coop program. Yes, it is random because as of now she is pretty unfocused when it comes to defining her priorities. She has slipped into serioritis during the end of junior year. (not great timing).</p>
<p>Pushydad-</p>
<p>All of the schools that your child is looking at are just fine. And your daughter sounds like she’ll do fine anywhere. So, you’re very lucky. You can make the decision on the basis of money, without all the hand-wringing involved in our helicopter parent generation.</p>