<p>I have a question. I am a junior trying to get a better idea of where I want to attend college. I have not pinned down a specific major, but most of my interests fall under the 'liberal arts' range- writing, languages, government, int'l relations perhaps. I am confused about just how important where I go for undergraduate is.
My parents want me to go to the state university, saying the level of education really doesn't make a difference the first four years anyway. They say I can then 'springboard' to a college I really want to go to for my masters. My counselor says I should go on to a better school right after high school if I can get enough scholarships to afford it. Mississippi State is where my parents want me to go (a very good engineering program, not great liberal arts), and I am looking more at other southern schools that are stronger in my interest areas and more rigorous in general. Vanderbilt is definitely the reach on the list; others are Clemson, Washington and Lee, UGA, Furman...to name a few. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Will it really make a difference in my overall education (and future job opportunities) whether I go to MSU or somewhere harder? thanks.</p>
<p>Well first of all, University of Mississippi is a better school than MSU, so you might want to apply there instead/too.</p>
<p>Also, we would need to know your stats (SAT/ACT, GPA, rank, ECs, etc.) to suggest schools if that's what you would like. People would then more easily be able to identify schools where you would have a good chance of scholarships.</p>
<p>I have not taken the SAT. I had a 31 ACT in 10th grade and am planning to retake sometime. PSAT was 213 which will hopefully give me a good shot at national merit here. 3.9 gpa...I don't think my school ranks...
ECs...basketball; beta; mu alpha theta; co-founder and editor of school political/literary paper;4-H horse and cattlemen's clubs since I was a kid; various science fair, spelling bee, history competition awards. That's most of the interesting ones, anyway.
Ole Miss is on my list, I just have problems with the preppiness and the 'party school' aura. I will probably apply there next year anyway, though.</p>
<p>i know people who have gone on to very succesful academic careers after starting at less prestigious places such as mississippi state. just work your butt off in your first years, if you decide on a public in the area, then transfer if its not fitting to ur academic tastes.</p>
<p>is the level of education really much different during the first four years anyway, wherever I go?</p>
<p>college isn't only about the "academics." sure its one component, but the network you have and the ability to get a better job/ and or better grad school are critically important. Going to a top school you join a "club" for life, and this club comes in handy more often than you might think. The difference between a Harvard and an Emory is actually much less than the difference between Emory and Miss State. I would pay full price for my school (Dartmouth) over and over again. But Miss State and Clemson isn't that much of a difference. Miss State and Vandy is night and day.</p>
<p>thanks. So let's say I were to go to State and graduate all A's and do really well, or go to an Emory...or shall we say just 'college X'... and are less of a 'standout' student. Some seem to argue that standing out at a lesser institution is actually better for grad school chances than being a decent student at a better one. Can anyone give me any insight into whether this is true?</p>
<p>..bump...plueeezee...:)</p>
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Some seem to argue that standing out at a lesser institution is actually better for grad school chances than being a decent student at a better one.
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This misconception keeps floating around, and there are a couple of problems with it. First off, most people are NOT going to get graduate degrees. When you read these boards 1/2 the people are going to be doctors, the rest are already planning for grad school. Sure, its what people may be thinking now. But most of those premeds drop by the wayside, and nationally the Census Bureau reports less than 9% of the adult population has higher than a bachelor degree. So for a lot of kids, these 1st 4 years are ALL they will have. Second, this "fact" ignores how grad schools select students. GPA is not the only or even main thing, which goes to the crux of the "go to the easier school" theory. There is the matter of the GRE, and you take the same test no matter which school you attend. The more challenging your college, the better you will be prepared for it. And recs are crucial for grad school. These are a factor of both your school and your personality. At a good school with a focus on undergrads you are going to get to know your profs because the school is set up for small classes, advisors, etc. On the other hand if you attend a large impersonal state school AND do not make the effort to approach profs, you will not get a very personal and enthusiastic rec no matter how good your grades. </p>
<p>As for some of your earlier comments, your parents are mistaken saying the 1st 4 years doesn't matter anyway. I don't know about the school you mention, but at many lower-ranked state schools there is great apathy in the classroom. Kids are just putting in their time with little care for learning anything. Part of a great education is learning to think and having your ideas challenged by smart kids who hold differing views; at a school where nobody participates in discussions, or where there are no discussions because classes are so large, you miss this. And lets not ignore the peer element. If the main focus is 4 years of fun its hard to swim against the tide unless you're willing to be the "nerd" or outcast. And you miss out on being exposed to other kids who are doing the things it takes to get into those good grad schools; unless you're fortunate enough to know everything already you miss by not being able to emulate other kids who are getting internships, doing research, and other things that lead to future success. There was a PBS show a while back talking about the plight of the large state school and you might want to read it; see <a href="http://www.pbs.org/merrow/tv/transcripts/%5B/url%5D">http://www.pbs.org/merrow/tv/transcripts/</a></p>
<p>And as far as classwork goes, the profs have to teach to the level of who they have. If most kids aren't really ready for college-level work then the standards HAVE to be lowered. Less reading assigned, fewer if any papers, less challenge.</p>
<p>There is a book I recommend for you, called "Admission Matters". It has an excellent chapter on fit and selecting the right college. See <a href="http://www.admissionmatters.com/tableofcontents.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.admissionmatters.com/tableofcontents.html</a></p>
<p>mikemac - which of the transcripts is it? Most of them seem to be talking about public schools for K-12...</p>
<p>As a real old guy now on his second career let me tell you--if you're good at you're job everyone will know it. Good means not only mastering the work, but also being helpful, a team player, a positive person that people want to be around, someone willing to take responsibility, and, very importantly, someone who shows up on time, you will get ahead. The word will get out in your profession. If you're rude, lazy, and unpleasant it wouldn't matter where you went to school.</p>
<p>AND, do you really think that 20 years into your career anyone will care if you went to school in Starksville, Nashville, or Boston?</p>
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mikemac - which of the transcripts is it? Most of them seem to be talking about public schools for K-12...
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Sorry, I thought the link was just to the show. It is "Declining by Degrees"</p>
<p>Your education is what you make of it</p>
<p>wow, thanks to all of you! I will certainly look into those links.</p>
<p>Your education is what you make of it. At the same time, you'll have better opportunities at better places. I know students and alumni from state universities that turned out well. I also know an equal number of students and alumni that gripe about the crappy quality of teaching. </p>
<p>You certainly can get a great education at a state school but you'll have to work twice as hard to get it.</p>
<p>Ole Miss's honors college is touted by my counselor, among others, as 'world class.' Would being in an honors program at a state school make a lot of difference? Does anyone have an idea as to how it might measure up to just going a better school?</p>
<p>Honors colleges offer some very valuable perks and let you meet some of the top students at your college. But when you're thinking of honors colleges the pitch is often that you're getting an elite private education at the public school price. Sadly, this isn't true.</p>
<p>No honors college that I know of is a college in the true sense; having its own faculty and giving its own degrees. Typically offerings cover your 1st 2 years, and range from one class per semester to (infrequently) all your classes. Classes under the honors umbrella are the ones with the hand-picked profs and bright fellow students. But these are typically limited to at best a few courses in each department. Honors colleges are fond of saying they provide "an education similar to that at prestigious private liberal arts schools and universities" as Ole Miss writes in its brochure, but at those schools schools ALL the classes are of this caliber. The classes outside the honors umbrella are out in the regular U.</p>
<p>After the first 2 years you complete your degree by taking the standard upper-division classes in the regular university. Often there are supplementary honors classes, discussion sections of larger classes, or research projects available, but in the end the majority of the classes you take upper-division are the same ones everyone else takes and no longer restricted to the bright honors kids. Class sizes may balloon, too, if you're in a larger public U and a popular major. At the LACs and top U's, of course, you continue in smaller classes with the same bright students around you that were there the 1st 2 years.</p>
<p>As far as future employers or grad schools go, I don't know if they make a distinction for grads of the honors college. For sure, employers aren't going to make special recruiting trips out to a college just to meet the honors students for internships and job interviews. They can get a whole school of them elsewhere, why travel somewhere just to meet with a smaller set of kids with no guarantee they'll sign up anyway?</p>
<p>Honors colleges DO offer some valuable perks for those who can't attend a true elite for whatever reason. Typical ones include registering for classes before everyone else so you get the classes you want (a perk worth its weight in gold!), special counselors, guaranteed housing, special library privileges. They will often mark your diploma with some indication of honors college or make a note on your transcript. Certainly if you're going to go to Ole Miss and you qualify, it would be worth enrolling in the honors college.</p>
<p>But if you think its just like going to Williams or Dartmouth or whatever at 1/5 the cost, it just t'aint so.</p>
<p>I recently e-mailed several admissions offices of vet schools because I am stuck between Cornell and an amazing offer from Michigan State. The admissions counselor at Ohio State said that the caliber of the education at MSU's Honors College wouldn't be looked at as less rigorous or lower than Cornell. Very interesting, considering I could still probably pull a higher GPA at MSU.</p>