How much does the prestige of a school really matter?

College Search & Selection
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<p>The big question: Does it really matter where you go to school?</p>

<p>I was recently accepted into my dream school, the University of Miami (USNWR 47) along with other top ranked schools including the University of Florida (USNWR 49), and Northeastern (USNWR 49). Northeastern and Miami are both 55000+ per year and I am out of state for UF so tuition is around 45000. So my question is, how much does prestige matter? I was accepted to the University of Tampa (not well known, not really highly regarded) but received a huge scholarship and the financial aid package is big enough so that I can graduate with NO college debt at all. I plan on receiving my bachelors in nursing and continuing on to grad school to become a nurse anesthetist. I know that nurse anesthetist programs are extremely selective (about 5% acceptance rate) so will the college I go to affect my chances for grad school? Would it be better to go to Miami, a prestigious top 50 private institution that will help me get into grad school and graduate with 30000+ worth of debt? or go to Tampa and graduate with no debt at all? </p>

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<p>For nursing specifically, you want to be mainly concerned with whether the school has nursing accreditation, and what the pass rate on the nursing licensing exam is for its graduates, not its general prestige.</p>

<p>You may want to check these older threads:
<a href=“Does it matter what college you go to for nursing? - Nursing Major - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/nursing-major/1342650-does-it-matter-what-college-you-go-to-for-nursing.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“What are the steps to become a nurse anesthetist? - Nursing Major - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/nursing-major/1185861-what-are-the-steps-to-become-a-nurse-anesthetist.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>

From your original post with ranking numbers it’s pretty evident you’ve been afflicted by the prestige bug. Miami won’t help you get into grad school. You will do that on your own with good grades. </p>