<p>Student here, not a parent, but I thought I'd ask this question here since you all would have the most experience with what happens post-college.</p>
<p>I've narrowed my choices down to two colleges, both of which I really like a lot (though for pretty different reasons). I'm having a hard time differentiating based on fit or simply preference. </p>
<p>I may be very slightly leaning towards one school for intangible reasons, but the other has a much more tangible difference - arguably one of the most loyal alumni networks out there.<br>
From what I can gather, the other doesn't have as much success with job placement (perhaps b/c of lower name recognition?).</p>
<p>What kind of weight should this hold in my decision? I know so many people are worried about finding jobs after graduation - and maybe its too early for me to worry about that - but its one of the few definite distinctions I can draw between the two schools.</p>
<p>I know a lot of you have been through this process ( and you probably have yourself). Are alumni networks and loyalty very important? Any advice would be great - thanks!</p>
<p>It depends on whether you expect to live in an area where the alumni network is very strong. USC has a great alumni network, but you wouldn’t benefit much from that if you lived in the southeast or New England.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if the alumni network is strong in areas where you think you might live, that would be a real help.</p>
<p>It can also really help on the internship front – and that might be good enough.</p>
<p>Daughter had this same decision to make in 2008; and the school w the alumni strength was the lower ranked school…</p>
<p>Fast forward: she chose the lower ranked/better alumni school…has had at least 10 internship interviews based on alumni contacts/has one offer/ waiting for response from others…</p>
<p>Opinion coming: if you have your own networking contacts from family and friends, it makes no difference where you go to school…we have seen kids from mediocre publics getting amazing internships due to their connections…</p>
<p>or, if you are like my daughter, where her parents have no connections to anyone in her field of interest, you go to the school that will help you the most…</p>
<p>Off the top of my head, I can cite a number of college seniors and recent grads who have gotten terrific support from alums from their colleges … support that has definitely made a difference in their lives. I do feel that one can get support from fellow alums even when the network isn’t notably strong, but when a college promotes an active and caring alum association, pay attention! And geography doesn’t matter at all. In this day and age, it’s easy to have professional connections around the world. So a journalist in Kansas can recommend an aspiring journalist in Connecticut to a contact in Korea, and so on.</p>
<p>I went to Smith and have been incredibly impressed by the many times I’ve seen alums help out fellow Smithies of all ages and in varying situations. One of my favorite stories goes back a couple decades. My mother-in-law, who had lived most of her adult life in a housing project in Massachusetts, stumbled on a fabulous opportunity to go to Washington D.C. for a couple months to take a paid job supporting her favorite presidential candidate. But she feared that her limited finances and lack of connections in Washington might be a deal-breaker when it came time to find a place to live. So I picked up the phone and made a cold call to the President of the Washington D.C. Smith club … a woman I didn’t know who had graduated from Smith at least 20 years before I had. I explained the situation, saying that my mother-in-law and I didn’t know the Washington area at all but were wondering if there might be a safe YWCA or any other short-term housing that would be suitable but affordable. Without missing a beat, this woman said, “My husband and I have a home in Georgetown, and we’re not going to be there for two months …” She invited my mother-in-law to move in (and she did!). </p>
<p>I was already a fan of the Smith alumnae network (“The Ageless Women’s Network”) but this episode certainly confirmed how grateful I was for a college with such strong alum ties.</p>
<p>My brother has lived in many parts of world for his job. Every time he moves to a new place, the first thing he does is to make cold calls to alums. I also went to a school with strong alumni network, but I never used it.</p>
<p>Dotre Dame grads strenuously support each other no matter if they are known to one another or how far apart in grad year. It’s almost scary when you see it in action. It’s like an Irish Catholic Mafia. (While you don’t have to be Irish or Catholic, you are part of their mafia).</p>
<p>Texas A&M is known for having a very strong network, I am not from the United States but I have been a hiring manager at four companies in Texas…I have been given express instructions at 3 of the 4 companies to connect with the University and any internships etc. should be awarded to A&M graduates before others. Aggies are known to cross the street in Los Angeles to shake another Aggies hand…very stong network that is very helpful in the job search process.</p>
<p>I went to a school with a really strong alumni network – arguably one of the strongest. In thirty years, I used it once, to get a job. It was the worst job of my life. I worked for a complete crazy woman, nothing was as stated in the job description, people quit almost daily – I lasted about nine months before I found a new job on my own.</p>
<p>To be fair, the alum who tipped me off to the job was a complete nut job as well.</p>
<p>So alumni networks are not always your best bet.</p>
<p>Let the school, not the alumni network determine where you spend the next four years. When ranking your priorities this should be near the bottom.</p>
<p>^^unless, of course, your career aspirations strongly depend on internships and building your resume…not sure a generalization can be made across the board, wis…</p>
<p>For what its worth, the schools I’m considering are Notre Dame, Northwestern and WashU</p>
<p>I’m an undecided major - perhaps bio, but perhaps not. But ending up in Chicago after college is pretty important to me, regardless of what I end up doing. I’m slightly concerned that WashU will make it harder to end up in Chicago than Northwestern because of the following NU has there. But ND also has such a great alumni network…</p>
<p>Arabrab (Post #2) is exactly correct. Unless you plan on living (and making a living) where that alumni network is strong, it will not have much economic value. Sometimes a strong aliumni network indicates that the students really had a grreat experience at the school – and you might too.</p>
<p>Granted, it can be helpful to live and work where an alumni network is strong, especially if it tends to be concentrated in one part of the country. But in this electronic age, it’s not a necessity. Professionals in a wide range of fields can have connections all over the globe.</p>
<p>Many schools have on-line alumni directories that you can search to locate alums with whom you can network - either personally or electronically.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that where you reside right after college may not be the same as where you settle long term so the alumni connection can be helpful no matter what.</p>