My son selected a college that is not widely known in our area over my well known schools. When answering the question what school he is going to I get responses like I have not heard of that one. Has anyone been in a similar situation? I typically reply by saying where it is located and that it is a good fit.
Yup, both my kids went to schools in different parts of the country. The schools are well known in their regions but practically unknown where we live. Iâve pretty much said the same thing about fit - my kids knew the type/size of school, location, and in Sâs case restrictive major they wanted, and both also wanted a chance to live in a different part of the country. Both of them found what they were looking for and have been very happy with their choices.
I still sometimes get questioned, especially as to why they would go out of state when there are so many good schools in state. I respond with âthis is what they wanted, theyâve worked hard to earn scholarship money to make it affordable, and I support them even if it means theyâre far away from homeâ.
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My daughter picked a school in the same state that many had not heard of. I often cut off the question by adding the info to the name of the school. âSheâs going to ABC. Itâs a small school for engineers located in City, and sheâs majoring in X and playing Y. It is a really good school for her.â
Anytime kids leave their region and donât attend a public university with an easily recognizable name, chances are there will be people who have never heard of it. Should not really be a surprise to any parent. I agree and would suggest saying: "Kiddo is going to ABC college. Itâs in blah blah blah state and kiddo is happy - thrilled - loving it.
Agree with the above. Donât worry about it. Your S will be going to a college that is a great fit and that is all you need to care about. You can tell people: My S will be going to XYZ, it is a (two word description) located in (place). The school is a great fit and we are thrilled.
My daughter was valedictorian and chose a college that most teachers in our school have never heard of. Some teachers actually told her that she was making a mistake and throwing her life away. What a mess. Whenever people ask where she went, I receive blank looks and the typical âIâve never heard of that school. Is it any goodâ. Like @twoinanddone I answer that its a small engineering school in the middle of nowhere. I say that its a perfect fit for her and sheâs having the time of her life. And leave it there.
Unless theyâre footing the bill, their opinion is fairly useless. We couldnât have asked for a better experience for her and name recognition is by far not the most important feature in picking a school.
âOh, you should check it out! It provides the x, y and z that will be perfect for son.â
For us they have heard of it but donât know a thing about it since it is OOS. We get why isnât he going to A&M? Well, he didnât want to. He wanted a smaller school and got a better deal and it is a better fit for him. Even when we visited the school we got that question. Sigh.
Sure, all the time! I just tell them that Wellesley is a womenâs college in Massachusetts, and that Oberlin is a a liberal arts college and conservatory in Ohio. I figure that anyone who actually needs to know about those schools (hiring managers, grad schools, etc.) already does, so I donât really mind that random, well-meaning strangers and friends may not.
There are a ton of excellent schools that I only learned about in recent years (St. Olaf, WUSTL, University of Richmond, etc.), so I donât mind educating people about schools they may not know. Thereâs not a person alive who knows about every school out there.
I went to Barnard, and was astonished when a Human Resources who interviewed me for a banking job in NYC confused it with Baruch College (the business-focused division of CUNY). She repeatedly corrected me when I said âBarnard;â she would say âBer-NARD Baruch.â Another personâs ignorance should never intimidate or diminish you.
@momofthreeboys "Anytime kids leave their region and donât attend a public university with an easily recognizable name, chances are there will be people who have never heard of it. Should not really be a surprise to any parent. I agree and would suggest saying: âKiddo is going to ABC college. Itâs in blah blah blah state and kiddo is happy - thrilled - loving it.â
^This!^
D1 is at a top 10 school and D2 at a top 50 school. We hear the same thing most of the time, âNever heard of it.â Remember, you didnât choose the schools to impress people, and if the school is not close to you, most people will never have heard of it.
I had not heard of the university D1 ended up attending before she applied. I typically would tell people where it is and tell them that she did a thorough search and this school fit almost all her requirements.
I give a brief commercial for the school, similar to @twoinanddone, but also letting people here know about the schoolâs big scholarship opportunities and this fabulous CC website. DSâs school will need to hire me as a regional recruiter by the time he graduates. 
Our church pastorâs wife announced all the graduates and where they are headed. Since she is an engineer, she was knew about RPI and her enthusiasm for DS attending carried over to the congregation, even though Iâm guessing most of them have no idea what she school she said.
@MuggleMom - really? Teachers told your daughter she was making a mistake and throwing her life away? In those exact words? Iâm finding that hard to believe.
All the time, and the name of the location is in the name of the school.
Youâd be surprised at what people say. Teachers didnât come out and say that S was throwing his life away, but there were plenty of âwhy would you want to go somewhere no one has heard ofâ and âwith your stats you could get into so much better of a school - itâs a shame to waste talentâ.
Of course, none of the people who said that were willing to fork over the money to send him to a âbetterâ school. He found the right school for him - including one of his top requirements, which was graduate with no loans and not use all the funds we had available/saved for him so he could use that money for other experiences (such as study abroad winter term, which his school has and was another plus since studying abroad for a whole semester is extremely difficult for engineering majors who want to graduate in 4 years).
I only do that when they brag about their kidsâ high stats or that their kids are only looking at âtop ranked schoolsâ (and of course this school couldnât possibly be ranked as theyâd never heard of it). Then I say âWell, itâs FREE because of her scholarships and grants.â
DD graduated from Santa Clara University. I canât tell you how many people here on the east cost never heard of the school OR thought it was a public university. Even DDâs HS GC had never heard of the college.
We just smiledâŠand nodded.
@MuggleMom âIs it any good?â
Most people are not trying to be mean, they just have no idea.
On my last visit home to Michigan, a parent was explaining to another that the Ivy League means schools like Michigan and Michigan State.
I said that is the Big Ten, and neither one is in the Ivy League. They looked shocked, and said, âThey arenât!?â
People just donât know what they donât know. Most only know local schools.