<p>Now, I know I'm a new member (well, not really) but I've been visiting this site since long before I joined so here's something I observed about myself and I think that most people go through this change in mentality.</p>
<p>At the beginning of my "college journey" I was pretty obsessed with top schools; they were the only ones I looked up and the only ones I gave any attention too. With time though, I began to relize what I (for the time being)really wanted in a school. I began to venture out of the ivy league not only to find colleges that suit me better, but because I began to relize that no matter how hard I worked, admissions could/can turn into total crapshoots! My college list began to include schools that might not have a 7% acceptance rate and I began searching on google not "ivy leagues" but a "type" of college (for me, "colleges with no core curriculum").</p>
<p>Sure, nothing is wrong with the ivy leagues and other top colleges; they're great schools. The problem is with the people who believe (even if they won't admit it) that the best-known schools are/should be the only ones that exist in their minds.</p>
<p>I won't lie; I still like a little bit of prestige. The more important thing though is finding schools that fit me no matter if my parents friends have heard of it a few times or a billion.</p>
<p>So, to all those "noobs" out there on the college search; for now, start your journey with top schools. Than, when you get one that you just LOVE more than the others, ask why. If you love the curriculum, or the location, or the faculty, or something like that, good. Now go on google and find schools JUST like that. You'll be surprised.</p>
<p>Ok Im going to give what i truly feel from the heart
The thing about Ivy league schools && all other prestigious schools like NYU && Wesleyan; is that coming from those schools mean when you go to look for things like jobs (especially corporate jobs) they will take a person coming from Yale University over a person that came from Brooklyn College. Why?. Don't ask me thats just how it is</p>
<p>Take this example; may not seem fair but thats life</p>
<p>Brooklyn College student-4.0 GPA
Yale University Student- 3.6 GPA</p>
<p>Who gets the job at Goldman Sachs?. The Yale University student of course!
Why? well thats life once again; The things associated with Ivy && prestigious schools are open doors; prosperity; elitism && class. I realized this from the get-go.</p>
<p>Don't get the idea that people like George Bush worked his butte off to go to Yale; His father came from there and was pretty fortunate. (according to what I discovered)
Thats another point; legacies can have another impact on your chances of acceptance; if a family memeber came from a particular school your chances of getting in will surely increase. They see it as your parents being able to support that school financially
Who really gives a rats ass though?. but thats life ......</p>
<p>^ i agree. better/more prestigious college = better job opportunities. also....</p>
<p>going to a more prestigious school also helps with admissions into law/med/grad. school.</p>
<p>i plan on going to medical school, and through research, i have discovered that it is a really tough admissions process: only about 50% of pre-med students get into med. school. So, i know that going to a more prestigious school, like HYPSMBCC, will definitely increase my chances.</p>
<p>conclusion: finding a school that fits you is good. but for those who plan for the future, such as myself and So Auth., going to a more prestigious school is strategically smart and very beneficial.</p>
<p>Every so often a brave person decides to post a thread like this. I give them props for being so courageous (and for saying what I believe to be the truth) but in the end, I know their thread will just get filled with people saying why prestige is what matters. And although those people are very correct in their argument (the job thing above) my opinion never changes.</p>
<p>IDK.....In some cases prestige can be important.....the thing that motivates me to go to a prestigious college is the fact that I didn't got to a prestigious high school....or prep....so Ya tu sabe.....
I mean like be serious.....Harvard MBa Grads gets a starting salary of approx. 109k a year; who wouldn't want that (not that money is everything but still)</p>
<p>so authentic: besides it just "being life", I think your forgetting how much stronger Yale students are compared to say, Brooklyn college students in general. Yes there are the legacies and atheltes who get free trip in and there are those who work their butts off at lesser colleges, but I'm saying in general. "Prestige" comes from somewhere. You get prestige from being a top caliber institution, and that's why these businesses recruit from presitigious universities.</p>
<p>ummmm Right
but prestige also comes from how much endowment the college receives.....the more money a college is getting, the more they will be able to provide for top students who are of lower income backgrounds...get what I'm saying?</p>
<p>&& ummmm I'm sure there are people who goes to CUNY && SUNY schools only for the mere unfortunate reason that they're not able to afford to go to a top expensive school. I've heard stories of students who couldn't attend NYU because of the super high tuition.</p>
<p>reminds me of Family Matter the show when Laura couldn't go to Harvard because of the tuition and debt Carl was in</p>
<p>Referring to the MBA comment, you don't go to business school out of college. When you do, your GPA, GMAT and most importantly, WORK EXPERIENCE are far more important factors than what undergrad college you attended. In addition, once you have an MBA, no employer will give two ****s about your undergrad college, unless it's possibly their alma mater.</p>
<p>QUOTE:
"MCAT's and GPA get you into med school, not the name of your school"</p>
<p>that should be the case....but let's not be naive. med. school adcoms will except a harvard student with a lower mcat/gpa over a drexel U. student with a higher mcat/gpa. that's just life...</p>
<p>"MCAT's and GPA get you into med school, not the name of your school"</p>
<p>Top schools are "top" for a reason. They have smaller classes, more research opportunities, and offer better opportunities for internships. Those things are also factors in your med school application. </p>
<p>I was talking to someone the other day. We're both applying to med school. I was offered an automatic interview by UMich Med School. He was not despite having slightly higher stats than me. We were both above the MCAT and GPA cutoff UMich set for giving automatic interviews. But he could not satisfy the third and final criteria: he did not come from an undergrad that UMich considers to be a "top" school.</p>
<p>If your objective is income, as one of the posters seemed to imply, it is worth noting that most of the wealthiest people in the world didn't go to the Ivies. The Wall Street Journal reported that a declining percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs went to Ivy League schools. If you want to work for a hedge fund, get a math or physics Ph.D. If you want to work for private equity, a major business school is the ticket. Lots of the kids going to Harvard Business School did not go to the Ivies for undergrad. </p>
<p>But, going to top schools does give you three things: education, contacts and horizons. Many schools will give you an equivalent education. But few can give you the same contacts as HYP. And, what I've noticed is that students at HYP are likely to think "I want to be the best in the world at what I do" as opposed to the best in Texas or the best in Canada. That's what I mean by horizons. That may be good if you succeed or a source of frustration if you don't.</p>
<p>it seems like people from all kind of state schools are invited for interview:
Arizonna state
Cal State LA
Michigan State
San Diego State
Grand Valley State</p>
<p>The only thing is that applicants from these schools need very high GPA.</p>
<p>^^^Right. My point wasn't to imply that you have no shot at top med schools if you aren't from a top school. The other person could very well get an interview from UMich but he will have to go through the regular application process (sending in his secondary, recs, essays, etc. to be reviewed). UMich gave me one of their precious interviews (UMich accepts 50% of everyone they interview; not bad for a school with an overall acceptance rate of around 7%) solely based on my MCAT, GPA, and the name of my undergrad. This is a great advantage considering how holistic the admissions process normally is and the great percentage of acceptances UMich gives out to its early interviewees.</p>
<p>The point I was trying to make is that not all schools are equal to med schools (which is what the other poster was trying to imply). They do know the difference between different colleges and going to a top school has its advantages.</p>
<p>I just had a chance to look at your link. I'm not sure what was your point. Out of the 30 or so acceptees, I counted just SEVEN who were not from name brand schools like Michigan or Stanford. </p>
<p>So roughly 75%+ of the acceptees from that mdapplicants link were from a top 25 US News school. Only 25% from the rest of the country combined.</p>
<p>The data is not comprehensive, not everybody reports their acceptances to mdapplicants.
I was just trying to see if other non-top school applicants got in base on your post, but now I see your explanation and I understand your point.</p>