<p>To make a long story short, I am facing a dilemma choosing colleges. I have to choose between four places:
1) St. John's in Santa Fe. This is my absolute favorite college. I love the curriculum and I am dying to go there but the cost is astronomical and I got a small scholarship so it does not seem feasible.
2) Tulane in New Orleans. I like this school but same issue as the above: finances. I may possibly get a full ride but without that it looks bleak.
3) Trinity in San Antonio. I like the school and want to go out of state, plus the expenses are not too bad (I got about half-tuition scholarship here).
4) LSU. I got a full ride and do not mind the school but I worry it will not open as many doors for me because of its reputation and prestige. </p>
<p>Basically, it comes down to whether reputation and prestige outweigh costs? I feel like Trinity is a better school than LSU but I'll be paying a lot more to go there. I really appreciate any advice or info on these schools (maybe from alumi?). Thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>Unless the door that you want opened leads to investment banking, then it will not make one bit of difference which one you attend (Tulane might be able to crack that door open a bit, but not much). What doors were you expecting them to open? Grad schools don’t really care where your undergrad is from, they want to see good grades, good test scores, and strong faculty recs. you can get that anywhere. From an employment perspective, big state schools are often more heavily recruited than smaller schools like Tulane. If you do well, it won’t matter which one you go to.</p>
<p>Trinity is virtually unknown outside of Texas, how is that going to open doors?</p>
<p>Based on what I’ve heard from current students and alumni, I figure Trinity to be more prestigious based on academics. LSU is a big party school where a lot of kids only care about football. I am considering grad school but I really do not know what I want to do at this point. I’d like to maybe work for a publishing house and maybe publish my own work some day. So for my major I’m thinking either philosophy, English, or creative writing. I’m almost 100% sure I want a humanities major. </p>
<p>I am not a NMF. I got a full ride to LSU based on grades and Louisiana’s TOPS program.</p>
<p>My parents would rather me go to LSU because of the costs but I can afford Trinity without debt. However, if I do go to grad school and cannot get a fellowship (it is getting harder these days) then they recommend I go to LSU.</p>
<p>Trinity is not going to be any more prestigious outside of Texas. Basically nobody’s heard of it anywhere else. If there are schools with names worth paying for, Trinity’s is definitely not one of them.</p>
<p>So current students and alums think Trinity is more prestigious than LSU, so what? What exactly does this so called prestige buy you?</p>
<p>Are similar students with similar grades and similar majors getting higher paying jobs at Trinity? Are they being placed at a higher percentage than LSU grads? Is the NY publishing industry breaking down the walls at Trinity to get to their grads? Would a grad school take a kid with a 3.4 GPA from Trinity over a kid with a 3.65 a from LSU (all other things being equal) because Tinity is so prestigious? Do publishers care where your Undergrauate degree is from if you are a writer?</p>
<p>I can answer those questions for you, and they are all no. </p>
<p>My nephew just received his MFA in writing from Columbia. His Undergrauate degree in English is from U Arkansas.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t know Trinity if my brother didn’t live in San Antonio - The prestigious Trinity is the one in Hartford, IMHO. Tulane and LSU I have heard of, and do draw my attention. I live in New England.</p>
<p>Fit is a whole different argument than prestige. I think it is safe to say that there really is no prestige benefit to Trinity over LSU.</p>
<p>5700 freshman enrolled at LSU in fall 2012. 12% of tose had an ACT score above 30, or about 700 students. About another 500-1000 or so scored a 28-29. That is actually quite a few really bright freshman students that you can hang with. Can you live in an honor’s res hall?</p>
<p>If you really think you will nto fit in at LSU then pay for Trinity. If you can afford it, do it.</p>