<p>Is it better to go to a university with a higher overall ranking, or a university with a very highly ranked program in the major/program of study you are seeking, but a lower overall ranking? Does this really make a difference to employers? I was admitted to Cornell, which has a national ranking of 15, and USC (University of Sothern California) which has a national ranking of 24. My major is communications, and USC's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism is ranked number 5 in the nation, whereas Cornell has communication as a major within the CALS school and does not have a separate school for communication, and Cornell is in the top 10 for communication, so USC is actually ranked higher than Cornell for its communication program.
Does this a highly ranked program really even matter or make a difference to employers, or is the overall university reputation and ranking more important?</p>
<p>Choose the school you like. If you’re a top student, you’ll succeed at either one. Rankings are completely subjective and in no way represent what employers actually think. There are other factors like location, alumni network, on campus recruiting etc. These are far more important than a number attached to a school by a for-profit online ranking.</p>
<p>agreed with emprex. You should base your decision on YOU, not what other people think. Rankings are not always accurate.</p>
<p>Hey I’m also majoring in communication and applied to Annenberg. I’d go to USC over Cornell in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>As someone who interviews executives for companies, you are splitting hairs when it comes to the difference between Cornell and USC. Both are nationally-known and nationally-respected. Employers aren’t looking up national rankings when hiring.</p>
<p>In many cases, even your major is unimportant. I have a degree in psychology, and never took a journalism course. I had written for several national magazines before I graduated from college, and spent the first three years after college writing magazine articles for prominent magazines before I decided it was too boring and isolative (plus poor-paying), and moved into business management. I’m now a business consultant and executive search consultant. One of my college roommates, a medical devices executive, has a history degree, another (there were 7 of us) with a psychology degree runs a department for a major bank, and a chemical engineer roommate was a partner with a Wall Street firm. Only one of the seven of us (a geology major, now a project manager with an environmental remediation firm) wound up doing something remotely connected to his major. </p>
<p>Career paths wander all over the place. I’d go to the school that fits you and one that you like. I certainly wouldn’t worry about whether USC is in the Ivy League (an athletic conference) or not.</p>
<p>On another post, you mentioned that you heard Cornell has too much snow and too much work. Yes, there is snow, and there is a lot of work at Cornell, but probably no more work than at USC or the other top 50+ (perhaps top 500?) colleges in the country. I’d worry more about the snow, if you hate it, than the amount of work.</p>
<p>Your other post said that you could go to Cornell for only $8,000 a year, and that the total was much less than USC. That’s a reasonable reason to consider Cornell.</p>
<p>However, you said you just transferred into USC as a junior this semester. That means you have perhaps three semesters left after this year. You’ll probably lose credits if Cornell does accept you again. My thoughts are that with only three semesters left, you’d be better off staying put at USC, unless the money/tuition difference is huge or you simply can’t stand the thought of being at USC any longer.</p>
<p>Either school is going to give you a very solid education. The national rankings of colleges are very subjective, and are based on a lot of criteria that may not even be relevant to you personally. Just because USNews ranked a school higher, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be a better school for you to go to. I have no desire to go to any of the “top” schools for the most part. HYPSM doesn’t really apply to me (well, maybe MIT), but that’s for a lot of personal reasons. I’m shooting for UIUC, which is still a very highly ranked school, but I didn’t even know what it’s “ranking” was until after I’d already decided that I wanted to aim for UIUC. Rankings don’t mean a lot in the end. </p>
<p>Given your situation, I’d probably shoot for USC. It sounds like they have a more well rounded department in your given major.</p>
<p>Those schools are both decent, so do a trip and visit the campuses, meet some people and go with your guts feeling!</p>