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I have been told by several people that because most good careers require a graduate degree, it is more important where you go to grad school than where you go to undergrad. Is this true?
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I don't think its true. While some degrees require a credential such as law or medicine, engineers do just fine with a BS degree. Most people in good jobs in business do not have an MBA or other advanced degree, and even if your son DOES want to get an MBA the good schools will be looking for several years of good business experience prior to enrolling; they want students who can bring real-world understanding to the classroom.</p>
<p>Here's my pitch for going to the best school you can. First off, what the people around you do has a lot of influence. Some psychologists argue that peers are the MAIN influence (see, for example, the book "The Nurture Assumption"). If you go to a school where everyone expects to get good jobs and are doing internships, interning in Washington, etc. then it becomes the norm and its what you do also. I know kids from top schools like Stanford and everyone simply takes for granted they're going on to great things. If you go to mediocre State where the kids are just interested in passing a pleasant 4 years (parties, classes with little homework, hanging out with friends) this tends to become the norm as well. I'm not arguing that a well-motivated and talented student can't do well at State, its just that it would involve swimming against the tide rather than being carried along towards success with it. A few months back PBS had a documentary "Declining by Degrees" about the hands-off impersonal atmosphere at some large publics, and if you didn't see it then you can find info about it by using google; I'd suggest taking a look.</p>
<p>And at the better schools you get benefits that may not show up on the transcript but are valuable nonetheless. Did you read the book "Tuesdays with Morrie"? The talks with Morrie wouldn't have happened at mega-U where classes have 200-500 students and the only personal attention you get is from a grad student who is 25. Morrie at the mega-U would have had his hands full with his grad students, working on research, etc and the last thing he would have done is met weekly with an undergrad. Some students thrive at big U's of course, and I bet Cal and UCLA turn out thousands of satisfied grads each year. But some students would benefit from a more personal environment and you're not going to find many of these without paying.</p>
<p>I'm not saying the only good schools are expensive ones since as you know UVA is a nugget. Research schools, look at some of the ones mentioned by Loren Pope in "Colleges that Change Lives", figure out where your son would fit and get a good education. And I want to emphasize that last point because FIT is important. Rankings aren't the end-all, they're just one measure. Get one of the books about college admissions and learn how to figure out the factors that go into fit. I doubt a student would find Vandy and GaTech equivalent schools!</p>