<p>This is coming from a girl whose sister went to a local commute-college for undergrad (got a full ride there) and ended up at Columbia for Law. </p>
<p>She keeps saying that you can go to some any ole school and end up at any great grad school. </p>
<p>I try to tell her that her sister probably doesnt represent the majority of the people who attend a local commute college.</p>
<p>She says as long as you are 1) hardworking and 2) Intelligent, it does not matter where you go for undergrad. </p>
<p>Then I ask her why institutions such as Harvard or any other Ivy Leagues exist.</p>
<p>She says it's for people who don't intend to pursue Grad. education. </p>
<p>I frequently hear this too; but always, it’s coming from people who did not attend a prestigious undergraduate institution. </p>
<p>On the other hand, my friends who did/do attend prestigious UG institution argue otherwise. </p>
<p>Essentially, the important thing here is social networking. Most students would feel more attached to the friends made in the UG years, rather than the graduate years as graduate-level education tends to have a more professional feel rather than a closely-knit “school” feel. Obviously we’re generalizing here, but those who attend prestigious undergraduate institution usually go on to larger-caliber jobs and professions. As a result, you’ll have friends in these areas who may be able to do you favours.</p>
<p>Yes and no. I won’t say that the undergrad school doesn’t matter, but I think there is some truth to the girl’s statement. Of course, a lot depends on the student.</p>
<p>I have a friend who is one of 4 sisters. The girls were told that the parents would pay for their undergrad education IF they went to a state school. Grad school was up to them.</p>
<p>Three of the girls went to LSU for undergrad. For grad school - 1 went to Princeton, 1 went to UPenn (Wharton), and 1 went to UT Austin. The 4th girl went to Texas A&M (the family had moved by then) and went to UT Austin for grad school (law).</p>
<p>I think that as long as you go to a SOLID undergrad school and do well, there is no limitation on where you can get in for grad school.</p>
<p>I completely agree. Even if your undergrad isn’t “solid”, you can definitely still go to grad school - possibly not the top schools, though. It’s less like high school, where it doesn’t matter where you go to admissions (since there’s not a whole lot you can do about it if you go to a public school). Where you go for undergrad does matter… to an extent. As long as the school isn’t really, really awful (Frostburg State comes to mind), I think that if you score well on the GRE/GMAT, have a great GPA, and have other elements on your “resume”, you’re in the running.</p>
<p>I think it depends on what is important to you and what you are looking for in a school. If you simply want to get into grad school then a solid undergrad school (preferably with a very good dept in your major) will get you into good grad schools. </p>
<p>But if you are looking for that social networking thing and for doors to open in certain ways then the Ivy names (or other elite names in your field like Caltech for sciences or UCD for viticulture) might open those doors for you both because of prestige and name-recognition and because certain schools have a culture of boosting alumni.</p>
<p>So, there isn’t a right or wrong answer. It really depends on what you want/need.</p>
<p>Research the involvement of the alumni via annual funds, clubs, alumni events, associations, etc. it will give you an excellent barometer of the availability and benefits of the alumni connections at that particular university. Many smaller, less prestigious and less well known institutions have huge alumni networks, events and endowments for grad school, travel abroad and myriad of opportunities for a student to capitalize on. Many students have been known to land impressive employment opportunities and internships via alumni at a variety of tier universities, definately not ivy exclusive. Knowledge is power.</p>
<p>Also, college solely isn’t a stepping stone. I, for one, wanted a location with plush cultural surroundings and to be surrounded by fantastic people from many backgrounds. I relish the four years I spent at my alma mater. Could I have gotten an equal education elsewhere? Most likely. Would I have enjoyed myself elsewhere? Most likely. However, I’m confident that my HYP experience was superior to peers’ experiences, at least anecdotally.</p>
<p>OP: you can retort to your friend: yes, undergrad “reputation” doesn’t determine future potential – but if you could choose any college in the world to attend, which one would it be? Her answer will be very telling.</p>
<p>Sure… but I agree that college is not a step to something grander and better. </p>
<p>Life’s too short to be going after a single goal, and college should be a place to embrace new things. Sure… it shouldn’t matter for grad school if you’re a really top notch student, but it’s not about grad school admissions. </p>
<p>Certain colleges have resources that other schools cannot match… funding, focus, faculty, college life, food for example… and top schools tend to have access to more of those resources than others.</p>
<p>For example, for me Yale is a wonderful school on it’s own merits, but their financial aid offer was 48k out of 50k total… in those terms, the undergrad I chose mattered absolutely.</p>
<p>Recognizable-on-CC-LAC Liberal Arts BA Degree, GPA 2.8</p>
<p>followed by two years of boring entry-level jobs and a change of career goals</p>
<p>Homestate-Public-U undergrad and grad coursework for 2 years, GPA 3.9</p>
<p>followed by admission to every grad school I applied to</p>
<p>M.S. in new field earned at Famous-Name-U, GPA 3.7</p>
<p>Maybe I just got older and wiser? Maybe I just finally found my true direction? Maybe the grad school admissions were because Homestate-Public-U is well-recognized in that particular field of study? </p>
<p>Maybe, just maybe, it is true that you can get anywhere you really want to be, starting from wherever it is you have to start.</p>
<p>"if you could choose any college in the world to attend, which one would it be? Her answer will be very telling. "</p>
<p>Well, given the opportunity to choose any college I wanted - it still wouldn’t have been an ivy. Just not what I wanted. I knew what I wanted to study and where I wanted to study it. Prestigious school - not in the least, but at that time - it had one of the best reputations for the degree/career I wanted among the folks/companies doing the hiring. Never regretted my decision.</p>
<p>"Maybe, just maybe, it is true that you can get anywhere you really want to be, starting from wherever it is you have to start. "</p>
<p>Amen!!! Having been part of a grad school admissions committee for several years - we looked at a LOT of things, but I can honestly say that the undergrad institution was NOT at the top of the list…maybe #6 …somewhere after academic record, GRE/GMAT, essay, recommendations, & prior experience. More than anything, we looked for someone who really WANTED what our program had to offer.</p>
<p>While I agree that a prestigious undergrad education can offer invaluable resources, being motivated and driven is what is most important in life. I cannot tell you how many of my friends parents went to HYP and are now housemoms or cannot keep (or are unwilling to keep) a job. Yes they went to one of the most elite institutions for four years but life is so much more than those four years. You still need passion and a will to succeed beyond getting into college.</p>
<p>“I try to tell her that her sister probably doesnt represent the majority of the people who attend a local commute college.”</p>
<p>True. That’s because the majority of people at mediocre colleges aren’t extremely bright and don’t have excellent stats and other accomplishments.</p>
<p>However, if one is an outstanding student at a mediocre college, and has excellent GRE, MCATs, and other achievements, one can get into a top school for grad/professional school. </p>
<p>The problem, though, is that many outstanding students who go to mediocre colleges only do what’s necessary to get good grades. If their accomplishments are good for a mediocre college, but are mediocre when compared to the accomplishments of students at top colleges, they won’t get into a top graduate/professional school. They have to go above and beyond what’s considered good at a mediocre college.</p>
More informative than what your friend says is what it says about her. In HS many people see the world in simplistic colors; everything is black or white. So either where you go to undergrad absolutely determines your future for everyone, or it bears no relevance for everyone. </p>
<p>Your friend is making the logical error called “overgeneralizing”. Just because her sister did so does not mean everyone can do so, unless they share the personality traits and social environment (parental encouragement, high-achieving friends, etc) that her sister has and attend that same (or very similar) school.</p>
<h2>Miriambaby3wrote: "I frequently hear this too; but always, it’s coming from people who did not attend a prestigious undergraduate institution. "</h2>
<p>I attended both… too long a story to explain, but I attended a Top 5 Private for a third of my undergrad, then a Top 30 Public the for the balance. Ultimately I got a UCLA MBA, which at the time was ranked #12 I think. I’ve done well enough financially to live near the ocean in a safe neighborhood.</p>
<p>You can do equally well in life and in career spending time in either envirnonment. The Private certainly is easier both emotionally and in the classroom, and on average will grade .2 to .25 points higher. The Private will have smaller classes in the first two years. The Private will have slightly better advising, and is more flexible in late term class drops or change to Pass/Fail. The Private will afford easier interaction with Profs and research opportunities. All these slight advantages disappear when a student of Top 5 quality attends at a Top Public and shows initiative.</p>
<p>I cannot say though, whether Community College -> Top 100 Public would yield the same experience.</p>
<p>I graduated from a CSU and enjoyed the experience, but given the option I would have much rather attended a more prestigous university. That being said, I still got into a top tier grad school. </p>
<p>To answer the OP, attending a no name university didn’t hurt my graduate school prospects. Did I miss out on a "grad experience? Sure.</p>