Just wondering if anyone can give insight to Colorado College name recognition beyond the west? It looks like a lot more east coast students have “discovered” Colorado College, so I was hoping there would be more name recognition. But my sister in law who lives in New York hadn’t heard of it. Is this anything to be concerned about when it comes time to look for jobs or apply for competitive opportunities? I know there are more important things about a college, so this isn’t a huge deal… but for a school this hard to get into, it would be nice for the students and graduates to have the benefit of some “wow” factor when they list CC on their resume.
Curious what current students, graduates, parents have to say about this. Thanks in advance!
Our extended family in Philly had never heard of Haverford and asked my D where it was when she excitedly told them she got in. Doesn’t mean that Haverford doesn’t have cache or name recognition, just that it’s recognized in different circles than we were looking. Colorado college is a great school with a great reputation. Don’t worry who in your random life has heard of it.
Both my kids went to schools a lot of people hadn’t heard of. That doesn’t bother me, because I’m a lot more concerned about both the academic and soft skills my kids learned in college than about what anybody else thinks about the name. As far as I’m concerned, I’m a little glad more people aren’t aware of my kids’ schools - maybe they wouldn’t have been lucky enough to get into and experience schools that were really great for them.
As the above posts attest, it has more to do with small LACs in general than Colorado College in particular.
Most Americans only know a few of the Ivies, their local state schools and those large universities that excel at sports.
You can take a look at or talk to the career office to get comfort. You’ll see that many national level employers recruit there. And grads win Watson Fellowships, Fulbrights, etc. as well.
And Oprah is giving the commencement address this year!
Agree with the others. Don’t let this influence your decision. I also think @doschicos is correct that small LACs are generally not broadly known. I graduated from Vassar and live in the NY metro area and it’s very often
people have never heard of it.
No, CC won’t get Ivy League name recognition. For that matter it won’t get Big Ten name recognition. As others point out, this is true of LACs in general. Nevertheless, in some circles there’s a little extra cachet for being an undiscovered brand. So, learn to enjoy that.
Colorado College flies without a prominent association – Ivy, NESCAC, Claremont, etc. – but even at that I’d regard it as a well known school to people who know colleges.
My dad knew about Colorado College and encouraged me to apply. It’s true that the school is well known among those who know about schools, and, especially, liberal arts colleges. Not everyone has heard of Pomona, Swarthmore, Kenyon, Grinnell, or Macalester either. People who know of Colorado College admire it.
She should’ve led with, “If you’re going there, it must be a great school! Tell me more about it.” It is a great school, btw, and people who matter will know that’s the case. Also, once you move to CO, you won’t want to leave, and every employer here knows CC. 
Congrats!
Admissions officers of grad/professional schools have certainly heard of it, and know the quality of the school. It is a well known and respected institution among those who know anything about American higher ed. You have nothing to worry about
Two grads of CC both went to HBS and run a 50b private equity fund. It’s known where it needs to be known. Who cares what they think at the gym or family reunion. Fly them to Monaco on your private jet someday and they’ll remember if just fine lol.