<p>First of all, I apologize for posting on the Parents Forum as a hs senior, but I find the parents' input really valuable.</p>
<p>I am really concerned about the number of students who seem to ONLY consider prestige when applying to college. I see this at home and on CC: The perceived prestige of an institution is most important factor when choosing where to apply, and, to make matters much worse, kids try to play the admissions game so that they will definitely get into Stanford, Duke, MIT, or any old Ivy League school. </p>
<p>I know prestige is important. For example, my parents say that admission to law school depends heavily upon the prestige of one's undergrad school. I just don't understand the kids who NEED prestige and forget about the other reasons to choose a college.</p>
<p>What are your thoughts? From your experiences with kids, do they get over this prestige obsession? Do adults ever get over it? Are the prestige-obsessed contigents pervasive on college campuses? </p>
<p>As a high school senior myself, I just want to say one thing. Yes, schools might not be right for everyone, regardless of how prestigious they are. But many of these schools are prestigious for a reason. They have the best faculty, most varied courses, best financial aid, most beautiful campuses, and most talented students and knowledgeable professors. Sure, Kenyon or Mount Holyoke might be better for some people than, say, Yale or Brown, but as a general rule I think prestige is reflective of some sort of truth inherent in schools' quality.</p>
<p>I know admission to medical school doesn't depend on the "prestige" of your undergrad college, or even on your major, so I would be skeptical that your admission to law school did.</p>
<p>I don't think that anyone can play the "admissions game" so well that they DEFINITELY would be accepted to a very competitive school. However I haven't read the admission game books and such as I just am not interested in that take on it.
I do notice that students may rely on schools that others have heard of, and take rumor much more heavily than I like to see.
But people do still aspire to climb the social ladder, and they may see the name of their school to assist in doing that.
I think the parents lead, matters much more than they realize. IF the parents are obsessed, I htink the student will be more likely to think the name is important.</p>
<p>I am not a parent, but I would like to offer my opinion. Some of my friends (and my sister) are what some on CC would call "prestige whores", although much less so than many other people whom I know. A really interesting book called School of Dreams is about a top poublic high school in California. Parents of children at the school would say things like "your uncle in _____ has never heard of Amherst; you should only apply to HYP, Stanford, and the UC's (not exact words)." This mindset is horrible for students who might not * want * to apply to schools on the basis of prestige.</p>
<p>I definitely agree with you, Encomium. Prestige is a combination of lots of things, and, in many cases, it's a good indicator of the general quality of a school. (I was accepted ED to Brown, and I am thrilled! But I also have oodles of reasons for wanting to go to school there. For one, I think it's the best "fit" for me.) It's just that the kids who only care about rankings and who only dream of Harvard and Yale and Stanford... well... kind of scare me.</p>
<p>I can verify that prestige of your undergrad school has a very limited impact on law school admissions. I attended a Top 10 Law School (granted, it was some time ago) coming from a National Public University that was probably considered a Tier 3 or Tier 4 school. I was amazed at the diversity of the entering law school class -- I had never heard of many of the schools, and many that I had heard of did not have the greatest reputation. It appears that GPA, LSAT scores and EC's were the most important factors.</p>
<p>****************
[quote]
When you're on campus day after day, or eating in the cafeteria, or are walking in college town X...
When the weather begins to reach intolerable extremes, or you are sitting in your dorm writing home, or when you're bored on a Sunday afternoon
When you look down the hall at your dorm-mates, or glance around the classroom at your peers...</p>
<p>Suddenly, the name of the college you're attending, it's rank in the U.S. News Report and the average SAT range will seem 'not so important afterall'
<p>Admission to a top 10 law school "'may" be influenced by a top tier undergrad experience, but it is in no means the determining factor, a tip maybe, but not a decision-maker. There are plenty of Harvard Law students who went to state schools. Generally, med and law grad schools prefer a diploma that reads University of [insert state] vs. [State name] State university, i.e., they prefer a UC grad vs. a Cal State grad, all other things being equal.</p>
<p>It's interesting that you post this question on the parent's forum, as I believe students are often desperate for "prestige" schools because of the pressure they feel from their parents, often feeling they need to validate their parents pride in them.</p>
<p>I wonder if any others believe this to be one of the reasons for picking schools based on prestige rather than comfort and identity.</p>
<p>You should go where you'll feel challenged, and do well. A top student at a state university might often have only been a middling one at HYP or the like, and end up with more opportunities and more internships and more connections. Clearly, if a law school has two students at the top of their respective classes at HYP or Podunk, the student from HYP will get an extra look, but what about the same student, top of the class at Podunk with sterling recommendations or a middling HYP one?</p>
<p>As for prestige -- where I live, there is no one from HYP (or AWS, except me). They have no track record in employment, no network to network. They carry no more prestige than driving around in a Bentley - if you did that around here, folks would thing you weird (not prestigious) and ask whether it can go off-road. One would seriously do better with a degree from Washington State or Brigham Young.</p>
<p>The problem is that the question of which school has the right "fit" for a particular student has so many facets that it's easy to just say to heck with it and decide that the place to go is the place everyone else wants to go. If you were blessed with infinite wisdom and perception it would be possible to figure out which college has just the exact right fit for you (or your son or daughter, if you're a parent.) Problem is, most of us fall just a little shy of perfection in those areas, leaving us to guess. Parents usually overestimate their kids' talents, so they tend to focus on more academically challenging (and generally therefore more prestigious) schools than would be ideal.</p>
<p>Another part of the problem is the desire to be envied. Students want to be perceived as better than their peers; parents want to bask in the reflected glory of their kids' achievements. But realistically, a prestigious school that's not a good fit is likely to do less for a student (in learning, enjoyment, and practical advancement) than a less prestigious school which provides the student with opportunities to see what he or she can do.</p>
<p>To answer your question: some will get over the obsession. Some won't. I've known both kinds. My advice: gravitate towards the ones who get over it. The ones who don't are b-o-r-i-n-g.</p>
<p>"But, Mini, aren't you still glad that you went to "W"? Would you have rather have gone to U. of Arkansas or the like?"</p>
<p>I am extremely happy to have gone to W. I got a great education, and was challenged (though, honestly, not as much as I was in high school, which was more competitive.) My mother wouldn't have allowed me to go to U. of Ark., as it wasn't within three hours of NYC. At the time I went, I knew virtually nothing at W's "prestige", and if I had known more (or my parents had known more - specifically about its well-deserved anti-Semitic reputation prior to the late 1960s - and which it has now well lived-down), I probably wouldn't have gone, or more specifically, even been allowed to go.</p>
<p>Didn't have ANYTHING to do with prestige (where I lived, and in the time that I lived it, prestige started and ended with Columbia.) And where I live now, it doesn't have any prestige.</p>
<p>I only worry about the ones stuck on these schools who don't get in. Those that do tend to be very happy at their dream schools. A senior at Harvard told me the other day that she still pinches herself every time she enters Harvard Yard. Whatever your dream is, attaining it is wonderful. So don't worry about the others, be happy if you find your best match.</p>
<p>Can't speak to law school, but I'll preach my med school message, it is not where you go, it is how you do/who you are. The only way prestige enters into the equation that I am aware of is when a person has attended a college known for hard grading policies. In fact, even though my child is going an Ivy, this is not the strategic choice I would have suggested for med school.
By the way, the prestige of the med school doesn't matter a hill of beans either, unless you are joining a Park Ave practice, or have some very specific research goals, that would lead you to a particular institution. It's all about class rank and grades at med school graduation and where you do your residency.</p>
<p>funkyspoon:
One thing that can skew a person's perception on this sort of thing is where you are from. In some parts of the country, and in some school districts, LIFE is about prestige. But, you know what? The whole world is not like that. Most of the world couldn't care less about how prestigious of a school you attend. So, I guess, what I'm trying to say is, try to block out all that noise and find some schools that fit YOU. You're the one who has to live your life - not those around you. Good luck!</p>
<p>I'll make a major generalisation here, but I think the whole prestige thing is much stronger to Northeasterners.....as Cangel mentionned Park Avenue......Here in Fla. people look blankly when I mention places like Yale or Harvard...its almost as if they're irrelevant. Very different from the New York area.</p>