I’ve noticed a lot of people, including myself, are having trouble deciding if they should attend the more prestigious school or a school that they can standout more but is also good in their major. So what is your opinion? Does this only matter to certain majors like engineering, business, etc. or all majors? All input is welcome and greatly appreciated.
What guarantee do you have that you will “stand out” at any particular school? College can be harder than you think, and strange things can happen even if you work hard.
For example, I’ve heard Purdue vs Berkeley for engineer or IU Kelley vs Georgetown for business nothing outrages though like Harvard vs Quinnipiac
@ThankYouforHelp that’s a good point but maybe there’s a certain program that they like or maybe they got into a honors college or something. Any more inputs?
As ThankYouForHelp mentioned, I wouldn’t necessarily assume that I would “stand out” more at a school that is less selective. Some people have a tendency to rise to the challenge that is given them, so a student who would be an academic overachiever in an environment that encourages that kind of behavior may choose to focus on other things in an environment that focuses more on social and cultural development.
There are also different ways to stand out: maybe at Harvard you’d have a 3.7 GPA without much time to do anything else on campus, while at Purdue you’d have a 3.7 but have been president of the student government and had two internships at local companies while in college. Or the reverse. What’s better or worse? Depends on the students’ desires and needs.
In general, where you go after college is more about what you did in college and the skills you’ve learned through experiences you’ve had while you were in college. So think about that when you are making a choice. Don’t choose prestige for prestige’s sake; people should go to places like Harvard or Georgetown or Berkeley or wherever because there are elements about the experience that appeal to them. Those elements may be related to the reason the schools are prestigious - competitive, ambitious classmates; phenomenal resources; world-class research professors; great libraries; excellent career support. But simply the name itself isn’t enough to motivate you. Similarly, some students may crave the resources and benefits of going to places like Purdue or Indiana or Quinnipiac.
@julliet So does that means your are against prestige? Also another example of standing out is getting a higher GPA. Some school that I know of curve your grade down or a small percentage of the class is allowed to get an A. Also a school could have a +/- system compared to other schools that have just letters. Another example could be going to a more prestigious school that doesn’t have your exact major. For example, you want to be a business major but the more prestigious schools don’t have that so they are forced to major economics instead. Another example that I’ve heard of is when someone was comparing Purdue with Berkeley and said they they wanted to do aerospace engineering and Purdue had a program for that while Berkeley’s closest thing was nuclear engineering. These are also examples so try not to take them so seriously. Lastly, I’m not saying that you will standout at a less prestigious university but I’m saying that most students feel that they have a higher chance
Anymore opinions?
Terrible driving criterion. Kind of like saying “marry the more attractive person.”