<p>I have relatively good stats
16/617 = 2.5% at a really competitive school
International Baccalaureate
12 APs by the end of senior year
1590
Decent ECs
Etc etc</p>
<p>BUT I have my heart set on going to University of Texas at Austin. My parents (asian . Omg) are actually okay with this they actually want me to stay close. A lot of my friends who are applying to only Ivies (1st choice Yale, MIT, etc) are saying that I should go somewhere else because UT is not good enough. Okay . One of them actually was like well, Im going to end up as your boss because Im probably going to go to MIT I have automatic admissions into the McCombs School of Business (which is ranked 6th in the nation) Do recruiters look past prestige??? </p>
<p>My list: UPenn, NYU, Berkeley, UT but Im 99% sure that Im going to UT. </p>
<p>We're having a little tiny bit of this going on in my house. Does d apply to the ivies cause there is a chance of getting in even though it will mean tons of loans and it'll be hard to get home for holidays? Or does she go closer to home where she'll get a decent education and not graduate with any debt.</p>
<p>It all boils down to where you are happiest and what would be the best fit for you.</p>
<p>I know people even within our family are saying that since she has decent stats she should go for the big names. That she'll make useful contacts there. But she seems to be happy staying in Texas so why should she leave?? </p>
<p>It may also depend upon what you want to do with your education. Will your ultimate job require that you graduate from the Ivy league in order to be hired? I think most jobs do not require this.</p>
<p>As the deadlines approach we seem to be reaching the decision that Texas Universities are good enough for our needs. I have brought up the idea that she needs to be sure that later she won't regret not having applied to any of the reaches up in the Northeast or elsewhere. She doesn't seem to care that much.</p>
<p>She's thinking that she may send in one or two applications to ivies just so that at the last minute she will have more of a choice. Assuming she's even accepted. If she's not accepted then the choice was made for her. If she is accepted we'll go and see...</p>
<p>We do not qualify for financial aid of any sort. (Merit aid at Texas schools, yes) so this is another consideration since we did not save enough for 40,000 a year.</p>
<p>Prestige? Times at london ranked UT austin 15th in the WORLD, with Harvard being first and UC berkley being second. US world report isn't a good indicator of universal "prestige" in my opinion; only in the US. I have my eyes set on UT austin as an out of stater. It just kicks ass for the price.</p>
<p>UT's buisness is amazing! If you're already in, then go there. UT is amazing and for number 6 in the country for buisness, you're getting a great price! Ignore your friends and do what your heart tells you to do.</p>
<p>wow im sorry but that ranking is a little ridiculous. where do they get these from? like UT is an outstanding school (was my choice after MIT and Rice), but not better than some of those further down the list. UPenn, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, etc. I just cant see them beating those. who knows what their ranking is based on though. It would be nice if UT Austin was really considered that good :)</p>
<p>gospurs50, Austin is "really" considered that good. I think that chart is pretty damn accurate. It's purely based on academics and research; not on acceptance rate, alumni donations and such things like that.</p>
<p>the UT business school is excellent at helping you find a job after college so I wouldn't worry so much about that. Pretty much everyone I know coming out of there has a job before they graduate. Also if you want to stay in Texas after graduation, it will help you to make contacts here by going to school here. If you have more questions about UT in general please go to <a href="http://www.**************.com%5B/url%5D">www.**************.com</a> and buy the book that I wrote Off The Record: The University of Texas. This book has all sorts of information about the school and is written from a student's point of view.</p>
<p>In response to your question : "Do recruiters look past prestige???", they most certainly do. A degree from an ivy or other top college in similar regard will get you noticed because of their proven track record. In that light, it will give a prospective employee a bit of an edge in getting in the door. Employers want much more than someone with a pedigree, however. In fact, there could even be a little resentment towards the top college grad depending on her/his demeanor during correspondence and interviews. Consider the example of having two outside prospects for a given position within a company, a fresh MBA out of Wharton vs a UT McCombs grad with a couple of successful years in the industry. All other factors being equal, the UT grad will get the position...MBA or not. There are many more qualities being sought out than what can be be developed merely by the curricula of top colleges. Credit will be given to folks who make it through the public system successfully because of the character that journey has built.</p>
<p>I'm an MIT grad, and it irritates me no end the elitist attitude of so many on this board. I've worked with <em>plenty</em> of "mere" state-school grads that can run my butt into the ground in many areas.</p>
<p>"Prestige degrees" may be important in high-profile careers like politics...but in technically-oriented positions, it really matters very little. And I speak from years of experience in that regard.</p>
<p>Wow it is unfortunate that UT’s world ranking from the London Times has dropped since 2004… That #15 ranking looks awesome… What happened? Oh yeah, the top 10% rule.
I sure wish more of these elitists would recognize UT for what it is. UT is just as good as Berkeley and Michigan. But because the average joe doesn’t consider UT as prestigious as those schools, people don’t understand the deal they’re getting when staying in Texas and going to UT.
Regardless, Hook 'em.</p>
<p>I had a similar situation. I was so close to going to Rice because my parents wanted me to go and because it’s a prestigious school, but my heart was set on UT. I visited UT to do a campus visit and I talked to older students from my major (chemical engineering…I think it’s ranked 6th in the nation?) and that definitely helped a lot. Helped me and my parents see that UT was right for me. A lot of the older students I talked to were accepted into MIT, Harvard, etc. for graduate school, so I wouldn’t worry about the whole prestige thing. </p>
<p>One thing to remember is that UT is excellent in many specialties. Your employer is not going to care about the school’s prestige as a whole if it is well known in the field you are being hired for. A&M does not have the greatest reputation, but any O&G company would love to have an Aggie petroleum engineering graduate–perhaps only Longhorn PE grads are higher in demand.</p>
<p>UT’s ranking in the Times fell because the Times stopped counting UTMB and UT Southwestern’s research in the ranking for UT. When you consider that UT is ranked as highly as they are without any medical school, the ranking is outstanding.</p>
<p>As for the US News rankings, they are designed to place Harvard and Yale and Princeton on the top every year. That’s why the authors claim they work. They use criteria that these schools are successful at.</p>
<p>UT can never be successful at that criteria. Our alumni base is drastically different than Harvard’s, and while our wealthiest alumni can afford to give just as much if not more, we have a lot more alumni. We simply cannot afford or justify the expense of having classes with tiny student-teacher ratios. It is not economical for the state of Texas to pay 50 people to teach 500 kids the same material when one can do the job. The state also has to serve a much larger population than Harvard as it does not exist to be selective and to serve only the very top of the world, it exists to serve as many residents of the state of Texas as it can.</p>
<p>UT is incredibly successful at its mission. If there were a seperate criteria which ranked large state schools, UT would come out at or near the very top.</p>
<p>We’re the Public Harvard of Texas. Our football program is the Notre Dame of the State of Texas. Our law school is the Yale of the Southwest! Haven’t you heard of us!!!</p>
<p>Do you have admission into Business Honors or PPA? If not I do not think it’s worth if you can get into one of the top private schools in the country (assuming you can afford to go to those others). Prestige matters a lot, especially in finance.</p>