I am sort of lost when it comes to choosing a school. I really want to go to a super tiny private school with around 1500 students. I would likely get lots of scholarships, and a personalized education… But these schools usually aren’t known for being outstanding in academics, and they aren’t usually well known outside of the communities they reside in. However I really fear that when I come out of college, and employer will say “oh you went to ______, you must not be a very good student…”… Or I could choose someone more “prestigious” and well known and go in major student debt, just so the institution on my degree would hold some meaning… Is it worth it? I want to go into human resources… I definitely want to get my MBA, so I feel like I will essentially “cover up” if you will my undergrad degree with a graduate degree as soon as I can out of college. How exactly do employers view super tiny liberal arts colleges vs. more well known schools?
Students from small LACs do very well, I don’t know why you would say that they are not outstanding in academics; they are. As well your employer scenarios are fantasy. I think that you are imagining that, across the country, employers are obsessed with prestigious schools. They are not.
If you were to look at the country’s ~50 most selective schools, you would find that ~18 of them are small liberal arts colleges. If you were to attend one of these 18, this would not be something you would wish to “cover up.”
(“The 50 Smartest Colleges in America,” Business Insider.)
Honestly, if you have the skills employers need to perform tasks successfully, they’ll judge you based on that not from what school you attended. Remember that what matters is what you do with the opportunities given to you in college. Rank won’t be worth the thousands of dollars that will put you in debt if you know the college isn’t for you.
I agree. I think one of the major misconceptions that people have on college confidential is that employers are very prrestige-oriented and only care about where you went to school. That is far from the truth because honestly that is only one line on your resume and colleges will look at all the range of experiences that you have when looking at who to hire. It is those experiences that matter perhaps even more than the college you went to.
Might be helpful to give some examples of actual schools you are considering.
If the position requires a degree, most employers will just check off that you have one with no regard at all to what school it is from. Go where you want to go.
^^^
I disagree with that. For recent grads, school quality and grades are a consideration.
If you are planning to get an MBA or other grad degree, then attending a top liberal arts college will help you with admissions. The general population may not know the reputation of LACs but people in academia do and so do many employers.
What schools are you considering and what are your stats?
Which super-tiny LAC are you interested in? To find out where their graduates get jobs, contact the career center at that campus.
There are ~3,000 colleges in the US. Do you truly imagine that the degrees awarded by ~2,900 of them are worthless? Your question isn’t really an either/or situation. If a college isn’t affordable, how prestigious it is doesn’t matter. You can only borrow ~$5500/year, so unless your parents are willing to cosign loans, you can’t go into “major” debt.
I know a guy who always comes out on top …he just has that special something. he could go to harvard or he could go to a regional state school and just always “win”.
some people may get a slight leg up from a name brand college on a resume. is it worth a lot of extra $$$? I do not think so. college debt is not something you can escape. go for affordability.
I believe what OP meant is a non-selective tiny LAC. If that is the case, the school’s name recognition is certainly an issue.
@happymomof1 @MYOS1634 @doschicos & for others asking where I am considering, my top small LAC’s are Greensboro College (Greensboro NC) and William Peace University (Raleigh NC) … And for my stats @MYOS1634 I have a 4.6 GPA, and a 22 act score (hopefully going to get to get that up) , and I am ranked 3rd in my class of 31. I am also an early college student and I will be coming out of high school with an Associates degree. Vice President of Interact & Student Council.
Considering GPA and curriculum rigor, you should apply to test optional colleges such as Guilford, American, Dickinson, Denison, Ithaca…
@MYOS1634 , my parents won’t allow me to consider an out of state (I’m in NC) and Guilford likely wouldn’t offer me the scholarships I need if I apply test optional.
@edwards020, don’t go to Greensboro College or Peace. Go to a UNC campus instead. UNC has plenty of fine campuses. “Name” employers won’t recruit on-campus at either school, so the job hunt from either of those will be harder than it would from a UNC.
I could see attending a LAC if my home state didn’t have a good state university system but in your case, the only school worth going to in NC, if you aren’t going to UNC, would be Duke; its prestige is worth it.
@HappyAlumnus I am not interested in any of the UNC schools. I really want a small LAC (I’m not unstressed in UNC Asheville because, I don’t like it)…
I think Unc Asheville is test optional, it’s instate, and it’s a LAC.
Guilford would offer merit if you apply test optional. Certainly better odds than if you apply with our test score.
Are your parents against oos because they think it’ll be more expensive?
It’s true for oos publics but not necessarily for oos privates - in fact, if you apply to a private college farther away (like Denison or Drake) you tend to get preferential packaging for your financial aid.