<p>First I live in GA, have a 3.6 GPA, 1830 SAT, 29 ACT, 4s and 5 on AP tests, will graduate with 9 ap classes. I was deferred by UGA, accepted to Georgia Southern (interviewed for their honors program and hopefully will be accepted), accepted to GCSU, and plan to apply to UVA (dream school and family) and one other out of state school (probably American University, U of Alabama, etc. open to suggestions).
I have visted UGA and was impressed my how big it was but it was impersonal and very crowded but nice and had quality facilites and etc.
I visted Georgia Southern for the weekend for their Scholarship Showcase to be interviewed for their honors program and scholarships. I was very impressed with how nice and pretty their campus was and felt instantly welcome and rlly like the smaller size.
The issue i am having is that I feel that Southern is for UGA rejects and not for people with high scores and etc. but once going there i felt differently and am afraid that after college a degree from THE UGA would be better than Georgia Southern. Does it rlly matter?
btw: Im looking to major in Politcal Science and move on to graduate school or law school.</p>
<p>In my opinion it’s worth it to go to the school where you feel like you would be happiest. Especially if you plan to pursue grad school, after which the name of your undergrad institution won’t carry as much weight. If you think you would have a great 4 years at Georgia Southern, you should go. It’ll be a long four years if you’re not happy.</p>
<p>Probably doesn’t make as much difference as people from UGA would have you believe. I don’t know how much of a difference it would make in getting into grad school, I would imagine that for law school, the LSAT will be a much bigger factor. Once you’re in grad school, it doesn’t matter where you went as an undergraduate.</p>
<p>Ultimately, I don’t think it really matters. Think about it this way, maybe by going to a smaller school where you feel more comfortable, you will excel, take the initiative, and accomplish far more than if you went to UGA. </p>
<p>You might find the following information about undergraduate origins of PhDs interesting as well. [nsf.gov</a> - NCSES Baccalaureate Origins of S&E Doctorate Recipients - US National Science Foundation (NSF)](<a href=“http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08311/]nsf.gov”>http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08311/)</p>
<p>Ultimately, you get out of your education what you put into it no matter where you go. The name alone may not get you where you want to go. My sister was accepted at her second choice med school in Texas and was disappointed. However, she wasn’t nearly as disappointed as the many people she met who had gone to Ivy League schools or other “top tier” schools and were in the same class with people who graduated from colleges that admit 70% of their applicants. </p>
<p>If it’s really important to you, ask people in the Political Science department where their grads have been going the past few years. What schools did the political science faculty get their degrees from? How involved are they in their professional organizations? You might be surprised at the quality of the opportunities there. I honestly wouldn’t know since I can’t claim any specific knowledge about Georgia schools.</p>
<p>Confused, I wonder why the smaller size of GSU felt significant to you? Surely a small school has a very different feel and culture than a huge university, but GSU has 15,000 undergrads to UGA’s 25,000. I’m not sure that that difference is discernible - a city of 150,000 for instance, doesn’t seem significantly less urban than a city of 250,000. I’d guess that you had a greater sense of welcome at GSU since you were at a special event with a limited guest list. You’d have to decide whether that vibe would likely be present on a daily basis if you chose GSU.</p>
<p>You’re probably right with the size and the feeling of being welcome but I did after the event walk around campus and actually talk to students about it and i know several people that go there. The campus also impressed me more than UGA. It’s good to know that it isn’t particularly important, especially when going further into grad school and such. That is really the only thing I see as a down side to Georgia Southern, not going to the big awesome hard to get into UGA and getting that diploma. I am sure though that i would have fun no matter where I go.</p>
<p>Lots of good advice here, especially the suggestion that you inquire as to where their grad get into grad/law school. Being in an honors program has advantages (things like priority registration, etc) which you won’t have as a regular student at UGA. If you like the smaller, more personal feel, strongly consider Ga Southern or GCSU. As an aside, Ga Southern has a special IT program (I realize this isnt your interest- just giving an example) that gets many of their grads very good jobs in SAP in Atlanta and other areas.</p>