Sometimes the "best" schools aren't the best

College Search & Selection
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<p>I just wanted to write something that isn't often seen on this site. Read this if you don't feel like you are finding a college that "fits" or if you didn't get into any of the top places. </p>

<p>A brief background is that I was accepted to a small, prestigious, top three LAC right out of high school. I spent one year there, then took a year and a half off to work and really try and figure out what I was doing. I ended up transferring to a large, public, university. It is pretty much the opposite of my former college. It has a huge sports program, doesn't really have much of a reputation in terms of academics, at least on this site, it's on the opposite coast, hardly anyone lives on campus, there are a lot of "nontraditional" students, etc. To get in? I filled out an application that basically consisted of my first and last name, and I was in. </p>

<p>If you had asked me as a senior in high school if I would ever want to attend this university, I would have said "NO WAY IN HE**!!!" I was valedictorian. I was "supposed" to go to a top school. In fact nearly everything that I looked to avoid in my college search is what I love about my current uni. But I couldn't be more happy at this point in my life. </p>

<p>Here are the reasons I love my school:</p>

<p>I love it because it is big and exciting and at the same time, the town feels comfortable and small. I am able to live a life as a college student, but also as a member of a town, which was certainly lacking at my former small LAC. I like being able to go home to a house where I can cook and clean and be able to go to places in town where I'm more than just a student. </p>

<p>There is also a lot more diversity here. I mean diversity in a broad sense, since CC tends to confine it to race. There are people here from all economic backgrounds, people of all ages, people who have families, people who work full time, people who have served in the military, people who's parents never went to college, people who want to be professional athletes or sports team managers or lawyers or people who are just in college to get their degree, any degree. </p>

<p>I don't believe my education is any worse at this "regular" school. Education, no matter where it takes places, is about being resourceful. I find out who the good professors are and I take those classes. I work in two labs doing really exciting stuff on machines that my former LAC wouldn't ever dream of being able to work on. I can take seminars on weekends on exciting topics by amazing profs. I spent this week talking about the new threat from Al Qaeda. It was one of the most fascinating view points I've seen yet</p>

<p>I have access to amazing programs. I take classes in Wilderness Survival, Rock Climbing, Snow Camping, and Kayaking FOR CREDIT. I'm pursuing a certificate in outdoor leadership, which is not only fun, but teacher really great life skills in communication and leadership that will serve me in any profession. This program is one of the best of its kind nation wide. I'm also already starting a program to be a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor at an amazing program that brings in speakers and teachers from far away. Again, I get credit for talking about marijuana, cocaine, meth, and how they do the things they do. It's awesome. </p>

<p>I get access to amazing facilities. I'm not an athlete on a team, but I love a great gym and this place certainly has one! My former LAC had a health and counseling center....with maybe 3 psychotherapists and 3 interns. But here, I'm in therapy groups with other students, and have had nothing but positive experiences with the counselors. Also, the health center offers physical therapy, a travel center, and a dental clinic. </p>

<p>I've sort of said this before, but I cannot emphasize how important it is that I'm part of a community. At my former school, I was lucky to get off campus once a month. Today, I live off campus, I eat off campus, and I have friends who don't go to university. I volunteer with a sexual assault advocacy group in the community. I don't have to define myself completely by what I do in school. I like that. It's a more accurate picture of who I am. </p>

<p>The professors I've had here have offered me incredible special attention. I show initiative and they are thrilled to work with me. I already have two professors who will write me letters of rec and I've only been here since January. </p>

<p>Grad school is a reality for me in the next few years because I'm not paying 45000 a year for my educations. </p>

<p>I can drive for 15 minutes and be in beautiful scenery AND because my classes aren't insanely intense, I can enjoy myself and not have to worry that I'm not doing my reading or my problem set. </p>

<p>There is a lot more. The campus is beautiful, people are happy, and I'm close to home. </p>

<p>I just encourage people on this site to opens their minds a little bit. Sure, there are people who are going to be perfect fits for Harvard or MIT or Berkeley, but if you don't get it, it isn't a death wish. A good education can be had anywhere. </p>

<p>I'm in summer school right now. Not because I'm behind in credits, in fact, I'm only 15 credits short of a degree, meaning I will have it with 2.5 years of college under my belt. But I don't even plan on rushing things. I love it here. There are so many other classes I want to take. I'm in summer school because there is nothing else I'd rather be doing in the whole world.</p>

2

<p>Great comments! Thank you!</p>

<p>My daughter is heading off to college in the fall to a school that is a perfect match for her. She was accepted at more elite schools, yet this school offers so much of what you described so well - connection, better internships, more study abroad, and very close faculty relationships. People look at me as if I'm crazy when I tell them she turned down a few of the other schools. One person actually asked me, "is she crazy?" </p>

<p>Thank you so much for injecting wisdom and personal choice into the overly competitive and hyped up college admission race. Choice of college should be the best match, not the most competitive name.</p>

3

<p>Moderators: PLEASE make this a "top Pick" site....everyone on CC, no, let me correct myself, everyone involved in college admissions, should read this post....</p>

<p>Like marycollegesearc's D, my D will be enrolling in a "lesser elite" school that she calls her "perfect match" with all the added stuff in post #2.....(I could have written it myself...along with the "people look at me as if I'm crazy")</p>

<p>To the OP: thank you for your eloquent and honest post....</p>

4

<p>Good for you and congratulations. But you must know that college is about self actualization and growing up. It is not a one size fits all. For some a large public school would be disaster.....and many find out that is true for them. For others, private schools are too confining and insular and intense. Yet, many find private schools to be comforting and nurturing and very rewarding. Its all about where YOU as a person fit in. That you have found your nirvana and independence is wonderful. That you can help others along your path to adulthood is also wonderful....and hopefully a career doing it. </p>

<p>Can I guess on your present school? University of Washington or University of Oregon. Am I correct?</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I just wanted to write something that isn't often seen on this site.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Actually, I see variations of this pretty often on this site. And they nearly always include a bit about how nobody on this site ever says it. And then several people tell them how wise and refreshing they are.</p>

<p>Yours is better-written and more detailed than most, admittedly. You seem to have genuinely found your path, and for that I congratulate you. Most posts along these lines are from people who are spouting it as a defense mechanism and don't have personal experience either way, so I think that yours is more valuable for others than most. I just don't think you're the great keeper of some insight that has eluded everyone else on the site.</p>

<p>nocousin said it. It's great that you found what works for you. Others will want a different path - and not every LAC or top school is like the one you came from.</p>

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<p>Most 4-year Colleges offer relatively the same, I suppose "degree" of education. Sure, one professor might be a Nobel laureate or whatnot, but that says nothing of his teaching skills.</p>

<p>It's just that at the "top" schools, your peers are more competitive, and generally there are more opportunities numerically (I mean, say, for a business internship, where one firm might take only one student [top of the class] from a State U, it might take three from an Ivy [aka be a little more forgiving about the gpa/resume because it knows the general 'level' of the students]). </p>

<p>Either way, it all comes down to about the same thing -- if you're an elite student, you'll succeed.</p>

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<p>Agree that this should be a highlighted thread. My D made a similar choice this year, and like Mary I have had the "is she crazy?" question from one or two folks. But she feels great about her choice of a strong Honors College with full tuition scholarship at a big public U, and so do her Dad and I.</p>

<p>Your point about the many different kinds of "diversity" you found at your new school really resonate as well, it was exactly that kind of environment that my D was looking for.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
...something that isn't often seen on this site.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Oh, you got that right. And your insights are really something that cannot be repeated too many times, especially on CC, where the only public universities that get any respect are the top five or six "public Ivies."</p>

<p>That it is possible for a large, non-'public-Ivy' state university to provide a sense of community and a quality education with some personal touches and attention from professors is NOT a message that gets a lot of play on this site. That such a place could satisfy someone initially drawn, and admitted to, a top three LAC is definitely something that many young people currently searching for both "fit" and affordability need to hear and it is helpful to hear it from someone who has gone through the personal experience you have. </p>

<p>So thanks for posting. What you had to say is far more valuable, and yes, refreshing, than most of the commentary that gets posted on this site.</p>

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<p>i've taken classes at 2 ivies, a large flagship state school, a 3rd tier state school, and a top tier LAC, and there was no difference in textbooks and subject material, and little to no difference in other aspects of the class. engaged students will always be engaged, its what you put into it that matters.</p>

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<p>Banana, you are my hero!!!! I'm so happy you started this thread. </p>

<p>huskem55, your personal experience exposes the "dirty little secret" that many of us who post on CC have been trying to tell kids. </p>

<pre><code> Banana, my S feels the same way you do. As a matter of fact, the description of your school and experience are eerily similar to S's school and experience (by chance, is your school in NY?). S left a top tier LAC after his freshman year and transferred to a public state university. It had nothing to do with the academics, but everything to do with the campus environment. Since stepping foot on the campus of his "not prestigious, not IVY, not top 40, not private" school, he has enjoyed every moment of every day there.

I hope this thread remains positive.
</code></pre>

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<p>"connection, better internships, more study abroad, and very close faculty relationships."</p>

<p>You realize this is why elite colleges are elite... You have connections to billionaire alumni,great internships and undergrad research options.
I kinda agree with the environment though.</p>

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<p>Alumni connections, great internships, undergrad research options, and study abroad programs are available at non elite colleges also.</p>

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<p>Nightmarerec0n listen to banana and nysmile. Your life is at no disadvantage when comes to applying for jobs when you haven't gone to an elite school.</p>

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<p>I disagree, If you go to Stanford and want to work at say.....Oracle,Adobe,Apple,Lockheed Martin,HP...etc. You WILL be recruited and your starting salary may be higher then your average Joe...So in the short term it will matter, the long term...It won't </p>

<p>A Prestigious school is certainly an eyecatcher, and if you don't go to one, you have to work to stand out. </p>

<p>I know if I ran a company I saw a guy went to MIT, graduated with honors and has experience , I would hire him over the guy that went to State University with even experience.</p>

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<p>I know so many more people working for those particular companies that went to San Jose State rather than Stanford.</p>

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<p>It's a shame that you would overlook a well qualified or more qualified applicant for a job because of the university that he/she attended. Are you trying to imply that only the rich who can afford Standford, Princeton, etc. are intelligent and qualified? Fortunately, there are many other employers out there that evaluate their candidates based on ability rather than the price tag of their college tuition.</p>

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<p>That maybe true,but a lot more people graduate from SJS then Stanford.
Also why is SJS never ranked?
I imagine it CompSci and Engineering programs are top notch</p>

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<p>You cant graduate Princeton with debt.....
I am not saying the college matters,but it helps assuming they are equally qualified. </p>

<p>I know smart people got to average schools, #3 had received $1000 a year plus a free ride to go to the state university and they were pre-med...Didn't matter...</p>

<p>But for example, If I am NASA and I am looking for a Physicist, a Ph.D from MIT would involve more advanced research then most state university and be more impressive.</p>

<p>Find another college that thinks Dark Matter Detection is average research...</p>

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<p>Nightmarerec0n, What you need to understand is that you are seeing the world through the eyes of high school student wishing to attend a top tier school. It's understandable that you truly believe that a top tier college equates to success in your chosen field. The truth is, it's not the school that guarantees success. Rather, it's the hard work and determination within the student that influences future success. Do not count on billioniare alumni to offer you jobs. Do not count on your top tier internship being any better than that experienced by a student in a public university. Do not count on the salary of your first job out of top tier school to be any higher than that of a public university graduate (entry level positions usually have a set salary pay scale). What you do need to count on is your own abilities, personality, drive, determination, flexibility to change with different demands, and a good sense to seize opportunities.</p>

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<p>wow. awesome, banana. and nysmile for that last post.</p>