The Issue of Prestige in Schools

College Search & Selection
21

<p>"^chuy, that might be true, but whats it say about you if you can't handle being around high achieving people. Keep in mind that top schools very in personality as well. For example, someone at Chicago wouldn't fit in as well at Brown, or someone at Columbia wouldn't fit in that well at Dartmouth."</p>

<p>I was talking about more things than just academics and prestige. For example, someone who absolutely HATES big cities is probably not going to excel if they attend a college in a large city. They could be better off "dropping down a rung."</p>

22

<p>chuy, yeah I agree. Half of college is being able to succeed socially (leadership in EC's, network with friends, develop personally) and hating your environment would definitely stifle that.</p>

<p>dchow, the thing is, is that all of those things such as getting good grades and being a leader would be more impressive at a better school. Employers know that if you go to a top 10 or top 25 school, you have already proven your abilities.</p>

23

<p>I guess i probably shouldn't have posted that....sorry</p>

24

<p>I read that going to a prestigious school only truly matters for the first job, and that after the first job, most weight is placed on job experience. It seems that as time goes on, the brand name loses its value.</p>

<p>I found out that there was a study done several years ago by Princeton University, which said that the school you go to has no or very little bearing on future income or career potential. In other words, the talented people will get recognized, wherever they went to school. </p>

<p>It seems that it is much better to go to a college that is a good fit than to go to a college just because of its name.</p>

<p>Comments, anyone? Preferably from someone who has first-hand experience?</p>

25

<p>Yes and the first job can be quite a career launcher for someone. In a way a talented person from a prestigious university goes farther (career-wise) compared to an equally talented person from a not so prestigious university (assuming they've performed equally).</p>

<p>Right?</p>

26

<p>"I found out that there was a study done several years ago by Princeton University, which said that the school you go to has no bearing on future income or career potential. In other words, the talented people will get recognized, wherever they went to school."</p>

<p>-Perhaps, then, Princeton wouldn't mind charging local community college rates for its classes?</p>

27

<p>" (assuming they've performed equally)."</p>

<p>This is the crux of my point here. Yes, if two people go to different schools and perform equally then the one at the more prestigious school will have an advantage going out. What I'm saying is a person is not going to perform equally in different environments, and that they should place more weight on the environment that they can grow best in than simply in the prestige of the university.</p>

28

<p>milki: I'm honestly not sure. I think that the name of the undergrad degree is much less important than the name of the grad school degree, however.
I mean, I'm trying decide whether to go to a prestigious undergraduate school, or go to a small liberal arts school like Reed or Swarthmore, and then go on to a great graduate school. It's just that I'm not sure if I will go to grad school. Anything can happen, you know?</p>

<p>How often is it that two people who perform equally are competing? I suppose it depends on what job.</p>

<p>There was a study that asked CFO's (chief financial officers) if prestige mattered. Half said that it did not matter. Half said that it mattered some.</p>

<p>Overall, I think I can somewhat safely say that when deciding on a college, fit is the most important thing, because a person who likes his/her school and who seizes the opportunities of the college/university will gain valuable experience. Although prestige could very well be factored in, work experience and people skills (in other words, the skills that will actually be used on the job) are the most important. After all, would you hire a Harvard graduate if she was completely useless? But against those who have similar credentials but a more prestigious college, you could very well lose. </p>

<p>That's why if you go to places that employers have never heard of, you must take the initiative and actively seek as much experience as you can get, because these are Marketable Skills, and Marketable Skills are very important, of much greater importance than prestige. </p>

<p>For graduates of lesser known schools, initiative and energy is crucial, and you must seek internship opportunities, etc, because you won't have a sort of name-brand "shield" to help you. But if you do go to a liberal arts school that's lesser known, you have the potential to move on to a top grad school!</p>

<p>So sure, prestige would not hurt, but don't base your college decision just on prestige.</p>

29

<p>Well I've always found myself in a similar dilemma dchow.</p>

<p>If not prestigious Undergrad and prestigious Grad is good, isn't prestigious undergrad and prestigious Grad better?</p>

30

<p>Nobody is going to turn their nose up at a degree from Swarthmore reguardless. If you like the idea of a smaller liberal arts school you'll probably do better there and thus should go there.</p>

31

<p>Of course the name does matter sometimes.</p>

<p>But, it really depends on the profession.</p>

<p>If you are looking for an engineer, the person from MIT is going to look better than the person from Harvard.</p>

<p>If you're looking for a lawyer, the Harvard person is going to look better than the Dartmouth person.</p>

<p>In the armed services, the U.S. Naval Academy guy looks better than the Princeton ROTC grad when going for a rank promotion.</p>

<p>Depends on the mission specific objectives of the institutions. All colleges have reputations in concentrated areas.</p>

32

<p>milki: About the not prestigious undergrad and prestigious grad and prestigious undergrad and prestigious grad:</p>

<p>Some prestigious grad schools really notice not prestigious undergrad schools (like Swarthmore or Reed, which always produce lots of prestigious grads).</p>

<p>So prestigious undergrad and prestigious grad might be better than not prestigious undergrad and prestigious grad, but you can say that to prestigious grads, prestigious undergrads are not as prestigious as not prestigious grads.</p>

<p>:)</p>

<p>I can't help it; I love riddles.</p>

<p>Let me explain my confusing sentences.</p>

<p>U. Chicago and Swarthmore are both good schools for undergrad. However, Swarthmore (which is not as prestigious) produces a greater percentage of Ph.D's at prestigious grad schools (like Harvard or U.Chicago). U. Chicago produces a smaller percentage, and lots of people believe that it is due to the teaching at small liberal art schools like Swarthmore and Reed.</p>

<p>So if you want to go to a prestigious grad school, you'll probably consider prestigious undergrad schools, but also liberal arts schools that aren't so popular to employers but are very respected among graduate school admissions officers.</p>

<p>Either way, you'll be fine. Just let "fit" guide you, not prestige. Fit is really the most important thing. But keep in mind that lesser-known liberal arts schools get tons and tons of people to top grad schools--that's always something to consider, and that's why I will apply to Reed and Swarthmore.</p>

<p>And while I'm at Reed and Swarthmore, I'll do internships and gain valuable work experience. </p>

<p>I think we're all just worrying a bit too much. I was too worried when I posted the first post on this thread, but I'm glad we both have similar concerns. It's a lot better to know that other people have the same predicament!</p>

<p>I'll be fine.
You'll be fine
We'll all be fine!</p>

33

<p>If you rely on college confidential too much, you will learn that the ONLY jobs out there worth striving for are I-Banking and consulting. If you can't do those in NYC, then you'll have to settle on being an engineer/medical doctor/lawyer. If you really screw up, you'll have to (shamefully) do something in international relations or dentistry. If you can't go to a top-20 school in one of those fields, your life is over and you'll be flipping burgers, riding a moped, and living in a homeless shelter.</p>

34

<p>That reminds me of an essay by Hazlitt: On the Want of Money.</p>

35

<p>I would think that prestige would matter, but mostly in the form of name recognition. Let's face it, many employers didn't go to top colleges, and if it's anywhere outside the Northeast, they won't have heard of many of the colleges that are deemed "prestigious". Of course, this depends on the level of job you are applying for, but many employers haven't even heard of all the Ivy League schools. The only ones that have much name recognition are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, and Duke. They may have heard of others, but they really won't know anything about them.</p>

<p>When I mentioned something to my boss about someone going to Amherst, he'd never heard of it. Of course, that was at a deli, but if you're looking for a job right out of college, name recognition will help a great deal.</p>

36

<p>Dartmouth doesn't have Law</p>

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<p>No law at Dartmouth? Call the army!!!!</p>

38

<p>
[quote]
The only ones that have much name recognition are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, and Duke

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Uh, Duke? Where did that come from?</p>

<p>I think that Stanford and Berkeley have at least as much name recognition as Duke does, if not more so.</p>

39

<p>There will always be some amount of attention paid to the 'name' of the school you went to and it may open a few doors, but will rarely get you the job. The old saying that the CV gets you the interview, but the interview gets you the job is very much true. </p>

<p>Coming from a prestegious university is certainly not going to hurt and in many cases it will get you noticed and perhaps give one a few bonus points relative to another candidate coming from a 'lesser' university. However, eventually the person-to-person interaction and your professional presentation must take over to secure a job offer. </p>

<p>If I had to choose between two candidates that were otherwise identical, and performed equally in interviews, then I'd be lying if I said I'd totally ignore where they got their degree, but I'd certainly be looking more closely for other indicators first such as leadership trackrecord, interview performance ect.</p>

40

<p>A prestigious school will help open doors to your first job. After that, it's all about work experience and your skills.</p>