The Truth About Where to Go to School

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have seen many posts on CC asking what is the best school for History, Biology, "pre-law" etc and I want to bring up an important point especially as you guys are deciding between schools.</p>

<p>For a great majority of subjects, IT DOESNT MATTER. Basically go to the best school OVERALL that you like the most!! Also to consider if you want a top grad school: go to the school that will allow you to get a good GPA, do research, and make an impact. </p>

<p>Here are the biggest misconceptions I see:</p>

<p>Misconception 1) A good "bio program" will get me into med school...</p>

<p>Response: Not really. What will get you into a good medical school is getting a getting a good GPA at a good school. The overall school reputation matters alot more than the major. I honestly would avoid the competition factories (for example JHU for med would be one of my last choices).</p>

<p>Misconception 2) My grades will be adjusted for going to a harder school when I apply to grad schools.</p>

<p>Response: Not really. Schools are grouped together and thinking that a 3.4 from Cornell is worth a 3.7 at Stanford is incorrect. Go to the best school where you will get the highest GPA (especially for med and law). Class rank is looked at, but overall GPA is still king.</p>

<p>Misconception 3) There is a substantial difference between the top schools</p>

<p>Response: Sure Yale grads might have some more opportunities than UNC grads, but overall there are about 15-20 schools that have about the same grad placement and recruiters. Go to ANY one of them and you will be fine.</p>

<p>So where does the strength of your major matter? It matters most in skilled areas like engineering (if you actually want to be an engineer), computer science, film, etc. For those seeking to go to the best professional schools and most grad schools the overall school reputation is what counts. </p>

<p>Finally, choose a school because you like it! I was on the Dartmouth board and there was a discussion about the prestige of Dartmouth vs. Duke for "bio". Guess what guys, in the end it won't make one iota of a difference.</p>

<p>Basically go to the top school you will ENJOY the most.</p>

2

<p>slipper, I disagree with some of what you said. I agree that there is some unrealistic hairsplitting between colleges that goes on. I agree that it is important to find a school that is a good fit (that you enjoy).</p>

<p>College is one of the biggest financial investments that people make and can be an important factor in determining the course of one's life. I think it is a good idea to try to find out whether particular colleges have known strengths in certain majors. It makes sense to try to find out these things and factor it into your decision. Kenyon, for example, has a strength in English and creative writing that might make it preferable to other LACs. But, I do agree that many top colleges are fundamentally equivalent in the basic Arts and Sciences subjects. Nevertheless, a wise consumer should try to learn as much as possible. Sometimes, the major DOES matter, but not always.</p>

<p>Regarding the idea of getting a high gpa: the gpa is important but so are test scores on the LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, and GRE. Going to a school that only gives As and Bs is not going to help you in the long run if the amount of learning is compromised. Go to the school where you will be inspired to LEARN the most, not just get a high GPA. Even the brightest students are only human. They can be tempted to get by with less effort..tempted by the easy A. </p>

<p>Colleges that have higher grading standards have higher expectations. They build a work ethic. I think the more demanding schools inspire students to learn more in the long run and build character, perseverence, resilience, and so on. There is a type of pain that comes from growth. Schools with higher expectations create more growth and create more growing pains. Its not all about enjoying the experience. It shows up in standardized test scores (that weigh heavily in admissions decisions) and in later career success. From a societal perspective, it is better in the long run to maximize learning, not gpa. Learning should be the criterion. Focusing on high gpas and gaining undeserved advantages when applying to school is not a good thing for higher education and its role in society.</p>

<p>Furthermore, I think you sell the admissions officers short if you say they don't know the difference in performance standards between Johns Hopkins and Harvard or any of the other feeder schools. If they don't take into account standardized tests, performance expectations, and the historical success of graduates, then so much the worse for their school. They will be accepting less capable students who are less likely to succeed and perhaps lower their own graduation rate and their own reputation. There is an incentive for them to take feeder-school performance expectations into account. </p>

<p>Other things being equal, yes, pick the school you will enjoy the most. Also pick the school that will make you proud of what you achieved.</p>

3

<p>FWIW, when I attended college 100 years ago I was told that grad schools DID adjust GPAs for the individual colleges, in exactly the way you stated they do not do. Or, more accurately, I was told they adjusted upwards the GPAs of applicants from MY college, due to its relative grading stringency.</p>

<p>I have never been a grad school admissions officer, so I can't say whether it's true or not. And obviously it can't be done completely accurately or fairly. It could be just as appropriate to adjust GPAs for different majors in the same college.</p>

<p>But that's what I was told, at the time.</p>

4

<p>The thing is there are feeder schools, but it would be ridiculous to think that these feeders aren't Harvard and Stanford, etc. Class rank is the one leveler, but it doesn't compensate for GPA. </p>

<p>Collegehelp, its a nice thought to think that it isnt about helping yourself into the top schools, and more about learning. But in fact I think the weeder schools don't do anything but put people in non-friendly environments. </p>

<p>Regardless, my point is that pick your school for the overall reputation, and where you will do well. Chasing a "program" is the worst idea, that is a game for grad students, not undergrads (with the exception of the previously mentioned subject areas like film and CS.)</p>

5

<p>Generally for undergraduate programs, if you plan on going into grad school or professional school, look for a school that is good in the major(s) that you are interested in, but your selected major(s) should not be the sole determining factor behind your college selection. The fact is, if a school offers a strong enough program to prepare you for the subjects that are going to be tested on the MCAT for pre-med, then you are fine. For law schools, it's best to find an environment that is balanced in challenging you academically yet at the same time does not have grade deflation, as GPA is a primary factor of law school admissions. </p>

<p>However, if you plan to pursue your career right out of undergrad, then your strength of major will matter a lot more. These tend to be more "vocational" majors, such as Business, Engineering, Film, etc. But do note that even for business, a very good internship can trump a bad GPA or the lack of a business major. Unlike "pre-law" and "pre-med", these career paths want to see what you can do and what you have done, not what stats you have. </p>

<p>So if someone asked me which is better for "pre-med," UC Irvine or UC Davis? I'm not really sure, I think they're at about the same level. Then you'll want to look at other factors, such as opportunities for research, etc. </p>

<p>Remember, schools are just a resource. YOU are the key to your own success!! </p>

<p>Going to a "feeder school" does not guarantee you success. </p>

<p>And finally, don't be deceived by "feeder scores." First, yes, there is a select batch of schools that are really good at sending students to top grad/professional programs. The thing is, these schools already have an overall high-performing student body. So just because one school has a higher feeder score than the other doesn't necessarily mean it is better-- chances are, those same students would've gotten to their end result if they were at a different school as well. Second, feeder scores are biased against public universities in general, because of their high percentage of students. If you look closely, they still send a good number of kids to top grad/professional schools, and perhaps even more kids than those with higher feeder scores! </p>

<p>Despite all this, I highly recommend that you do consider overall "fit" as spending four years of one of the best times of your life should not be sacrificed for trivial things. If you're looking into grad/professional programs, do consider your financial situation as well.</p>