<p>Psi, I don’t know your child’s field, but I fully understand this issue. I have a child who pursued musical theater in college (recently graduated). Many of the top programs in her field are located in less selective universities. In fact, the general public would have no idea how HIGHLY competitive these programs are to get into when they hear the name of the college. For instance, there are well regarded programs in musical theater in such schools as University of Cincinnati, Syracuse, Ithaca, Penn State, Oklahoma City University, Elon University, Florida State University, and many others I won’t bother to list. The acceptance rate into these programs ranges from 2% to 9%. I recall, for example, when my kid (a very good student) applied to the BFA in MT program at Penn State, friends would say, “of course she can get into Penn State!” with no clue that PSU accepts 5% into this program (she did get in but the odds were very slim). </p>
<p>The thing is, while the name of the college may not be top tier per se, the specialized programs may be the cream of the field. And the issue then is that employers in the field certainly know and think well of these college programs, even if a lay person has no clue. For example, the MT program at Cincinatti is one of the tops in the country and any casting person in NYC knows that, even if the university itself is not a top tier one. For a MT applicant, he/she must go where the programs are located. </p>
<p>As far as my own kid, her ideal MT program would be located in a more selective university setting as she preferred a more challenging academic environment, even though liberal arts was a smaller percentage of her total coursework. Thus her favorite programs in MT were the ones located at NYU and UMichigan, which both are top MT programs, and are two of the few located in more selective universities. She landed at NYU/Tisch and loved it and it fit her perfectly. However, she was willing to apply and consider other top MT programs that were not all located in more selective universities because that’s the name of the game in her field and going to a great program in her field is more important than the total university. The program is chosen primarily and the university is a secondary consideration. She did prefer a more selective university but could not limit her college list in that way as the majority of BFA programs in MT are not located in very selective universities. Some highly selective MT programs are located in more selective colleges than others (for example, UMiami, Elon, Emerson, UMich, NYU have excellent BFA in MT programs and are in more selective settings than the selective BFA in MT programs at Pace, Ithaca, Oklahoma City, Marymount Manhattan, University of Hartford, Otterbein, Baldwin-Wallace, U of Cincinatti). </p>
<p>So, if your son is looking to enter a specialized degree program, I would first consider the best programs in his field and then which universities they are located within. That can matter to some (like my D who is a very goods student academically and cares about that aspect), but one has to be open to the fact that often top programs in a specialized field may NOT be located in very selective universities even if the program itself is highly selective. The career field will regard graduates from such programs very well, and that matters more than the general public’s knowledge of that university.</p>