<p>Help! I have only a few days to decide. I am leaning heavily toward Whitman, but I have some concerns.
Will I be prepared for a job in the "real world" when i graduate?
How much prestige does the name whitman hold when trying to get a job (Cal has a lot)?
Would I be missing out on a lot if i choose Whitman over Berkeley?
Please, any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I would help to know what your focus is. For more Professional careers, ie Engineering, Whitman has agreements with other schools, so it may take you 5 years. Whitman will teach you how to think and learn, which a skill all employers like.</p>
<p>These are both great schools and entirely different communities, size being the most obvious difference. Where will you be most comfortable learning and living? Both schools can lead to fine careers, grad schools, etc. You can definitely be prepared for a job in the real world both places. Don’t choose based on the long range view; so many factors will evolve and change in the next four years as you grow that you can’t predict with any accuracy that far out. Choose based on where you want to live and learn next year.</p>
<p>Thanks.
Im pretty undecided, but I know I won’t be studying engineering!<br>
I know I would love live and learn at Whitman next year, but in four years, I’ll want a job or a good internship, and I want to know that a degree from Whitman means something. Are the alumni helpful? Do companies recruit on campus?</p>
<p>^ I doubt companies recruit on campus. Here’s Whitman’s Career Center:</p>
<p>[Career</a> Center](<a href=“http://www.whitman.edu/content/career_center/]Career”>http://www.whitman.edu/content/career_center/)</p>
<p>I remember some of the alums who spoke at the local reception I attended last fall…one was hired by Google just after she graduated, with the help of an alum. The others didn’t say if Whitman helped them get their jobs. Eh, sorry I can’t help that much…</p>
<p>thanks birdhouse.
it was very helpful to look at that career center link.<br>
I’d love to know the experiences of other Whitman alums</p>
<p>Try emailing the career center and looking at the Admissions page link that has an “Ask an Alum” page. Send a few questions. This board is not a good place to find very many current Whitties (they are not very preoccupied with competitive rankings, etc) or alums as they are off doing their careers. I do know there is an excellent alumni network and the school is very well regarded (even by non alums) in the Northwest where it is best known.</p>
<p>There is a strong emphasis on career planning for the professions and excellent help in getting internships, research opportunities etc. This is where I think it may be harder to get personalized help at a larger school. </p>
<p>If you have a field of major interest, email or call the department at Whitman and tell them your questions.</p>
<p>^ You might want to call them instead. Who knows when an e-mail might be replied; there’s only a couple days left!</p>
<p>Your success in getting a job after college depends on so many variables that it’s difficult to say whether – all other things being equal – a degree from one school or the other will benefit you more. The thing is, all things are never equal. Your success in getting a job could depend upon so many variables aside from the specific field, including how well you present yourself, what the company is looking for, and even where the interviewer (or other people he or she knows) went to college. I suggest that you think about the environment in which you learn best and where you are most likely to thrive as a person. If you go to college in that environment – whatever it is – you will be happier, probably learn more, do better in school, and possibly develop more passion about what you’re studying. In my opinion, that will have the most impact upon your success in general, including your success in getting a job. </p>
<p>In terms of learning environments, Whitman and Berkeley couldn’t be more different. One similarity: at both, you’ll be surrounded by lots of smart, motivated students. Differences: Whitman has small classes and professors whose top priority is undergraduate education and teaching. Whitman doesn’t offer graduate programs. The focus of the administration is also undergraduate education and campus life. Your professors will know who you are, and they are a visible part of the community. Whitman is a terrific place if you learn best in an environment in which your teachers really “see” you and get to know you. Whitman professors do conduct research, and there are many opportunities for students to work with professors on research – but it might not be Nobel-prize winning research. </p>
<p>Berkeley may have a single small seminar-style class for freshmen, but otherwise most lower division courses are large (and some are huge) lectures taught by professors with the smaller discussion sections and labs taught (and graded) by graduate students. The professors may deliver great lectures, but you won’t have much, if any, contact with them. Undergraduate education is not the top priority at Berkeley. From an institutional perspective, graduate and professional education and faculty research (which brings in $$$) are higher priorities. So, the graduate students teaching your discussion sections and labs will be very talented academically in their fields, but they may not have any teaching experience or expertise. At the upper division level your classes will get smaller, and you might have the chance to take a class from and work for professors who are leaders in their fields. Berkeley offers more majors and more classes within each major. </p>
<p>There are parallels in campus life, and your experience out of the classroom also will have a profound affect on whether you thrive or just get by. </p>
<p>I have a child attending Whitman and I worked for many years at UC and have talked with many Cal (and other UC campus) students about their experiences. Most Berkeley students said Berkeley was an amazing place, but often overwhelming and difficult to navigate when you start out, in that you have to really put yourself out to find and take advantage of all that there is to offer. Not all of them were able to do that, even though they recognized the opportunity that was there.</p>
<p>Focus on fit – learning style fit, social fit, etc. – and you will make a good choice. Don’t make the decision based on whether you think one school will better prepare you for a career goal you haven’t defined.</p>
<p>Thank you so much rix. your input was very informative in my decision. I think I will attend Whitman in the fall. Thanks again!!</p>