<p>It seems like all the time on this forum, people are constantly and consistently discussing, debating, and even battling over which schools are better than other schools and which school is the best school of a certain kind. There are lists of "public ivies" "southern ivies" and "schools with 30,000+ students ivies". There are threads devoted to describing how US News's methodology is unfair, and others which insist it is accurate. There are posters who will enter wars with other posters over which school of two is better: USC and Michigan, Harvard or Princeton, Berkeley or Northwestern. The arguments seem to never end.</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Why do you people care which school is the most prestigious, the most academically challenging, the overall "best", however that may be described?</p>
<p>The truth is if you work hard and do well, employers won't give a hoot about where you went to college. Whether or not you learn something from your education is what counts. Sometimes you don't even need to have learned anything from it. Just graduating from an "Average Joe" school will be enough to land you a solid job.</p>
<p>If you are truly smart, if you are a genuine hard worker, going to college will matter more than what college you go to. And frankly, most people who are attending a college are smart, regardless of test scores or high school GPAs.</p>
<p>I think everyone knows that there are many different schools, and different schools are good for different kinds of people. Everyone has different needs. Because of this, anyone with any iota of intelligence knows which college you go to matters little to none. That includes employers.</p>
<p>Don't believe that smart people go to low-ranked colleges?</p>
<p>The other day I ran into a girl I'd known in middle school. She was truly brilliant, probably one of the smartest people I have ever met, and in many ways. She was athletic, intelligent, and conscientous.</p>
<p>And do you know how many schools she's applying to?</p>
<p>One.</p>
<p>Because she was already accepted there. And it's not even ranked as a National University in US News. The middle range of the SAT's is between 1040 and 1180 out of 1600. A majority of students had high school GPAs between 2.75 and 3.0. However, about 20% of students at this college had high school GPAs between a 3.75 and a 4.0...why is that? Because they were smart enough to know they could get a "good enough" education for free with full tuition scholarships.</p>
<p>She will probably after college land a good job at some business and work her way up to the top. Even though her school is hardly an "Ivy", it's good enough to give her what she needs in life, and I'm sure she'll make the most of it. Or, she'll decide to go to Grad school, get an MBA from somewhere prestigious. Because she can afford it with all the money she saved.</p>
<p>Here's the truth about college that no admissions officer will ever want to admit:</p>
<p>It's not the college that makes a difference in your life, but what YOU DO with it. And in these days, most colleges offer enough opportunities for you to succeed.</p>
<p>So to any juniors out there who have plans to become a doctor, businessman/woman, lawyer, or any sort of corporate job, listen up. Unless your parents already have enough money to pay for any college with ease ($200,000 is around the highest price tag), be smart: find a good safety school that gives out full tuition scholarships easily, and GO THERE! Then use any money you've saved for Grad school.</p>
<p>It will make your life so much simpler, and you'll thank yourself for it in the long run.</p>