<p>Even though people don't like to admit it, everyone does want to go to a university with some prestige, name brand schools. Is it to show off? I keep thinking if I get accepted, people who thought I was stupid might think differently about me.. That's one of my reasons..</p>
<p>What about you?</p>
<p>Probably because they earned it through hard work & constructive use of their intelligence. To be around other motivated, accomplished, hard working, intelligent students that allow the professors to teach at a healthy pace & in more depth. Prestigious universities tend to have the largest endowments which enable the schools to hire top professors & administrators, maintain the campus facilities, purchase updated equipment in sufficient amounts, offer smaller class sizes, award more financial aid & offer more options & benefits to students. If you don’t think that a substantial endowment makes a significant difference for the students & professors, then try going to an underfunded school where classes are crowded, unavailable or deleted due to lack of funding. Necessary classes closed out, thereby requiring a fifth year to complete a four year degree. Dorms, classrooms & campus facilities in constant need of repair or replacement.</p>
<p>It’s easier to get a job and also the professors are better. I tend to zone out during class, and if I have a teacher who is invigorating and engaging, I’m more likely to do well and learn more interesting things. and plus, how cool is it to know that you’re being taught by nobel laureates or top researchers?!!</p>
<p>I want to go to a prestigious university, because I feel like I have something to prove. Is that a good reason? No, but I like to be honest. I want to make my parents proud and I want to prove that I am smart. I don’t really care what I do after college. I will probably do some traveling and eat ramen. I just want to prove that I could make it in the “adult world” before I do what I want to do.</p>
<p>its great for picking up chicks…</p>
<p>example</p>
<p>non name-brand graduate
case 1.
Me with my toyota camry: Hey Ladies. Need a ride?
Chicks: Nahh its ok</p>
<p>name-brand graduate
case 2
driving around in my ferrari when…
Chicks: Can we get a ride?
Me: yes</p>
<p>You get one shot at life. Might as well go for what is arguably the “best” and unarguably the most challenging.</p>
<p>…
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,<br>
And sorry I could not travel both<br>
And be one traveler, long I stood<br>
And looked down one as far as I could<br>
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5</p>
<p>Then took the other, as just as fair,<br>
And having perhaps the better claim,<br>
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;<br>
Though as for that the passing there<br>
Had worn them really about the same, 10</p>
<p>And both that morning equally lay<br>
In leaves no step had trodden black.<br>
Oh, I kept the first for another day!<br>
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,<br>
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15</p>
<p>I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:<br>
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—<br>
I took the one less traveled by,<br>
And that has made all the difference.
-frost</p>
<p>thanks for that stewy</p>
<p>The first reason that I think of, which is a stupid reason, is that it sounds cool. And I agree completely with darnfancylettuce. </p>
<p>I want to make my parents proud, and also I’ll feel good about myself if I go to a good school. I want to prove to everyone around me that I can do it. In the past, for example, I’m pretty sure there were people who thought I was stupid. </p>
<p>But it also gives you a lot of different opportunities. Yeah, and when I have the chance to go for a prestigious school, why not? Moreover, I’ve been going to this crappy high school for two years and I hate it, I don’t wanna spend another 4 years in a crappy college…</p>
<p>Many students and <em>most</em> parents think it puts the student on a better track to a high paying job and/or good grad school than a less prestigious school.</p>
<p>I believe this is not the case, but I am in the minority.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think some students just want to go to colleges where they can find interesting peers from all over the world, great facilities, strong programs in their areas of interest, and phenomenal financial aid. They look for those qualities, and accidentally develop an application list that includes some colleges with great prestige, because why wouldn’t a college with those desirable characteristics have prestige?</p>
<p>^Agree. I want to go to a school that’s good in my areas of interest and, more importantly, where I can meet and talk to and get to know people who are intelligent and interesting and thought-provoking. I want to be challenged.</p>
<p>yea, i looked into some of the top schools, and none of them sound appealing to me. that doesn’t mean i don’t want to meet interesting people and have great professors. i believe you can get that from almost any college right for you. maybe…</p>
<p>but it would be cool to get accepted to them so i could brag. :D</p>
<p>Networking, top faculty, top fellow students, better career prospects in certain fields, and yes, bragging rights…makes you feel vindicated after years of busting your butt in high school :)</p>
<p>Here are some of the reasons why people think brand names are the way to go:</p>
<p>People are puppets of society and do whatever society tells them they should do. </p>
<p>People have no confidence in their own abilities and think paying to go to some name brand college will make the road easier for them rather than if they just put the work in themselves.</p>
<p>People are concerned about what other people think about them when they should care less.</p>
<p>Going to a prestigious school is easy because no one questions your judgement about attending, people assume the best things about the quality of your education, and whether it’s true or not, they also assume you are bright and intelligent.</p>
<p>In fact, if you think about it, a prestigious school is the best place for a dumb person with good grades to go – always getting the benefit of the doubt can be very useful to those who might not actually be able to prove their value without it.</p>
<p>Economists comment about the important ECONOMIC value of “signaling” student characteristics by what college you attend. </p>
<p>[Higher</a> Education - Google Book Search](<a href=“Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research - Google Books”>Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research - Google Books)</p>
<p>I’m glad this thread was posted. I’m very nervous about my future, prospectively attending a school whose reputation isn’t yet solidified, even if it’s a terrific school. It’s this weird sort of abstract compunction. I want to be a writer, but there haven’t really been any successful writers who have graduated from the school. So who’s to say I’ll be the first produced? Why would I defy the precedent? I’m not that intelligent. I just want to be able to do what I love at one point in my life, and I’m sort of clawing at it when it’s embedded so far in the distance.</p>
<p>me too! (want to do what i love someday)</p>
<p>well i hope it works out for you mtngoat1!</p>
<p>Thanks, you too.</p>