<p>I've been reading the discussions on this site for a couple of months and just have a general question. By far, it seems that most of you have kids that are applying at Ivy League or what I would consider more "prestigious" universities. What is wrong, in general, with applying or attending less prestigious schools. Are the degrees really that different. I went to a medium-size liberal arts college in Ohio myself where I had an excellent education. I have never been without a job, love what I do in my career and feel I have been successful. What is it with all the emphasis on these supposedly top colleges? Do they automatically label you as successful if you attend and subsequently graduate. There are so many wonderful colleges and universities out there but so much focus on here does not give them credit. It seems that you have somehow failed if you do not get into one of those universities and I don't really understand. My D is going to a wonderul LAC this fall and is not going to what would be considered top but is excited and I know she will do well.</p>
<p>There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with going to a less prestigious university or college, and there are some advantages (primarily financial, possibly social). Actually, there is a massive portion of people on CC that constantly argue for state universities over competitive privates.</p>
<p>Why are people attracted to prestigious universities? They are more “impressive,” for those who want a “wow,” or for those who want some recognition for those sleepless high school nights. Many would argue that they provide a better education or a more favorable social environment.</p>
<p>For me, it’s the environment. Who wouldn’t want to be around the top students in the world with the top professors in the world and the top facilities in the world?</p>
<p>I just feel like I deserve it after (like notanengineer said) after countless sleepless nights in high school.</p>
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<p>There is nothing wrong with that. And many on C c do apply to less pretigious colleges. In fact that is what the vast majority of college-bound kids do. But you get a somewhat skewed view of the college admissions world on CC. All though there are many exceptions, the people who will bother to search for, find, and post on a site like CC in the first place will tend to be those who are rather more involved in the college admissions process - the ones aiming high.</p>
<p>Just to keep some perspective here: approximately 3 million students enrolled as freshmen at degree-granting higher education institutions in the U.S. this year. Of those, only about 30,000 or so applied to Harvard. The vast majority of college-bound seniors don’t give a hoot about the Ivy League or the handful of other elite schools that a sizable fraction of CC readers and contributors obsess about. Most go to non-selective public institutions, a smaller fraction to selective state flagships. Another large bunch go to non-selective or moderately selective private colleges and universities. Many get fine educations, some get so-so educations, and some get poor educations, or don’t complete their studies. A smallish number—perhaps as few as 100,000 or so—are competing for acceptance to the most selective colleges and universities. It’s a pretty rarefied world that’s reflected on the pages of CC.</p>
<p>I think that financial aid is an important factor that is generally overlooked when discussing the attraction of certain colleges. For my family the cost of an “Ivy” would be less than going to most other schools, including public universities.</p>
<p>Most of the kids I know didn’t even consider private colleges, their parents could afford the tuition at the State schools and they didn’t look beyond that. Of the few who had more to choose from they went for fit. I personally prefer smaller LACs but I don’t have a problem if someone wants to go to an Ivy League school. I also don’t have a problem if someone wants to go to a State school. It just seems like more often than not kids know where they should be.</p>
<p>But when you look at the discussions on the pages of acceptances it seems that all those listed are the Ivy league. It seems that those accepted into the other colleges don’t have the “pride” in the school of their choice. It seems that only those types of schools are the ones that get a mention.</p>
<p>CC isn’t the best place to browse when you’re looking for real information, in the first place. :-)</p>
<p>Well, someone who is accepted to an Ivy League school has certainly earned bragging rights.</p>
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<p>I think you’re wrong, I think the pride that comes from having chosen a lesser known college is a more quiet and thoughtful one.</p>
<p>One problem I had was that people hadn’t heard of the school I was going to, so the discussion would devolve into me explaining to them where the school was and how big it was. It ended up not being a very exciting conversation for either of us.</p>
<p>On the flip side the few people who had heard of the school were really plugged into the higher education environment and they were really excited to meet someone who was going to this school they had heard about but hadn’t ever known anyone who attended.</p>
<p>That position suited my personality. I’m quiet, I like sitting in the back of the bus. There must be a myriad of reactions one gets to the news that they are going to a really prestigious school and I don’t think I would have liked that kind of attention. I was much happier quietly attending a school I knew was right for me.</p>
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<p>Not necessarily. Here’s the thread for you. I went on for years and years:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/370873-brag-about-your-lesser-known-school.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/370873-brag-about-your-lesser-known-school.html</a></p>
<p>I think most people realize that getting into a top-25 college requires some extra effort and some research. Google is a logical place to start such a search and Google quite frequently links to CC at or near the top of its first search page.</p>
<p>Students (and their parents) interested in less competitive colleges don’t need to learn to understand and play the “admissions game” so intensely, so they are more likely to pass through CC, rather than become regular participants.</p>
<p>Lots of valid responses here.</p>
<p>I definitely don’t agree that people aren’t proud of their non-Ivy acceptances. There are some who really hoped to go to their reach schools who are naturally disappointed in going to a match/safety. But tons of people don’t even apply to Ivies.</p>
<p>And the CC demographic, as stated, is far from representative of the country as a whole.</p>
<p>One of the "weird things about the issue of “prestige” is that people think of it in “one size fits all” ways. </p>
<p>What I mean is that the “prestigious” schools can help out some (far more important what a student does in school, and that’s heavily influenced by the kind of academic atmosphere in which a student would thrive) but only if they are prestigious in that field of study.</p>
<p>For example, these schoosl are the most prestigous in their fields: WPI; Cal Poly SLO, Kenyon; The OSU; UCSC; RPI; Lehigh. But you will never find them in the lists of “generic” Top 25 schools in the country, because the people who pay so myuch attention to what schools are prestigious tend to look just at the surface of things.</p>
<p>For example, 10 years ago Harvey Mudd in CA was not on the national radar as a prestigioous school, and is still arre to se it recognized as such by most folks. It was - and still is - right up there with Cal Tech. But the prestige mongers devalued it becasue they hadn’t heard of it, althought - now that it’s got a higher profile in The Lists - all of a sudden it’s more “prestigous” to many. </p>
<p>Reminds me of cars . . a well off friend of mine drives a Land Rover . . . nice, prestigious car . . . I’d never buy one becasue it just does not fit my needs, and it’s too darn expensive for what one gets out of it.</p>
<p>P.S. There’s a huge selection bias here on CC . . just reading on CC you’d never guess that the national average of number of schools applied to is 4 or that the average cost of college is less than 30k per year.</p>
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<p>The need for effort and research extends further down than 25 schools nationwide. For one thing, as Kei-o-lei posts, schools that are considered tops in engineering generally don’t overlap with schools that are considered tops in theater (though there’s Carnegie-Mellon to prove the exception 
). For another, one student’s safety is another student’s reach. One of D1’s classmates wrote blithely about her acceptances to Smith and Macalester with the tagline “Yay, safeties!” :rolleyes: Meanwhile, here on CC I’ve read posts from parents and students crestfallen with their rejections from those two schools. And of course the financial piece if hunting for need and/or merit aid, which complicates matters even more.</p>
<p>Part of it depends on which forums and threads you frequent. Students and parents looking at “lesser known” schools (as in the thread posted by coureur) pop up in different places than those who are aiming for tippy-tops.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification. Is there another board out there for the parents of the “lesser known” schools? I like that term much better than less prestigious. I like to read the discussions on here for information with the confidence that my dgt will be getting a wonderful education at her chosen school.</p>
<p>Not sure about other boards, but searching here for the schools listed in “Colleges That Change Lives” or for CTCL will reap many comments hidden in plain sight within the HYPed schools-o-centric world of CC.</p>
<p>I agree with OP: often lists are repetitive, like Chance me for WashU, Brown, Harvard, CMU, Michigan, NWU! And that’s ok, when you remember that people driven enough to seek aid on an internet message board are probably qualified and will do well at most of those places. It’s also imperative to remember that most applicants are fine with going to so-called “second-tier” schools. I guess the overall thing to remember is that you’re reading CollegeConfidential.com. That in itself will color your larger perception of applicants, when in reality most are not so focused on “ONLY THE BEST.” To be fair, though, it is easy to get sucked in to the whole prestige thing. As a senior who (originally) applied based on my own ideas about prestige, I do think that Guidance Counselors’ opinions, in combination with my own ego, drove me to apply to one of the best schools I could. Yet, if I had to go to BU or a SUNY school instead of my prestigious institution (LOL) I think I would still be great. In my opinion, the applicant should be aware that while prestige can take a role in your decision, it is not the end-all be-all. So in short: what OP said!</p>