<p>fkiy–just asked my dad if he’s ever heard of those Indian universities for engineering–never has; he’s the boss of one of the largest engineering firms in this nation. So a lot of the time a name of the university is more important than getting a little better quality of education. ultimatally it always depends on the individual.</p>
<p>People in my country only know Harvard and Oxford!!</p>
<p>Yeah, Yale and Cambridge sucks. =P</p>
<p>wow i wish i had found this thread earlier. </p>
<p>In any case, i’ve made my choice and i’m in a cosy LAC that has absolutely no name recognition in my home country. I am glad that i chose to come here instead of another college because the environment is priceless.</p>
<p>But I guess it’s easier said than done. For the longest time, i was worried about job prospects back home if i were to go to an unknown but elite college. I guess one of the main reasons why i decided to plunk my fate here is because i managed to secure a scholarship back home. So this means that i could choose to study in an LAC and enjoy its benefits and yet not worry about my career.</p>
<p>That being said, i do realize that many Americans aren’t even familiar with the colleges within their state. When i was clearing immigration at JFK, the immigration officer asked me where my college is. Even though, my visa clearly states that it is in New York. The irony is that the art installation in front of his immigration office was done by students from my school.</p>
<p>In England it’s not as hard as in somewhere like Germany or Malaysia, but people’s knowledge of schools is still frustratingly thin. They’ve heard of the Ivy League and so you can always tell them “its the same quality as the Ivy League” and be done with it. It gets annoying that they think somewhere like Williams is very bad but think Yale is fantastic, when a degree from either is worth a lot.
I think a lot of the problem comes from the size of the UK. Its a much smaller country than the US (obviously), so we’re used to thinking of there only being a few really good colleges. There are perhaps 15 top colleges in the UK (a very rough estimate and it really depends on your subject), so people assume without really thinking about it that there are about the same number in the USA as well. Most British kids could name about 10 top US colleges, so they automatically assume one they’ve not heard of is bad, just as they would consider a UK uni they’d not heard of to be bad because the ones whose names they’ve heard of are the good ones.
The best way to explain it is with comparisons - like its Ivy League level, its just below, its like going to University of Leeds, University of Exeter and so forth.
Good luck to all you internationals, its a tough process but remember that we are unique and interesting!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Purplepig–Just curious why you say that you don’t have to worry about your career because you have a scholarship. Won’t you still be concerned about how your degree will be viewed when you return home after graduation?</p>
<p>As for your story about the art exhibit and the immigration officer, that’s a great one … ironic indeed!</p>
<p>Of course, I deal with American students all the time who have no sense of geography or of where US colleges are located. For instance, an advisee from New York City refused to consider a college I’d suggested in Massachusetts because it was too far from home, but she applied to the University of Buffalo. In reality, the Massachusetts school was about a three-hour drive from her front door, and the Buffalo school about seven!</p>
<p>In fact, i’m still extremely concerned about how my degree would be viewed back home. But my scholarship involves a 6 year bond with the company after graduation. So in some sense, my job is guaranteed.</p>
<p>I am concerned, yes, and it has affected my application decisions. However, I think in Singapore the problem is not as bad as it could be (simply on the strength of the number of students who go abroad for undergrad studies).</p>
<p>Since I’m applying, specifically, to film schools that also have a strong arts and sciences programs, the list of colleges was cut down drastically from the beginning, but name recognition was a factor in my not considering FSU and Chapman University. For some reason, I was very gratified when I met a Singaporean who was studying film at Chapman. And ironically, the reason I heard of FSU’s film school in the first place was that a Singaporean filmmaker went there. But it’s true - if I told my parents, “I’ve been accepted to do film at Chapman/FSU!” they’d tell me I might as well go to a local university. If I come back with a film degree from NYU or USC or Texas, it’s something to celebrate, but if I come back with one from FSU I’m going to find myself with a lot of explaining to do whenever someone asks me what I did in university.</p>
<p>There are film schools in Singapore? (sorry for digressing, just curious)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>There is one! Lasalle offers a BA (or BFA? can’t remember) in film. Tisch Asia offers an MFA in film, if you count that. Ngee Ann Poly offers a diploma in Film, Sound and Video, and NTU School of Comm and Info offers some film modules, I think… lots of students make films as coursework while they are there. And NTU Art, Design and Media offers a major in animation, IIRC. But the only school that offers close to what I want is Lasalle, and I still feel it’s not enough because #1 I want to go abroad to get some perspective, and #2 I want to double major or minor in something else, and I can’t do that at Lasalle. Plus the film degree program at Lasalle is very new.</p>
<p>Ah, OK. Thanks, and all the best!</p>
<p>Well… ppl here dunno any colg other than the ivies… frankly neither did i, till i started searching for colgs… so i’m not too concerned bout the ppl knowing part… lolz… i’m almost 21… so guess i’ve gone way past those stages where i used to care about wat ppl might think :)</p>
<p>For the record FSU’s Film School is one of the best in the country (Top 5). Anyone involved in the film industry knows this, and FSU film grads hold some of the top positions in Hollywood. So I would think that a degree from the FSU Film School is something to be extremely proud about.</p>
<p>You sound new to the film school scene. Since you don’t know much about FSU, here are some useful details: According to the members of the Directors Guild of America, FSU is one of the top film schools in the United States. The DGA honored Florida State for its “distinguished contribution to American culture through the world of film and television”. Its faculty is made up of industry filmmakers, many who are Academy Award winners. Also, the director of the Sundance Film Festival recently joined the faculty at FSU. Its students regularly win top festivals and Student Academy Awards. Last year FSU won the Silver Academy Award in the coveted narrative category against two USC films, and the year before FSU won the Gold Academy Award in the same category against two NYU films. (Check out oscars.org) FSU Film accepts only 30 students a year from more than a thousand applications. Their Alumni Director works with each student to cause a successful transition into the film industry by creating career strategies and assigning industry mentors. Last year, FSU reported a successful transition to the industry for every one of its 30 graduates within six months of graduation (no other film school has ever reported 100%). Students at FSU don’t compete for their excellent equipment and facilities, an advantage that comes from accepting only 30 students. FSU recently purchased eight RED digital cinema cameras so that students now have the choice to shoot on film (16mm or 35mm) or in 4K. This is a really attractive detail when you consider that FSU is the only film school in the U.S. that pays for the production expenses of all of its films, included thesis films. With all of this support, it’s no surprise that FSU alums are usually very successful. A few recent examples: Adam Sandler’s movie that opens on Christmas day, “Bedtime Stories”, was written by FSU alum Matt Lopez. “Medicine For Melancholy”, an independent film that has garnered both Spirit and Gotham nominations this year was written and directed by FSU alum Barry Jenkins. The documentary “Fields of Fuel” won the Sundance Audience Award this year and is on the short list of the Oscars. Its writer/director is FSU alum Josh Tickell. Chinese popular television personality, Yimeng Jin, who is currently directing her second feature in Beijing, is an FSU alum. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>This is an interesting question which directly addresses my present dilemma. I am an international female student accepted in RHIT. I like this institute in all respects except that it is not well known not only in US. I like the small size, dedicated teaching, personal attention and do not mind the rural setting. I am not sure how much weightage should be given to the fact that the school is known only in limited circles. I will most appreciate to get a feedback and any suggestions.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>i also want to add that I am from india. On the negative side about rose hulman,i am little bit concerned about lack of diversity there. * am not sure how i will fit in.
i intend to continue work in US for a few years.</p>
<p>I really don’t think the level of well-known-ness has that much of a bearing on anything other than personal opinions. Fair enough if you’re hiring for a very specific job in engineering and you have to choose between someone who went to MIT against someone who went to the University of Nowheresville, but ultimately a degree is a degree and if you’re applying for a job afterwards it isn’t going to be where you studied that matters. Think of all the millions of people who DON’T go to top colleges… they all find employment. It’s not where you get the degree that’s important, it’s how you treat the college experience and use your education to the best of your ability. And you don’t need prestige to do that.</p>
<p>When I tell people here where I’m applying they say “Harvard?!” and laugh, thinking it’ll be impossible. But then “Amherst? …nobody’s heard of that” so naturally it must be easy to get in.</p>
<p>But until I came here and did my research I hadn’t heard of Amherst either so I don’t expect British people to know it. I don’t think it’s important if people in your home country haven’t heard of the college.</p>
<p>If you are considering staying in the US and working after college—then it matters much less where you go—but if you are planning on going back home immediately—pick based on name—its that simple really…</p>
<p>look at the times higher supplement rankings and pick a school</p>