Amused

"I really think fit is the most important factor in choosing a college, and that comprises an amalgam of different characteristics about a school. Each campus has its own distinct atmosphere that's difficult to quantify, but can make all the difference in your overall college experience."

That's....basically everything on that list.

ladylazarus

What I meant was that I don't think any of the factors on the list can be universally given the same weight, since they all play a different part in the campus atmosphere.

FrankSwim2008

Definitely Prestige, I mean your gonna want to be proud when someone asks u where u went after. Come on, I would much rather say Yale or Harvard then, University of Tennessee.

soccerguy315

FrankSwim

what if the difference was going to Tennessee and having a good time, doing well, and coming out on top, or going to Harvard, having hardly any friends, come out in the bottom tenth with a case of depression. You might quickly reconsider.

Deviant

Hey! My boyfriend is going to University of Tennessee (and then hopefully transferring to Duke). I have no doubt that he'll be accepted.

For me personally, it's what they offer as terms of major, location, and tuition/finaid.
And I will throw off a school I love if it doesn't meet those three requirements. UNC-Chapel Hill met only the location, Berklee College of Music only met major, Savannah College of Art and Design met major and some of location. But Barton College met all three.

celebrian25

I think prestige should only play in it's because of connections for jobs. I don't understand why a 5-second exchange (where did you go to college? Harvard. Oh woah." should be the reason you choose small name versus big name school

ohnoes

Celebrian is right. For anybody who doesn't need an internship immediately after they graduate/during their undergrad studies (read: people who aren't business majors), undergrad prestige is highly overrated. Your graduate degree is what people care about when they hire you after college, and anybody who works hard at a state school or an LAC like Reed which isn't as well known can get in to a good graduate program.

blah06

important factor for me is prestige. then second is academic strength

croberts532

The most important thing theoreticly would be : academic stregnth in major. Theoreticly you should be striving for the highest quality education for your major. the ascertainment of knowledge is definatly the most important thing.

Realisticly: prestige is what people go for. Most people in the good old mtv generation don't care what they are learning, as long as they get that piece of paper saying that they graduated from what ever university.

For me personally... im a california boy. I cant stand the east coast. I need atleast 60 degree winter days. Location is a huge part too. College towns have a great vibe, especially when they have sporting events, but daily life seems like it could get rather redundant. city life in college seems too random and flakey for me. And definatly definatly being far enough from home where the parents cant bother ya, but close enough where if somthing happens they can get to ya.

ivybound1010

prestige just for the job opps

SnP2k

Ranked from most important to least important (in my opinion):
1. Academic strength of intended major (engineering)
2. Good vibes (nice people, nice facilities, etc.)
3. Prestige (I don't care for the top schools, because they often focus on research versus educating the undergrads; but it can't be a school that nobody's heard of).

#1 and #2 are about the same, but I definitely feel that I would rather sacrifice a little of the good vibe if the school will prepare me for a successful career. I wouldn't go to a school at which I felt a bad vibe, but if it's like 75% or more of "good vibe" if you will, then I'd consider it.

firai

i think prestige in certain aspects isn't just a name...some prestigous schools have more mature and easily accessible extracurricular programs...such as co-ops, internships, and research opportunities

lkf725

"good vibes, feels at home" takes everything into account, IMO. It's analogous to "intuition". I think that students process so many pieces of info about a college, some consciously and some unconsciously, and usually their feelings about fit are correct.

dpianin

well what if youre not sure you'll stick with the major youre starting in, as i would think most freshman dont - what do you base your decision on from there? You can either take the chance and choose the school with the higher strength in your major, or the one with more over all prestige so that if you end up switching majors you'll still have the name of the school behind you as opposed to the other school where you'd have neither the prestige or the strength in your major if you changed.

I'm in a situation where I can choose between prestige and good major, or better major and scholarship but less overall prestige. Which would you choose?

doggra

by saying that you would go to a school for the prestige or academic strength, are you saying you would go somewhere you felt uncomfortable with? just curious. i think theres a right place for everyone on here. sometimes its just hard to find.