petrina_678

Its common for everyone to want to go to top-tier name brand schools (HYPSM)

But are there times when the bad points of going to that name brand outweighs the good?

Like when those schools are not the best in the area/field that the student would like to study in.

Lets say the student does well enough to be accepted by all schools, but he would like to study a specialty area that none of the name brand schools are renown for. Would he be better off studying in a "less prestigious " college and in one that is regarded the best in that area of specialty ?
Or should he study the course in a name-brand school that may not be highly regarded in that field but would overall be more "prestigious"?

gadad

Whenever I see posters on CC asking what good schools would be at which to study X, I always recall that the typical college student changes majors two to three times during his or her undergraduate career.

happymomof1

If you are clear about a very specialized professional goal, and you have identified the colleges/universities that offer that program, you would be well advised to take a long, hard, look at those institutions. This is more like the way people identify the correct Ph.D. programs, than like the way most students identify an undergraduate program.

Yes, most students change their majors (often multiple times). However, there are many students who are indeed dedicated to a particular path. If you are one of them, don't waste your time with HYPSM just because you feel you "should". Target the specialized place(s) that can offer you what you want instead.

entomom

In one of your prior threads you talk about being interested in advertising, writing and English. Since it looks like you haven't made a decision yet, I'd give at least a gentle caution to going to a specialty school, like art school. There are many universities that have great art departments but also offer a general liberal arts education in case you change your mind, or even if you just want to have a broader range of studies. And there are places like Brown that have joint degrees with an art school (RISD).

I spend a fair amount of time on the Transfer Students forum and there have been several students who went to a specialty school for business or art and then changed their mind or wanted a broader education and found their original school inadequate.

You might want to include both art and general universities on your list, visit a few, and see how they suit you.

gadad

Be realistic with yourself. It's a very, very rare 17-year-old who has a definite career plan. It's very unlikely that at 17 a student has had sufficient exposure to the whole range of options to make a truly informed long-term decision.

petrina_678

ok let me clear up some things..

firstly im not asking this for myself..

I just wanted to see how people would respond to this question.

Its not really my issue now