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How do you tell how reputable a school is?

katenskatens 22 replies18 threads Junior Member
in College Search & Selection
So I'm interested in a couple colleges that seem really nice but since I'm going into psychology and not a STEM major, it matters what school I go to more to get better recognition and outlook for jobs.

I plan on staying the northeastern side of the US after college so they dont necessarily nationally well recognized but at least in this region.

So here the colleges that I'm unsure about how they're viewed or recognized for psychology:

Pace University
Hofstra University
Hunter College
University at Albany
Brandeis University
Seton Hall
Amherst College
Baruch College
Hamilton College

Thanks reading and any help you can offer!
6 replies
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Replies to: How do you tell how reputable a school is?

  • GoCubsGo719GoCubsGo719 99 replies33 threads Junior Member
    Sites like Niche typically rate ROI and Value and include reviews on the subject. For a more solid measurement, you can often find career outlook statistics posted either on a school's website or many other places on the internet. Word of mouth can be helpful, but should be taken with a grain of salt. If you are studying psychology I'm guessing that means that grad school will likely be in your future, in which case reputation is necessarily the most important thing in the world for your undergraduate. I'd just try to find the best affordable school where you can get good grades and most importantly be happy. Good luck.
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  • mikemacmikemac 10582 replies154 threads Senior Member
    edited July 2019
    to work in the field of psychology typically requires at least a Masters degree (Masters of Social Work, Marriage & Family Counselor, etc).

    You can enter a grad program from any undergrad college, they are going to look at your GPA and GRE scores plus letters of rec (so get to know some profs).

    Also see https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm
    edited July 2019
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  • merc81merc81 11809 replies201 threads Senior Member
    edited July 2019
    How do you tell how reputable a school is?

    Forbes? https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliesportelli/2017/04/26/10-expensive-colleges-worth-every-penny-2017/amp/#referrer=https://www.google.com.

    For psychology specifically, a school such as Hunter could be fine though.
    edited July 2019
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  • rickle1rickle1 2599 replies21 threads Senior Member
    If you're checking out Amherst you might want to look at UMass too, literally right down the road (walking distance). Brother graduated with a psych degree and went on to get a PhD in neuro psych at another great school. He was well prepared by UMass. Probably one of the more underrated state flagships as it's top notch in many things and has a fantastic honors college.

    The area is also beautiful!
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  • merc81merc81 11809 replies201 threads Senior Member
    edited July 2019
    If you have a particular interest in financial outcomes, you can check individual U.S. News entries, then scroll to Alumni Starting Salaries (e.g., https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/hunter-college-2689).
    edited July 2019
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  • CreeklandCreekland 6876 replies93 threads Senior Member
    Ask the departments where recent grads have gotten into grad school. If you like what you see, all is fine. If not, consider that when choosing a place. It doesn't mean you couldn't do well there if you did better than recent grads did, but it's a cautionary flag vs knowing if you perform as well as the others at the schools which have gotten folks into good grad schools, you should be able to get there too.

    There are engineering schools that places around me won't hire from and places they prefer. If a student wants to be an engineer and knows where they want to work (or a similar place), I always tell them to check to see where current workers graduated from as well as asking the department at candidate schools where recent grads have gotten employed for their first job. It's similar for getting into grad schools.

    Few (including me) like to name the schools employers don't like due to the potential for backlash. It can be well worth it to check data. If a department doesn't like to share, consider that too. (Don't ask admissions - they rarely know.)
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