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<p>I was addressing academic reputation among academics because the OP stated he/she wanted to go on to grad school. For grad school admissions, faculty will be taking a greater and a more direct part in the process…especially in the fields the OP is looking to go into…so it is a factor to consider. </p>
<p>As for Ivy prestige/NE LAC bias, I was trying to address both the common biases I’ve experienced living in the NE as well as the possible biases the OP probably faced back in China. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is a bit of an anti-LAC bias among many Chinese abroad unless they work as faculty/staff in universities, music/creative arts, spent some time in the US, and/or are unusually open-minded like my own parents. </p>
<p>While I was pleasantly surprised to not have experienced this bias during my 3 month study-abroad in China where I did make an effort to randomly chat with a cross-section of people in my area, that wasn’t the experience of other fellow LAC alum friends. The commonplace response they experienced was a curt “That’s nice”…even those who attended Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore. Granted, that was in the late '90s and I heard and hope the average Chinese person is much more open-minded these days. However, judging by conversations with many incoming Chinese(From both Chinas and SE Asia) grad/undergrad students and a few dates with some…there’s still a long way to go.</p>