<p>UVA is a fabulous school.</p>
<p>VoT, UVA’s English Department is one of the strongest in the nation. There is also a fairly new Media Studies major that is popular with those interested in publishing/journalism/media careers.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the publishing world, but as someone who has attended a NYC-based HYPSMC-obsessed magnet high school and worked in the NE, UVA is a great school that will open many doors. </p>
<p>Since UVA is your state’s flagship, the academic quality/prestige factor is about even or arguably greater than the 7 sisters. </p>
<p>If I was in your shoes, I’d consider finances and fit as you can’t go wrong with either choice. In-state vs private 7-sister prices…large co-ed school vs small women’s school.</p>
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<p>The alumni network is there but it will NOT get your daughter a job. It provides an avenue for networking – and to be successful, it is best for individuals to develop and cultivate multiple networks. </p>
<p>I’m not saying it isn’t real. When my d. was job hunting, she contacted Barnard alums who worked at places she was interested in. That did not get her a job, but it helped her gain information. (In one instance it turned out that the job opening was to fill a position that the Barnard alum contact was leaving, because she hated the job – so my d. basically got an earful about why she wouldn’t have wanted that job anyway).</p>
<p>My d. is now gainfully employed and just last week established a connection with a very distinguished Barnard grad from 1960. The alum had emailed my d’s agency for a business related purpose, and when my d. emailed back, she signed the email “from a fellow Barnard alum” or something similar. That prompted the distinguished alum to write back… so now my d. has a new friend. Job? No. </p>
<p>A college alumni network can be valuable, but it isn’t the only network out there. It may not even be the most important – it may very well be that the networks formed via jobs or internships are far more important. </p>
<p>I hope I am getting the point across. I am not trying to devalue the network. It’s a really cool “perk” for my daughter and probably will get her some invitations to some nice parties along the way. But there is an etiquette to the network too, and it doesn’t involved calling people up and asking for jobs, or asking them to exert influence in getting jobs. It is probably more valuable as a network <em>after</em> the person already has a job. </p>
<p>I also think that the importance of the network is diminishing somewhat because of the internet – it’s fun for me these days to browse my d’s Linkedin network and see who is on it, and I can see that only a very small fraction are Barnard alums - and (unfortunately) the internet is also what is radically transforming the publishing industry in a way that may very much diminish the value of old networks in that field, in any case. </p>
<p>Again: pay for the <em>education</em> IF you believe that the college offers your d. an educational experience that is significantly and materially different than what she would get at UVA –and if you believe that your d. will take full advantage of that experience. </p>
<p>In my view, the most valuable thing my daughter has is that she knows how to open her own doors. She is not waiting for or looking for someone else to open those doors for her. She had that ability before she ever even started applying to colleges – and I think that the ability was nurtured and enhanced by the women’s college environment. </p>
<p>You need to think of this like other luxury expenses. Will you have a nicer ride in a Mercedes than in a Chevy? Yes. Will the Mercedes get you where you are going faster than a Chevy? Probably not. So the question really comes down to whether you can afford to buy the Mercedes.</p>
<p>I am a big believer of after life of college. It is nice to say that go to college for the sake of education, but at the end of day everyone needs to get a job at some point. I think before anyone decide on a college, it pays to visit its career center, ask them what firms recruit on campus, and what’s their placement record. Most colleges also have a database of what their alums are doing, find out what fields they went into after graduation. If most of them go into finance, and your kid wants marketing or publishing, then maybe not.</p>
<p>I think a while back, someone posted that as fine of a school Pomona was, their career center was weak. Colgate is a lower ranked school relative to Pomona, but they are very good at helping its students getting a job in the NE and Texas (good geology major, many students get jobs at oil companies). Oberlin is a fine school, career placement? No so good.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if your kid is interested in grad schools, then you should look into each college’s placement and research opportunities. There are some public schools with 100% medical school placement, whereas a school like Cornell is a lot lower (even though it’s still above the national mean).</p>
<p>I think school network is important. I will reply or take a call from someone if the person is from my alma mater or D1’s school. I have made a point of hiring students from D1’s school when jobs were scarce. I was having a hard time with a senior person at work one time, when he found out my kids went to the same private school as him, he was very friendly with me. </p>
<p>College experience is more than just academic, if that’s the case then online courses would be sufficient.</p>
<p>UVA is probably the original “public Ivy.” That’s obviously not a factual statement but an opinion… but it is a widely held opinion.</p>
<p>It is a shame for your D not to be able to attend her first choice. But I’m a little bit confused as to how she got to this position in the first place if it would be extremely painful for her to go there. Did the family not have a sense of what type of financial package to expect? If your family saved for an in-state tuition situation and sufficient aid wasn’t likely from a top LAC, why even apply to the “out of reach” school?</p>
<p>I think the argument being set up the the D/father/other advisers - fabulous alumni network - is a bit of a straw man. Are they claiming that there is a vacuum where the alumni network would be from UVA? Because I highly doubt it.</p>
<p>If she would prefer a smaller school, won’t there be Honors Colleges/themed dorms/whatever (I don’t know UVA personally) where she can create that environment within the larger U setting? Most excellent state flagships have that now.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong - I valued my Wellesley education and would recommend it for any young woman who wants that. But not for a family where the cost would be “extremely painful.”</p>
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Most humanities majors don’t go into the type of careers that rely on on-campus recruitment. They have to go out and look for jobs on their own. The campus career center can be valuable in helping build skills through workshops and assistance with resumes, practice interviews, etc. – but you really aren’t going to see much in the way of “placement”, particularly not in career fields where jobs are scarce.</p>
<p>^^^I guess I don’t agree.</p>
<p>I would not pick a college counting on the alumni network. It can work that way for some people, but it is not something that you can count on having happen. The reason to pick the LAC, all woman’s college, a Northern school, a small school is because that is what the student overwhelmingly prefers. </p>
<p>I was faced with that choice 3 years ago with my son. He was accepted to our ivy which has instate colleges and he got into one. He did not like the school, the program, the atmosphere. It felt all wrong to him. He loved a tiny school in the west, pretty much unknown in the NE with some unique programs that he liked and an atmosphere that made him feel at home We spent several days there , and he felt this was where he would do best. Cost more than the ivy. We’re doing it and it is working out well. There have been some marvelous connection he’s made, some great mentoring but I wasn’t counting on any of those things. He’s going there because of a clear preference, not for any career boosting advantage or other maybes in the picture.</p>
<p>My friend’s daughter graduated from a LAC where she has benefited greatly from the attention she got there. But honestly she is one of very few kids from there who are doing so fantastically well. To point to her and call that a natural consequence of going to that type of school or that school at all would be a fallacy. It is more due to who she is. So it goes with the seven sisters’ connections. The education at those schools is excellent. There is a comraderie there, a nurturing environment there, and if your D likes that, it’s a good match. But i wouldn’t count on the school for contacts for getting into a particular field. That is something that is not so easy to predict.</p>
<p>I would like to dispel the notion that Pomona’s career placement center is weak. Many companies recruit at Pomona and all Pomona students are able to utilize the career centers of any of the Claremont Colleges, thus one has 5X more opportunities. I know many who received great offers from Pomona’s career center and I know many who moved across the country upon graduation and found great jobs within a few months. Pomona’s name recognition is very national.</p>
<p>MOWC’s son and mine graduated from the same university at different times. Mine found employment through the career center and hers did not. But both of them have great jobs. </p>
<p>Finding a job upon graduation is dependent on luck, field of study and fortitude of the students involved. I do agree that having a diploma from a well-known respected college helps.</p>
<p>Bill Keller, the executive editor of the NYT is a Pomona grad who has gone back to Pomona several times to assist students interested in journalism.</p>
<p>I would add to Cbreeze’s excellent post- finding a job is also dependent on significant flexibility. The recent grads I know who are in career track type positions all took the attitude that “my job comes first” when they were looking for a job.</p>
<p>The job you want in the field you want may not turn up in your backyard. You may need to launch your career in TV production in Minneapolis, not NY or LA. You may need to move to Dayton Ohio. You may be working for the world’s greatest company but the world’s meanest boss- or the world’s greatest boss but have an hour long commute on the subway.</p>
<p>Etc.</p>
<p>OP- I don’t think either of these options are make or break for any kind of career. You know your D-getting a job in publishing will depend on her ability to leverage her smarts, stay flexible, work hard, etc regardless of where she goes.</p>
<p>And what happens if/when she changes her career interest, as the overwhelming majority of 18 year olds end up doing?</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who has made comments on this thread. Very helpful. We’re in a very similar situation to VOT123’s. D got in a few places and was rejected by a few places, but the decision has come down to a state school (Purchase College) and a LAC (Hamilton). Purchase has a very selective, high quality BFA program (studio art), while LAC has, well, the advantages that LACs have. And like VOT123, we’re facing a BIG differential in the tuition. Also like VOT123, we’re willing to sacrifice if we’re convinced the LAC really is a better fit. (Hoping that the Open Houses will illuminate the decision.) This thread has helped us understand a bit better the (possible?) LAC prestige factor a bit more. Thanks.</p>
<p>OP,I think you have put yourself in a tough position. You allowed your daughter to apply to an expensive private at which you are essentially full pay, that you now say would be painful to afford. I am in Virginia and have a UVa grad son. As you must know, UVa is very well regarded and has a large and loyal alumni network. It is not for everyone however.Instate schools like William and Mary or Mary Washington may have been options for your daughter if she wanted a smaller school and you needed to stay within a certain budget. Smaller private schools that may have had merit aid options for her may have worked out better than UVa as well. Only you can decide if the increased cost of the private school she is most interested in would be worth it to your family to allow your daughter to attend the school of her choice.Good luck!</p>
<p>My disclaimer on Pomona - someone posted on CC last year, I do not have any data or first hand experience. My point is it is important to do some due diligence. Just because a school has a strong career placement center, it doesn’t mean it could place 100% of its students.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/850181-do-you-consider-job-placement-when-you-looking-college-2.html#post9521759[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/850181-do-you-consider-job-placement-when-you-looking-college-2.html#post9521759</a></p>
<p>If finances are an issue, it isn’t worth going to an LAC for prestige/network in a particularly low paying industry when there is a really highly ranked in-state option. I wouldn’t go to a particular school due to the strength of its alumni network; while alumni networking allows you to pick up the phone and call others to ask your questions/gather info, what most students don’t realize is that it rarely gets you the job, esp. at the entry levels. As your career develops, your true network ends up being those who know your work product because they can vouch for your ability to handle a particular job, not those who just went to the same school as you. If networking is that important, UVa has a huge alumni network, which seems quite involved and loyal, so it’s not that she’ll be missing out. </p>
<p>How is she certain that she wants to go into publishing? Even if she enjoys writing, there is a chance that she’ll get to college and discover something else that will interest her even more – I would think twice about making a huge financial sacrifice just based on the fact that she thinks she needs an alumni network in a particular industry.</p>
<p>I would go for UVa - cost, quality of education, network, and it is very well regarded.</p>
<p>UVA - no brainer. Fabulous State Flagship and just as committed alumni network.</p>
<p>I think it really makes a difference what the other options are. As someone said earlier… there is a big difference between state flagships, but UVA? yep, no brainer.</p>
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<p>This from aj725 sets the problem up very succinctly, I think. The only question the OP and her family need to get on the same page on is whether “finances are an issue.”</p>
<p>Regarding Oberlin’s career services, I’ve heard from more recent alums that they’ve increased the numbers of companies recruiting on campus and internship opportunities. </p>
<p>Main issue, however, is the fact most Obies IME tend to self-select themselves out of more mainstream career paths in favor of public service, creative arts, academia, teaching K-12, and/or politically progressive activism. </p>
<p>In any event, I’m wondering why Pomona and Oberlin were brought up as neither college is a member of the Seven-Sisters which was what the OP was asking about. More importantly, Seven-Sister LACs have a whole separate set of differences than their co-ed counterparts.</p>