And some of us actually work at colleges but what do we know. I only work at a program that is in the top T40 in the nation for my major, not T20.
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you make me laugh - yep average schools like Michigan State, Penn State, and Kentucky - are each leaders in the Fortune 100 top CEOs…so I guess it must be the Morehead State kids who are secretaries.
Wal Mart - small company - Arkansas
Berkshire Hathaway - (Warren Buffett) - Nebraska
Apple - Auburn
AT&T - Loyola Marymount
The list goes on and on - Drexel, Missouri St. Louis
hmmmm - what you said is bunk!! Sorry - but it is. I won’t say outcomes overall won’t be better at Harvard than say Rutgers (they will) - but your argument is flawed and major matters more than school - hence I had an admin assistant (secretary) who went to Stanford and was an English major. My engineer son from Alabama beats Harvard salaries.
So I would venture to believe you are less informed - but that’s ok - you do what you feel is best for you.
If you want to use ranking, you might use the WSJ or Pay Scale instead - as US News doesn’t focus on salaries but things that are not relevant to salaries. Yes, it’s the most well known - but it doesn’t necessarily turn into better outcomes. I thought my kid was nuts to turn down a top 10 engineering school for an unknown - but it turns out, he was right - he’ll have the same job - and works with those kids and kids from higher ranked schools.
Int he end, if you have an affordable safety and you keep saying you have a free ride to the top Honors College (which today is UGA but historically was South Carolina or Arizona State) - then frankly, where you apply doesn’t matter.
You are only going to one school - so one acceptance is all that matters.
But in general terms, a Gender Studies, English, Anthro, Sociology - whatever you decide on - won’t do better than an Engineer or Accountant, etc. no matter the school attended for one of the latter two jobs.
Location of job also plays a role.
Good luck.
how do you guys advise students on this forum when you don’t know the difference between a University and a Liberal Arts College ? there is a difference between enrollment size, campus size, no. of majors offered, sports, extra-curriculars, networking opportunities… the list goes on and on.
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Much depends on what a student is seeking. I’ll take it from the student not knowing vs. the posters here - and there are no definitions. US News makes their own. Other rankings - don’t - they’re a college is a college is a college - which in and of itself - is true.
One student before listed Reed, Swat, and Kenyon - but said they want medium to large and urban.
One then has to define medium to large - but most would think that’s not a sub 2K school - so that has to be explained - and that Kenyon is rural - so you question what they put up - and either they say thanks or they say true, but there’s a reason.
But it’s always good for students to get questioned, but not offended - so in the end, they can make the best list for them.
Many folks here have many experiences with different schools, first hand or through visits/third party stories.
Not every poster agrees with one another but there’s a lot of good food for though that gets passed around.
Like I said before - I simply came here for chance-me - wasn’t looking for patronizing advise about my college selection choices. Certainly wasn’t looking for personal comments about “my culture”.
Student here.
I don’t know if this comment is allowed. Take it down if no.
Helpful poetry. Listen to me. One insecure and ambitious women to another: you are making a mistake. I know exactly how it feels, I reacted exactly as you did, check my old threads. Advisors on this thread might even recognize me (hey!).
They know what they are talking about and I believe that deep down you know that too. Your close-mindedness is showing, and its not a good look. And again I know exactly how it feels: chasing names, believing my life is screwed if I don’t get that name, etc. But you have NO excuse for being as rude as you are.
One more thing: they aren’t here to humble you (though that might help, certainly helped me) they are here to help you. They don’t get paid for this, they are doing it because they care about the process and ourselves.
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With the colleges you have listed, you certainly have a chance. You are a strong candidate for any college (sorry, university!). However, these are still REACH colleges. There are no guarantees, even for the very top students. In fact, the odds are against you if you are unhooked. That doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance - you do. But the chance is still a relatively low one. When members here see a list like yours, they get concerned for the student because we have all seen students like you with a reach-heavy list get shut out. It really, really sucks when that happens. It’s also really, really preventable by building a list that has a balance of targets and safeties - which, unfortunately, is something that you seem resistant to. That is why members here are trying to explain the college/university landscape as well as the realities of job promotion and upper management. Because, if the stars don’t align for a T20, it’s ok. It really is. You can have a great life and fulfilling career even if you attend your safety school. But for that to happen you have to APPLY to safety schools. That’s why members are so insistent on balanced lists. Because we have seen heartbreak close up and we don’t want that to happen to you.
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I assure you that not only do the experienced posters here know the difference, but they have broad experience from their own and their kids’ experiences. And yes, many here have attended the kind of elite colleges you are targeting. It’s up to you whether or not you agree with their advice, but an uninformed bunch they are not.
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Really have no idea what you are trying to advise here… when the original thread was about chance-me… and I stand by my college selection based on my analysis and research. If I think elite colleges offer better future than others, I just do not see what is wrong with that analysis. Volumes and volumes of data speaks for itself. Giving example of few successful person from non-elite schools and few not so successful from elite schools (or exceptions) do not prove the rule.
Sure people have their own understanding and choices to make - good for them. Least they can do is extend the courtsey to others and allow them to make their own choices. Just needed Chace-Me comments. beyond that there really is no need to continue this thread.
I will thank everyone to realize that.
In the words of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Take that how you wish.
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Exactly… we are just trading opinions here. nothing more.
Fair point.
You think your research and opinions (or those you parrot from your parents or Ivy Tutor number #69420) are infallible. Everyone else is wrong. And now that you aren’t being told what you want to hear, you’re flipping out. It is really obvious you expected everyone here to just validate your beliefs and give you on-the-dot percentages, and now that they are telling you otherwise you are looking down on them. And I think the worst part about this is that you don’t see a problem with it.
Look im just a sixteen year old. I do my work, I talk to my friends, I help kids run experiments, and I play Roblox with my family. But these advisors know their stuff. Theyve been through it, multiple times with kids for some of them.
Nobody is denying that big brand colleges have benefits. They do. They also have cons, as do all schools.
What I think is going on here is that you hope the school makes the student successful, not the students make the school successful. But its the latter. Good students will succeed regardless of school, and bad students will struggle. But it looks like you and your close-mindedness might be in for a rough time.
Cmon. I was like that too, im not better than you. I just learned
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Based on my observation of students I know personally with similar profiles to yours:
You are a strong and competitive candidate, and given your area of interest, I think you have a good chance of landing at at least one of your desired schools.
Of course, these are all super reaches so you should be prepared for the possibility of a shutout (which does happen). But if you’re happy with your in state flagship honors program as a fallback then you’re fine. Take your shot.
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We do know. And we know that even within universities there is a difference in all these things. (And W&L University is actually a liberal arts college so the term itself has nothing to do with post grad opportunities and success rates.)
No one here can chance you. You are a strong applicant and could very well end up at a T20. Likewise, you could be shut out. A lot will rest on the narrative you present and the quality of your essays - that is why I, personally, believe less might be more in this case. Also, it can be very, very tough to end admissions season with a string of rejections so you need to keep that in mind. At the end of the day if you would be truly happy at your in-state option, then it may not matter much. Most of us would suggest adding a couple of targets just so you increase your chances of a choice which always feels better than ending up at what you tell yourself is your fall back.
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You can’t really blame people for recommending colleges when you have “Match Me” in the title of the thread you started.
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Okay, calm down. You came here for opinions and you’re getting what you asked for.
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OP- you are a strong student (as you know) and your chances are as good as any of the tens of thousands of strong students that H/Y/P Brown rejects every year. So go for it!
Two suggestions-
1-have someone proof read your essays. You have many grammatical and spelling errors in your posts-- which is understandable if you are writing on your phone while doing something else. But many strong students assume that their syntax and spelling is accurate just because they are strong writers-- and anyone can make mistakes.
2- Tone matters. I’m sure you are a fun and kind and empathetic person in real life. But in your posts you come off as arrogant and smug. And Harvard already has the “arrogant and smug” sector sewn up- they aren’t looking for more of those if they can help it. It’s been an institutional issue for decades. How do you assemble a class of high performing, ambitious and energetic students without ending up with a cohort of ^&*-holes (or use your own favorite term for arrogant jerks).
Just something to work on. In my life I have found that when someone gives me advice that I don’t agree with, it’s easier to say “Thanks for that suggestion- I’ll look into it” rather than to respond with something hostile. And given the number of extremely successful people in this country who have graduated from Rutgers, U Mass, community colleges of all stripes, you may find the “I’ll look into it- thanks!” response helps you more than you know.
Good luck!
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I can’t chance your likelihood of admission to a T20 USNews school, as that is a crapshoot and you have GREAT statistics. I can add to the discussion in this thread filled with irony.
You probably will end up with a degree from a T20 school, but your major choice will land you work in the non-profit arena, and require you to fundraise from all the business leaders in the USA who you look down on that have degrees from non-T20 state u.
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