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Don’t be so down on yourself…</p>
<p>In the long term the school that you go to matters very little in your ultimate success in life. As NSmom said, what you do once you get out of school is really what matters. A great school may open some doors, but you need the drive to go through them and excell. The folks who really succeed at life have the skill and drive to do so no matter what type of school they go to.
Since they tend to be the most outstanding students, they also tend to be disproportionately represented at top schools, but I think that they would do just as well long term if they went to mid of the road State U. I know kids at top schools that are failing to succeed and I also know ones at very mediocre schools that are getting great jobs and internships. </p>
<p>It is the person; not that school that determines your future.</p>
<p>Work ethic is far more important to employers than what college you graduated from given that you are competent and meet the requirements.</p>
<p>The purpose of college is to become a liberal minded individual who can think for him or herself and be able to contribute to society in a way that is meaningful and productive. It can most definitely help you land a job- but I wouldn’t go so far as to label it as the sole purpose of college rather than a subordinate benefit of higher education. </p>
<p>And in response to the OP: you’re absolutely right, it DOES matter where you go to college. Saying that it doesn’t is completely shortsighted. It’s not, however, a guarantor of success-however loosely you define such a term. It’s important to keep in mind that those who gain acceptance to top universities have dedicated an extraordinary amount of time to their academics, so it’s not so much the college that makes the person, but the thousands of ambitious and talented individuals who occupy an university that lend it meaning and prestige.</p>
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So which is it? ;)</p>
<p>When people say that it doesn’t matter what college you go to, it seems that they either mean that a) a college degree is a college degree and any school can give you that (this is the type that the OP dislikes) or b) those that believe that not all students are best suited for top-20 schools and may do better at other schools.</p>
<p>Going to college, you are buying the college experience along with a degree. If you feel miserable at a school, you are not going to do your best. Like Kei said, there are a lot of options in choosing schools and you want to choose the one that best suits you. For some of us, that may involve shelling out $50k a year or it might be a state school. While there are some jobs where prestige matters, I’d prefer a student to have the time of their life at Podunk U. rather than have them be miserable at a top school. For those that would do better at a top school, Podunk U. would not be in their best interests to attend.</p>
<p>I have a real hard time with people saying that every student should attend a certain school because to them the college granting the degree does not matter. Maybe we want to attend a certain school over another one because we like it more. Maybe if it was just to finish a core requirement over the summer that the student really didn’t care about that I would encourage just picking any school nearby that was affordable. But then, it’s almost like buying a grade or a degree. If you want a degree so bad that the school doesn’t matter, maybe you should rethink getting a degree, IMHO.</p>
<p>I am sure that you might have an easier time looking for a job than someone who graduated from an ivy in regards to someone who graduated from a state school. But I do think that talent is talent nonetheless. I think what the OP fails to account for is that there are some very very talented people out there who got into one of those “good schools” and choose not to attend because of financial issues. </p>
<p>Great schools may go the extra mile in teaching you what there is to know, but for those who aren’t given a direct way, they must do it themselves. Yes, it will be harder to succeed from a no name college, but it isn’t impossible is what many people are getting at.</p>
<p>Personally, I choose to attend BU over Rutgers because it gave me more resources for an acceptable increase in tuition and the supposed quality of the BME program. TBH, they are both probably equal in terms of academics, but the things that I would gain at BU are far greater than what I would have gained at Rutgers (my state school), including independence from my parents. Though I am struggling now, I wouldn’t have changed my decision in any way if I had to do it all over again.</p>
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<p>No. Bronson, you come across as just another one-dimensional prestige whore. You don’t have to be a genius or extremely hardworking to be successful. Furthermore, success as measured in monetary terms (which I assume is what you’re using here) shouldn’t be your highest priority in life. Don’t preoccupy yourself with something so meaningless.</p>
<p>cucumber1: People say it’s totally prestigious to get accepted into Harvard, whose acceptance rate is 7.9%. It is prestigious, but what about Rutgers University’s pharmacy school, whose acceptance rate is 6.25%??</p>
<p>Do you know the acceptance rates at any other pharmacy school? St John’s University, or URI pharmacy?</p>
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<p>That’s sad. I hope I don’t end up like you.</p>
<p>The people I keep hearing this from are the people who went to university 20+ years ago. I’m like, no, you’re wrong, it DOES matter.</p>
<p>And for those of you claiming money is meaningless, you’re just as closed minded and ignorant as the prestige whores you disparage. Some people are motivated by money. Others are motivated by prestige. Others are motivated by something else. One motivation isn’t superior to another, it’s just DIFFERENT. It’s wrong to look down on people because their motivations are different than yours.</p>
<p>And for the record, I think there’s NOTHING wrong with being motivated by money. I’m motivated by money myself. Would you rather be broke all the time?</p>
<p>sigh</p>
<p>FutureNYUstudent what do you want to be?</p>
<p>Work experience > a fancy school name</p>
<p>Corporate Lawyer. Where you went to law school is everything.</p>
<p>and that is futurenyuALUMNUS to you.</p>
<p>Yeah futureNYUstudent that’s true. But law school != undergraduate.</p>
<p>I think what people need to understand is that depending on what you want to do with your life, your college doesn’t necessarily matter. If you wanna use some “good ol’ boy” pull or get into top grad/law/med schools then yeah it doesn’t hurt to go to top undergrad schools. But you’d be surprised how many jobs out there don’t really require a specific degree. Becoming a regional manager for a chain of stores might be helped by a degree in management, but that’s nothing you can’t learn on the job. Becoming a police officer, FBI agent or military commissioned officer requires any degree. It doesn’t matter what it’s in, as long as you have it because it shows you can work for four years to produce something.</p>
<p>^ Law School is one of the FEW fields in which prestige of school makes a big difference. For Med/Dental/Pharm, it makes no difference, you study the same everywhere and salary depends on specialty, no one cares where you studied. For Grad school, the strength of your particular program at a university matters more than general prestige. For Engineering, State U’s often have better programs than top schools, etc. For most careers, a college degree isn’t needed, and even for white-collar jobs, experience/work ethic usually are more important. But college choice still matters for the reasons this guy said
But it doesn’t make a long-run difference in the way Bronson seems to think. It makes a difference in that you should try to find a college that’s a “good fit” so you’re not miserable for 4 years.</p>
<p>futureny said: “The people I keep hearing this from are the people who went to university 20+ years ago. I’m like, no, you’re wrong, it DOES matter.”</p>
<p>hahahahaha</p>
<p>So, you’d trust people with NO experience over people who have experience knowing if school really did matter in their careers?</p>
<p>Ah, the sweet naive arrogance of youth</p>
<p>Besides . . .see my 11th and 12th reasons why the choice of college would matter to someone . . . like you :-)</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>Different economic circumstances, different generations, different goals. What the 40+ year olds don’t seem to understand is that the world is a lot more competitive right now.</p>
<p>And if you want a real live example where undergrad matters, just look at the admissions numbers for Harvard Law School. The majority of the admitted student class comes from top schools. A more rigorous education will show on your LSAT scores, not because the LSAT tests you on anything other than the LSAT but because you know how to prepare for tests like that.</p>
<p>And no, I don’t blindly trust experience. In fact I don’t blindly trust ANYTHING. Even experienced people are, at times, wrong.</p>
<p>futureny said: "And no, I don’t blindly trust experience. In fact I don’t blindly trust ANYTHING. Even experienced people are, at times, wrong.'</p>
<p>Agreed . . . Also agreed that in some circumstances the “prestige” of the school matters; that’s why I included it in my list. And sometimes we old farts cabn be arrogant in our superior experience!!! </p>
<p>What is so sad to see, though , is HS students concentrating overmuch on the general prestige of a school (i.e., it’s “brand”) and not looking at the other factors that go into selecting a school.</p>
<p>That said, one can get a great education at one of the HYPed schools, too :-)</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>P.S. What mix of factors caused you to select NYU? And how much SHOULD prestige play a role in selecting a school?</p>
<ol>
<li>Chances of admission</li>
<li>New York City</li>
<li>Strength of the econ department</li>
<li>Lots of different choices (in classes)</li>
<li>Trophy factor</li>
<li>Alumni connections</li>
</ol>
<p>How much SHOULD prestige play a role? I don’t know. How much DOES prestige play a role? Very little to Lots.</p>