<p>hey guys. I’m not really sure what I want to do as a career, but I’m thinking maybe business or law, oh and i want to major in art hist. w/ a econ. minor. lol. anyway, i’ve applied to mostly LA schools and several aren’t “ranked” all that high, but they offer really good scholarships and aid. some of these include Hendrix, Southwestern, and Austin College.
Here is my dilemma… will going to a lower ranked school hurt me in the long run? like for my career? I’ve also applied to some hihger ranked schools such as Rice and Notre dame, but i prob. wont recieve as much merit based aid as at the lower ranked schools. any thoughts?</p>
<p>Which do you think is better, a higher gpa from a lower ranked school, or a lower gpa from a higher ranked school?</p>
<p>It so depends upon the school and the program you have chosen. It can be more challenging to get an tough, solid liberal arts education from a college where the vast majority of the kids are business, education and criminal justice majors, for instance. I am not going to say it is impossible, but it is going to be more difficult to do. Whereas if you go to an LAC with a good rep, whether it is highly ranked or not, if its specialty is the liberal arts, you are going to find it easier to be in classes where the bar is right up there with the top schools in those areas. Conversely, if your goal is to get a high paying public school teaching position after college, you better make sure that your LAC regardless of its high rank in the ratings, has a program that can get you certified or it can be a tough go, running around getting the requirements filled on your in that area. THe same if you want to be an accountant when the school does not have a business major. If you want to be a premed, you should pick a college that has a good track record of getting kids into med schools or you run the risk of getting science courses that may not be sufficient to well prepare you for the MCATs regardless of how good your grades are in the courses. It’s not all about the rankings. You can eyeball them for a perspective, but keep in mind what you want to get out of a college. If you want to be an air traffic controller or in airport management, a bottom rated college is a more likely go to get into the field than something ranked way up there without a specific program.</p>