Uknowns vs. Rutgers, "college experience" and job placement

College Search & Lists
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<p>I applied to 9 schools and am waiting to hear back about financial aid packages in the spring, but now I am beginning to look back on my list and wonder if it doesn’t quite fit me. My schools are: Wesleyan, Fairfield, Connecticut College, Skidmore, Marist, Ithaca, Cornell, Oberlin, and Rutgers.</p>

<p>At first I was very “ho-hum Rutgers”, I don’t want to go there because it’s huge and in-state and most people from my high school “bash” it. However, I am wondering at what point do I draw the line to say that, for my future (jobs, grad school) AND experience in college (interaction, caring professors), is it better to attend a small private liberal arts school or Rutgers.</p>

<p>At this point I am almost completely writing off Fairfield and Marist simply because they don’t seem THAT good and are virtually unknown outside the Northeast. My question is, am I correct in thinking it would “look better” (for lack of a better way to phrase this) to go to Rutgers (well known, national, large) than one of those two. </p>

<p>Line of thinking for others: Wesleyan may be too far-off-the-beaten-track for me and is also a reach, ConnCollege may fall into the “virtually unknown” category, Skidmore I am holding on to because of their horseback riding but will drop if the money does not shine through, Ithaca I am unsure about, and Oberlin is a tad far away and I am unsure as well.</p>

<p>Sorry for the long-winded explanation. Basically my question is whether it would be more “worth it” in terms of BOTH my education/experience/learning AND getting a job/grad school to attend a Fairfield/Marist/ConnCollege/Skidmore/Ithaca/Oberlin/Wesleyan vs. “just” going to Rutgers. (Cornell is the dream, if I get in there with money I will be on cloud 9).</p>

<p>Thank you for any input, opinions, warnings, whatever!</p>

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<p>I guess the question is should you pick a college because people have heard of it or should you pick a college because the educational experience is what you are lookiing for? I think you have to search into your own motives to figure that one out.</p>

<p>I have thought about this question too for my D. What would you think, for instance, of someone who went to Penn State vs. someone who went to Susquehanna U?</p>

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<p>Thanks for your response…think I would prefer someone @ Penn State over Susquehanna. And I think I would prefer Rutgers over Marist/Fairfield. But what about over Oberlin or Ithaca or Skidmore? Having trouble with those.</p>

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<p>I think Oberlin and Skidmore have national reputatations; Ithaca not really.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your help! …would anyone else be willing to add their suggestions?</p>

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<p>As an Oberlin graduate, I have actually found that it has a much greater national reputation than I initially thought, especially in the major coastal urban areas and among academics…including several Ivy Profs I’ve chatted with at a few conferences/meetings. </p>

<p>More surprisingly, this reputation extended outside of the US as I found in China. A surprising number of Mainland Chinese in the urban areas…especially those in academia or who spent time in the US knew about the school and its reputation. If they didn’t, all I needed to do was to mention a 1906 alum* who was a major Chinese political figure during the 1930’s and their eyes lit up with recognition and respect.</p>

<p>Oftentimes, you’ll be asked whether you play an instrument because the college has a Top-5 Conservatory. More amusing than annoying…especially when I reply with: “kazoo”. :D</p>

<p>Out of curiosity, what do you want to study?</p>

<ul>
<li><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.H._Kung[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.H._Kung&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
</ul>

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<p>If you have these qualms with Rutgers, seriously consider TCNJ. If you prefer small liberal arts colleges, TCNJ is a little more selective than Rutgers but is comparable in cost and quality of education for NJ residents, just TCNJ is a small public college vs Rutgers, a large public uni.</p>

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<p>Your choice of major (e.g. computer science v. english) is likely to have a greater impact on your employment prospects than your choice of schools. Your performance is likely to have a bigger impact than your choice of school on employment prospects or grad school placement. By “performance” I mean your GPA, internship experience, and test scores (MCAT / LSAT / GRE).</p>

<p>Cornell, Wesleyan, or Oberlin may give you a leg up in graduate/medical/law admissions, all else being equal. Probably not enough to justify a difference of more than $10K/year or so in out-of-pocket costs, but it all depends on your family finances and how well you’ll take advantage of opportunities. A more selective school will tend to offer a higher quality classroom experience (smaller classes, more/better discussion, better instruction) but it’s up to you to make that pay off as you find a path forward in life.</p>

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<p>To repeat advice up-thread, if you like LACs and are in NJ, you should definitely apply to TCNJ. There is still time before the application deadline.</p>

<p>TCNJ is more selective than several of the schools on your list, and is very well-regarded by those in the know, although not particularly well-known.</p>

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<p>cobrat: I am torn between what I want to study, but at this point possibly either film/media/photography or neuroscience/animal biology (I know, very different fields).</p>

<p>sch/sac: I didn’t consider TCNJ because I am also looking for a school with at least a small IHSA equestrian team and unfortunately TCNJ doesn’t have one (there are hundreds and hundreds of schools with riding teams, and that is something I did not want to compromise on if I could get it at every other school I am interested in).</p>

<p>tk: Thanks for your advice, I think at this point I am just going to wait and see in the spring and base my decision once I know what kind of money is offered (it will most likely come down to a financial decision). </p>

<p>Thank you everyone!</p>

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<p>

I’d tend towards the latter. And keep in mind the colleges your circle of friends and acquaintances have heard of at the age of 18 might not correspond with what is known in the world of employers and grad schools ;)</p>

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<p>Grad schools have more name recognition than most employers, and in any case the name of your school isn’t really important to admissions - it’s more about your total package (GPA, statement of purpose, recommendation letters, research experience, GRE scores). Even professional schools care more about your GPA and LSAT/MCAT/whatever scores than the name of your school. Even still, jobs that focus on recruiting top college talent will have a wider purview of name recognition than the people you chat casually with. I have to explain my small LAC to casual acquaintances, but when I tell people who work within the industry or graduate professors where I went to school they are immediately familiar with it. When you work in that kind of industry, you make it your job to know what Marist and Oberlin and Connecticut College are.</p>

<p>Even with employers - all of those places that you’ve applied (with the exception of possibly Fairfield, I don’t know) are top LACs. Even if the employer may not immediately recognize the name of the school that doesn’t mean that they aren’t good schools worthy of the title. And at a small liberal arts college, you will likely get more personal attention and interaction with professors than you would at Rutgers. It will be a completely different experience from a large university like Rutgers.</p>

<p>I don’t think most employers would necessarily prefer one over the other; it’s seldom that two candidates are exactly the same other than the college they went to. And the education is what’s important. If that educational experience is what exposes you to a killer internship or some great classes that means you have a thought-provoking, successful interview, that’s what you need to get hired. The name recognition can only get you so far in the majority of fields.</p>

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<p>Can’t speak to the film/media/photography programs specifically, but I have had friends in their various Art programs(Studio Arts and Theater) who raved about their experiences. </p>

<p>If it is anything like their experiences, I don’t think you can go wrong in either of your two major areas as Oberlin also has a strong Neuroscience and biology programs.</p>

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<p>Pardon my late entry to this thread. Re "I have thought about this question too for my D. What would you think, for instance, of someone who went to Penn State vs. someone who went to Susquehanna U?’ You have to balance name recognition vs. the other aspects of and pair of schools. For example, many kids who would get lost at big schools excel at small schools, benefitting from smaller classes and easier opportunities for leadership in activities. Some kids thrive in a city; others would be intimidated. Some like big sports; others like artsy environments.</p>

<p>Remember, too, that name recognition comes from different sources–Auburn is better recognized than Amherst, but does sports prowess recognition achieve much for nonathletes?</p>