US NEWS RANKINGS

shk909
Tue, 25 Feb 2014 19:12:42 +0000

Rankings do matter to some extent if you are looking to work in a competative field. If you want to move to a big city like Chicago, LA, NYC, you will be up against graduates from the top schools. However, if you go to a great public school with lots of graduates or a school with a big sense of community it could have the same effect.

Graduaters of U of Michigan, which is a top public school but not on par with schools like Stanford, get amazing jobs becaues there are so many Michigan alums that want to hire other Michigan alums. This situation happens for a lot of schools, so do some research and keep this in mind. Another school that comes to mind is USC. It could help you get a job. If you go to a tiny school that no one has heard of it could have the opposite effect, even if your education is equally as good.

Take location into consideration. NYU is an amazing school and students there are able to score some of the best jobs, beating out the likes of ivy league graduates. This is due to location. NYU students are able to have paying jobs and internships within the city throughout college. The school itself helps students find them and have been known to be one of the most helpful. This means that upon graduation students are much better prepared for the real job world. I’ve heard George Washington U in dc has a similar program.

If you are hesitant about cost, you can look into schools that offer scholarships (full or partial) for merit.

Also, you mentioned UT austin. Austin is regarded as a top school throughout the nation, despite its ranking. I think you should consider it. Especially if you want to live within Texas, where most of their grads are from.