What's the true difference between schools?

College Life
1

Before I got to college I was told that major “x” from school “y” would be the same as major “X” from school “Z” and school Z would be different that school Y, likely in ranking.

My school is small, generally newer (became 4-year campus in 2003), doesn’t have a competitive rank and has Engineering majors in the process of being ABET accredited. At the same time, we just merged with a school with a $300M research budget, so that could make a difference. So I’m wondering why major X from here would be “worth less” than the one from school Z.

If I’m still not making sense, basically I don’t know if it’s true that earning my major from this school that I’m at now would be worth less (in terms of job applications, salary, internships, etc.) than someplace like TAMU, Stanford, MIT, or any of the like.

2

Most of the time, it all comes down to recruiting and networking as the major difference in schools.

A more prestigious school guarantees easy access to certain companies and recruiters. Thus, so many students from more prestigious schools graduate with jobs at those companies.

If you go to a school that may not be ranked as high, recruiting will be harder and a lot more networking will have to be done on your own. It’s still possible to land your dream job, though. You just have to do exceptionally well and learn how to stand out.