<p>All these are instantly recognized in our extended family (1st and 2nd degree relatives) – b/c one or more of us attended these places. (I probably am overlooking some.)</p>
<p>Antioch (!)
Brown
Bryn Mawr
Caltech
Colby
Colorado School of Mines
Columbia
Harvard
Middlebury
Mills
Mount Holyoke
Princeton
Reed
Rhode Island School of Design
Stanford
Swarthmore
UArizona
UChicago
UCLA
UCSD
UColorado
UConn
UMichigan
UNewMexico
USC
UWashington
UWisconsin
Yeshiva</p>
<p>My favorite question in the genre:</p>
<p>Q: Do you XYZ College or University?
Answer … oh yes, for sure … blah blah</p>
<p>Great, next question? Where is it located as in in state AND city!
Answer … mostly a blind stare. And, fwiw, many miss Washington University in St Louis! :)</p>
<p>^^^ Yes, people recognize Notre Dame, but can they tell you where it is, what it’s known for, or even that it’s a Catholic school? I’d hope that anyone hiring would recognize more schools than Harvard and Notre Dame. </p>
<p>Several years ago I was shopping in China, and attracted a crowd just because we were white in a Chinese store (there are shops for foreigners, but this was for Chinese nationals). One guy was trying to talk to me, and it seems his knowledge of the U.S. was limited to Des Moines. I tried to tell him I wasn’t from there, had been there, lived in neighboring states, but he wasn’t buying that. It became easier to just claim that I was from Des Moines, loved it, felt it was the best city in the world. Made him happy to meet someone from Des Moines.</p>
<p>
Of course, they would. It’s their job!</p>
<p>Every single company in the US hires people, not just hiring managers at corporations who have a specific interest or need to know about colleges. </p>
<p>"^^ Yes, people recognize Notre Dame, but can they tell you where it is, what it’s known for, or even that it’s a Catholic school? "</p>
<p>Oh good grief, Catholics certainly know Notre Dame. It’s iconic. </p>
<p>Ru-dy! Ru-dy!</p>
<p>I’ve been interviewing a bunch of people because I need a few new employees. I’d never heard of a school called Elon, though it’s apparently quite well thought of around here. But, I just looked it up and asked around. I’m new in the area, so I don’t expect to know all the little gems… Great interview, really well spoken, hand-written thank you note, nice transcript, nice internships, great recs. Definitely going to offer. But, it’s not like I got the resume and sent up a cheer cuz, hey, Elon! I read it and looked into it because, hey, college graduate with internships. </p>
<p>Pizzagirl, the thread was talking about how people worldwide recognize Notre Dame and Harvard, but no other schools. These are the people I was referring to. People in the US will recognize it, but I’ll bet most couldn’t place it on a map.</p>
<p>Notre Dame…wouldn’t many outside the U.S think your were talking about the cathedral?</p>
<p>^^^ If you pronounced it Notra Dahm, probably. </p>
<p>My D studied abroad in Spain last summer, and everywhere she went, people recognized the ND logo and mascot on her shirts. She ended up giving most of her ND shirts away because so many people asked for one.</p>
<p>My daughter was considering a college that not many people had heard of, but which was excellent for her major. My mom asked around and found out that my brother’s wife cousin went there and loved it, so it now passes her test for name recognition.
I’m thinking maybe it’s like “six degrees of separation.” Most people will claim not to know a school of there are more than three degrees of separation between them and the school.</p>