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Okay let's say I have three choices in universities. Am I better off going to College A, College B or College C?
College A - Low unranked state college that is extremely cheap.
College B - High ranked state college that I will probably have to take some loans for.
College C - Harvard level school that I will need to take quite a bit of loans for.
Well, here are the questions I would ask:
Where do you live, and do you plan on making a life in the same general area when you graduate?
What do you think you want to major in and if that major turns out not to be a good fit, what other kinds of things interest you?
If you want the flexibility to move anywhere in the country and/or want a shot hitting the ground running at big-time a prestigious career (whether in corporate America, the higher prestige ends of government or non-profit work, a big deal graduate program) then you want College C, or a nationally respected program in your major regardless of the name of the school that houses it.
If you want to pretty much stay in the region you were raised and/or don't care about the Type A career path, then a College B is fine I think.
College A is only an option if you don't have very many choices. The costs may be low but you'll also get a lower paying job when you graduate. You can always start there and plan to transfer later on, just make sure there are strong articulation agreements in place before you go that route.
yes it matters then again the better schools also cost more, hence more risk. If you don't get a good paying job after going to a prestigious school then you are pretty much screwed for the rest of your life.
And that happens to a lot, a lot of people.
Seriously.
Taking out $200k in loans to go to a private school and then getting a $60k job out of it...not such a good idea.
If you can afford it, though, why not? Except maybe you could invest the difference and just go to a top state school.
I am of the mind that WHERE you go to school is less important than WHAT you choose to do with the opportunity.
College C often has one rockin' endowment and will in many cases give you a better aid package with fewer loans than College B, especially in the current education climate where many state universities are taking big cuts in terms of the money they get from the state.
The Tier 1 school where I'm currently attending is in the Big Ten conference, is ranked 56th in the nation and 87th in the world, had the first computer science department in the country, had Amelia Earhart on its faculty, has graduated 22 NASA astronauts, and the Wall Street Journal says it's 4th in the nation in preparing it's students for the workforce. I earned two GI Bills and numerous grants and scholarships to pay my way where I have a 3.16 GPA so far on my path towards a B.S., and I'll be damned if I can land a single job offer.
The Tier 1 school where I'm currently attending is in the Big Ten conference, is ranked 56th in the nation and 87th in the world, had the first computer science department in the country, had Amelia Earhart on its faculty, has graduated 22 NASA astronauts, and the Wall Street Journal says it's 4th in the nation in preparing it's students for the workforce. I earned two GI Bills and numerous grants and scholarships to pay my way where I have a 3.16 GPA at this point, and I'll be damned if I can land a single job offer.
So much for this "prestige" b.s. Maybe it's my age and lack of formal experience that's working against me.
Or it could be....the economy?!?
Chin up. I really do think things will pick up here in the next year or two. So, keep your nose in those books (errrr laptop).
That sounds like Purdue. And in this economy, if you are say...an engineering major... you are going to lose out to graduates of MIT, CalTech, Stanford, Berkley, Georgia Tech, etc. Especially if you have no experience.
In times like these being from an Ivy Plus school is your best bet. Purdue is not an Ivy Plus. Its a great school, and its better than graduating from West Podunk Community College, but its not going to be your golden ticket into the big leagues unless you work it HARD.
You actually have to work being at an Ivy too, actually. You have to have good work experience or good connections no matter what.
I think this system is bogus BTW, but big corporations are notorious for narrowing down where they recruit in hard economic times.
Whether you go to Stanford or a T4 school does it really matter where you get your degree from? As long as you have a high GPA and good internships I mean. Even in fields like science, math, engineering etc.
Of course it does. I don't mean to say that it's the only thing that matters and that the person who didn't go to an Ivy League school won't ever get anywhere in life, but the fact of the matter is that it matters. I say this as someone from one of those non-Ivy League schools who has gotten somewhere and who is in a social circle with a lot of Harvard MBAs.
Chin up. I really do think things will pick up here in the next year or two. So, keep your nose in those books (errrr laptop).
BTW, what's your major?
I thank you for the sentiment. However, the combination of my age and my lack of relevant field experience is probably having a greater effect on my predicament than the economy. I'm not gloating though, because I'm still glad that I'm finally getting a degree. I'm confident that things will pick up eventually, I just wish I had an idea of when! And, my major is Computer and Information Technology.
I'm curious, does the skill level matter? If you go to an average state school in CS, but do really well, is your talent going to be any less than someone that went to a more prestigious school? By this, I don't mean the networking effect, but just pure skill level if you're at the top of your class, in comparison to other schools.
I'm curious, does the skill level matter? If you go to an average state school in CS, but do really well, is your talent going to be any less than someone that went to a more prestigious school? By this, I don't mean the networking effect, but just pure skill level if you're at the top of your class, in comparison to other schools.
It really depends on the strength of the individual program. A lot of the better state schools have at least some top-ranked departments.
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