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Even though I argue sometimes that going to a top school not in the Top 5 is a waste of $, you should aim for a school in the Top 100 or so if possible, so that people have at least heard of it.
For example, Rutgers or Northeastern are not top tier schools, but people have heard of them outside of their states and among some people they have reputation.
If you have an engineering degree from there, people at a good engineering company will probably look at the top of your resume and be neutral about it.
If you have an engineering degree from North Dakota State, employers will be like...
"Where the h@ll is that?"
"Is that an engineering degree or a tech degree?"
It's a dog eat dog world and if your degree is from a nowhere school, it might be tough to get noticed.
Nice slam on North Dakota. Out there in the wild west, there are many people who went there. Just because you haven't heard of it, doesn't mean it's not highly regarded. Where the H*ll is Northeastern? I seriously don't know; would have to look it up. Of course, I do not live in the NE. But, it could be in northeastern Washington, too. A BSEE (for example) means a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, whether from NDSU or Northeastern. Many people out here in the west have never heard of my school, the University of Pittsburgh, which is ranked #58 National.
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Quote:
Perhaps most incredibly, children who score between 1,000 and 1,099 on the SAT and attend a selective college are more likely to graduate than those who scored above 1,200 and attended an open-access college.
I don't understand what's "most incredible" about that statement. Open-access colleges tend to be community colleges, which don't even offer bachelor's degrees. Talk about comparing apples to cats.
I think you overestimate the level of snobbery of employers. The employers at the very tippy top (1%) might profile extensively on prestige, but this will generally affect very few graduates who won't be working for these companies anyway. To some extent, you are correct though - employers do want to hire from schools where they have had success hiring from in the past. That doesn't necessarily mean the school has to be "prestigious", it just means that the school should have a good track record of producing quality graduates. Purdue is an example of this... most people do not view Purdue as a "prestigious" school, but their graduates are top notch in engineering. I suppose you could call schools like Purdue "boot camp" schools where the entrance criteria are more lax, but the exit criteria is stiff.
Regardless, what happens more often, I think, is that employers avoid hiring from schools known to have a questionable or poor reputation (i.e. University of Phoenix, Devry, etc.). Strong college GPA, positive GPA slope, extra curriculars, communication skills and having graduated from a program with a decent or better reputation are more important to most employers.
Actually, I consider Purdue a top tier engineering school. I think we're on the same page.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana
Nice slam on North Dakota. Out there in the wild west, there are many people who went there. Just because you haven't heard of it, doesn't mean it's not highly regarded. Where the H*ll is Northeastern? I seriously don't know; would have to look it up. Of course, I do not live in the NE. But, it could be in northeastern Washington, too. A BSEE (for example) means a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, whether from NDSU or Northeastern. Many people out here in the west have never heard of my school, the University of Pittsburgh, which is ranked #58 National.
First off, people have slammed my school all the time on this forum, and it's a Top 25 school. So what.
2nd of all, I wasn't slamming it. I was just saying it's lesser known. It means something.
If it didn't mean anything at all, then why wouldn't students just choose schools randomly like they choose what soft drink to go with their hamburger, and there'd be no place for this subforum.
Actually, I consider Purdue a top tier engineering school. I think we're on the same page.
First off, people have slammed my school all the time on this forum, and it's a Top 25 school. So what.
2nd of all, I wasn't slamming it. I was just saying it's lesser known. It means something.
If it didn't mean anything at all, then why wouldn't students just choose schools randomly like they choose what soft drink to go with their hamburger, and there'd be no place for this subforum.
This:
Quote:
"Where the h@ll is that?"
"Is that an engineering degree or a tech degree?"
It's a dog eat dog world and if your degree is from a nowhere school, it might be tough to get noticed.
I can't even understand this article. What does "open access" even mean? And did anyone adjust in any way for the fact that if students at these school are not finishing as often, that could be for financial reasons - nothing to do with classes (the article says more low-income and minority students attend "open access" schools).
I can't even understand this article. What does "open access" even mean? And did anyone adjust in any way for the fact that if students at these school are not finishing as often, that could be for financial reasons - nothing to do with classes (the article says more low-income and minority students attend "open access" schools).
I agree. I believe there are certainly more factors to this. The problem more than likely lies with the student and not the school. You have to wonder why someone who scored above 1200 on the SAT is attending an open access school. These are usually community colleges, for-profit colleges, and non-traditional non-profits that offer flexible class schedules and heavily advertise their online programs to the point that many people think they are the only options. My guess is that many of these high achieving students who attend open access schools have personal factors that make it less likely that they'll finish: no family members who graduated college to guide them, children to care for, having to work a full-time job, having to stay close to home to take care of family, having health issues, etc.
The article even says that lower income students are more likely to attend open access schools. Coming from a low income family comes with a whole set of factors that make it more difficult to graduate that have nothing to do with the college's perceived quality. I came from a low income family and attended a few open access schools even though I could have gotten into a more selective college. Even though I took online classes, it was still difficult for me to juggle working full-time and having to deal with family issues. It took me about 7 years to finish a bachelor's degree. Attending a higher quality college on campus wouldn't have helped. It would have made things worse with having to attend classes at a certain time and trying to find a full-time job that would work around my class schedule. One of the reasons why the 4-year completion rate at one of the traditional universities in my city is so low is because many of the students come from low income families and have to work full-time while in college.
Joking aside though, as far as engineering is concerned (I am in the field myself), your performance in college matters more to the vast majority of companies than the name of your school. What a person has done in college, away from parental supervision, using his/her own time management skills, is a more up-to-date and accurate reflection of his/her abilities and motivations than high school performance and SAT scores.
I think the same thinking applies to whatever field a student is in!
Nice slam on North Dakota. Out there in the wild west, there are many people who went there. Just because you haven't heard of it, doesn't mean it's not highly regarded. Where the H*ll is Northeastern? I seriously don't know; would have to look it up. Of course, I do not live in the NE. But, it could be in northeastern Washington, too. A BSEE (for example) means a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, whether from NDSU or Northeastern. Many people out here in the west have never heard of my school, the University of Pittsburgh, which is ranked #58 National.
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I don't understand what's "most incredible" about that statement. Open-access colleges tend to be community colleges, which don't even offer bachelor's degrees. Talk about comparing apples to cats.
Should be much easier to graduate from a two year school. I'm sure results would be simulated if they replaced open access with for profit and lowest level four year schools.
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