Private Universities

Does it Matter How Prestigious My College Is? (Getting In)

I have the answer to the one question that every single high school senior wants to know.

"Does it matter how prestigious my college is?"

As it turns out, it doesn't matter a whole lot.

Sure, at colleges like Harvard and Yale you are stepping into an environment of tradition that is smaller and fosters a more intimate and close knit relationship between alumni, students, and professors. However, going to Cal State San Bernardino isn't going to doom you.

It turns out that having a good balance of intellectual and social skills has a much greater bearing on a person's success in life.

However, it often does seem as if there are a disproportionately large number of successful people reigning from the Ivies (or other similar colleges). But if you think about it statistically, that makes sense. The middle 50% of students submitting ACT scores to Stanford scored 30-34 (out of 36) a few miles away at San Jose State University the middle 50% is 18-24 (out of 36). Stanford has a lot more students with higher intellectual skills and quite a few of those are going to have social skills (aren't they lucky?). But San Jose State has a fair list of notable alumni to brag about as well, including singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks, author Amy Tan (wrote Joy Luck Club among others), and Governor of Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson.

And while many American presidents have attended colleges as prestigious as Harvard and Yale, Warren G. Harding attended Ohio Central College and Jimmy Carter started out a community college in Americus, Georgia before completing his bachelor's degree at Georgia Tech.

I invite you to share your opinions on this subject--especially if you have attended college or what you expect if you've been admitted to college!

Tags: getting in, public universities, choosing a college, prestigious schools, college success, colleges, best colleges, private universities, finding jobs, state universities

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