Reading Steven's post, particularly the part about "More Status," made me remember an article my dad had showed me about two months ago. This article is definitely meant to make teenagers like us feel less stressed about the college admissions process, and I think for myself personally that it actually accomplished that, which is why I would consider giving it a read.
The article focuses on Peter Hart and Jenna Leahy, two people who went through the college admissions process and are now in their mid to late twenties. Peter was initially devastated when he didn't get in to either of his dream schools, University of Michigan or the business school at the University of Illinois. He ended up going to the University of Indiana, and had an extremely rewarding experience. Peter excelled at the University of Indiana, and later on ended up with the same job as one of his classmates who had gone to Yale.
Jenna applied to eight schools, five of which rejected her. Jenna ended up at Scripps College, and after she realized what a great fit the school was for her, rejection no longer scared her. She began to apply to various programs left and right, many of which she got, because her fear of rejection was no longer holding her back.
I don't consider the University of Indiana or Scripps College to be particularly "prestigious" schools, but it looks like Peter and Jenna both ended up happy and successful. Yes this was ten years ago, but I think this article still remains valid. If anyone has an opinion on whether or not the prestige of the college you attend is important or not post a comment, I would be interested to hear what you have to say!
I definitely agree! I'm going to be applying to a lot of schools, some of which are prestigious, but I've also applied to a lot of schools that are very good, but not very well known and thus not considered "prestigious". I've done my research and realized that although they may not seem like much on the outside, they have exactly the programs and community I am looking for and thus would be a good fit for me.
ReplyDeleteOn the issue of still ending up successful but not going to "good" schools, both my parents went to Michigan State University for computer science in grad school, and although my parents always tell me "I can do better than Michigan State" (no intended offense to those considering the school - I am too), my dad went on to own a very successful computer storage company which was recently acquired by EMC, and my mom is one of the leading members of the Google Brain team. So it's not what school you go to, it's what you do with your time there that really matters.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I think people put way too much emphasis on whether it is a "good school" or not. Although going to somewhere like Stanford or Harvard may help initially when finding a job, by the time someone has built a career, they won't really be judged on where they went to college, but by their skill. So, I think in the end, the college someone goes to really doesn't have that much effect on where your life goes. I think students applying to college should more look for the place that fits them the best, as you will receive fairly similar educations at most colleges, so people should look to find somewhere where they can have fun, make friends, and make a lot of memories.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and I think it's our time in Ms. Evans' class that has so deeply rooted the idea. However, the points she brings up are valid. As long as a person enjoys their time in the school and uses it to develop their skills and acquire as much experience as possible while still having fun, that's all that matters. Because once a person enters the workplace, it's less about what school they came from or what their grades were, but more what they can do, have done, and what they are capable of doing.
DeleteHonestly I think people put way too much emphasis on whether it is a "good school" or not. Although going to somewhere like Stanford or Harvard may help initially when finding a job, by the time someone has built a career, they won't really be judged on where they went to college, but by their skill. So, I think in the end, the college someone goes to really doesn't have that much effect on where your life goes. I think students applying to college should more look for the place that fits them the best, as you will receive fairly similar educations at most colleges, so people should look to find somewhere where they can have fun, make friends, and make a lot of memories.
ReplyDeleteI agree that going to a non-prestigious college doesn't affect or limit you on where you are going to work or get a job. However, I think that the prestige of a college is still important to those of us who like to surround themselves with smart, high-achieving students. I am not saying that people who go to the University of Indiana are not smart, but that there are probably more outlets for people who are seeking that quick, with-it, high achieving atmosphere at a more prestigious school.
ReplyDeleteI think we'd all like to think that prestige doesn't matter at all, and it's what we do with our time in college that does, however, in reality I believe prestige is a factor. When we are applying to jobs (especially right out of college), what school you went to is one of the first things an employer sees. I don't think we can pretend that when sifting through many many applications an employer doesn't pre-judge you based on what school you graduated from. It's not the only factor of course and of course there are many many many success stories like the ones mentioned above, but I believe prestige can't be written off as unimportant either.
ReplyDeleteI think that a lot of the value of going to a prestige school comes from two things. First, the fact that college is insanely expensive. A lot of our parents probably want us to go to really good schools because they are paying really good money. Second, it's more about what comes after. I think that a lot of college is about what comes after. Most of us, I'd say, aren't sure what we want to do with our lives, and going to a good college opens up a lot more options, for when we decide.
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ReplyDeleteIn the long run, I feel like the prestige of a college really should not matter when you are getting a job. When we begin to apply for jobs later in life, recruiters will probably care more about past experience, leadership, etc. over which college you attended for 4 years. I feel like the prestige of a college is just an excuse to charge the students more money and to have bragging rights.
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