8 answers
Grace
Student
Frederick, Maryland
4
Questions
Asked
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I've been told recently that if you don't go to a well-known college/university for your undergrad then it will make it harder to go to a good graduate school?
Since I will be graduating next year, I've been looking at schools to apply to and trying to take college advice from anyone. I've been told in the past that the prestige of a college you attend for an undergraduate degree doesn't really matter. But I was talking to some family members recently that told me that the more well-known the school is the better. So now I'm just confused.
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8 answers
Lucas Ho
Intern
9
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Lucas’s Answer
This is not really true. It can definitely help if you went to a more well known university as they are often associated with providing a 'better education', but it's more about your effort, and your jobs. If you go to a good school, but don't do any work, get bad grades, etc., that's nowhere near as good as going to a 'less prestigious' university and doing well in class, having extracurriculars on the side, etc. Also once you get your first job, college is pretty much irrelevant.
Thank you so much for the advice.
Grace
T.J. Worthy
Mentor
202
Answers
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Updated
T.J.’s Answer
Hello Grace!
What matters more than your college name is the amount of work you put into your undergraduate research / internships / GPA.
A college's reputation can affect your chances in certain places. However, 90% of the time the brand name of a university does not matter.
Focus on highlighting your grades and skills. Also, get recommendations if possible from people who can speak to your strengths.
Sending you good luck with applying for grad school. :)
What matters more than your college name is the amount of work you put into your undergraduate research / internships / GPA.
A college's reputation can affect your chances in certain places. However, 90% of the time the brand name of a university does not matter.
Focus on highlighting your grades and skills. Also, get recommendations if possible from people who can speak to your strengths.
Sending you good luck with applying for grad school. :)
I'm excited to put your great advice to good use!
Grace
Charlie Bernstein
Director
19
Answers
Murray, Utah
Updated
Charlie’s Answer
There is some truth to the reputation of the school you go to, but it is not the only thing companies look for when hiring college graduates. let's say you go to a well-known school, say Harvard. There is a good chance that a prospective hiring manager will be more likely to interview you for a job, but not everyone goes to Harvard, and there is no guarantee that person will be hired, but it helps.
So now the question is, do you want to go to a prestigious school and do you have the credentials to get in? As a rising Senior, if you do not have a GPA of 3.9 or higher or a weighted GPA of 4.1 or higher, ACT scores of 32 or higher or SAT scores of 1400 or higher, you may not be as likely to be accepted into the top schools.
If you are in that category or believe you can achieve the test scores required (my daughter did in 12th grade), know that there is competition to get in. So if you are serious, you should also be able to show strong extracurriculars, for multiple years, show leadership (club president or team captain), and have some academic awards you can list. There are 34,000 high schools in the US. That means 34,000 Valedictorians, and they call can't get in, but some will and some in the top 10% of their class will also get in.
A killer essay helps as well.
I will share that my daughter applied and got into Wharton, Harvard, and Cornell. She is currently a rising senior at Wharton and she needed every bit of all of those items to be considered.
That said, If you don't think you qualify (and I hope that you do), then think about finding top schools for your major. They can be prestigious themselves in the right circles.
Hope this helps.
Good luck
So now the question is, do you want to go to a prestigious school and do you have the credentials to get in? As a rising Senior, if you do not have a GPA of 3.9 or higher or a weighted GPA of 4.1 or higher, ACT scores of 32 or higher or SAT scores of 1400 or higher, you may not be as likely to be accepted into the top schools.
If you are in that category or believe you can achieve the test scores required (my daughter did in 12th grade), know that there is competition to get in. So if you are serious, you should also be able to show strong extracurriculars, for multiple years, show leadership (club president or team captain), and have some academic awards you can list. There are 34,000 high schools in the US. That means 34,000 Valedictorians, and they call can't get in, but some will and some in the top 10% of their class will also get in.
A killer essay helps as well.
I will share that my daughter applied and got into Wharton, Harvard, and Cornell. She is currently a rising senior at Wharton and she needed every bit of all of those items to be considered.
That said, If you don't think you qualify (and I hope that you do), then think about finding top schools for your major. They can be prestigious themselves in the right circles.
Hope this helps.
Good luck
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
Grace
Omar Ali
Markets Intern
7
Answers
London, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Omar’s Answer
Not at all. If you perform well and rank close enough to top of your classes the world will very much be your oyster, provided you have extra-curriculars.
I am really grateful you took the time to answer this question.
Grace
Patricia Cernat
Summer Analyst
23
Answers
Dublin, County Dublin
Updated
Patricia’s Answer
Not true, having a strong academic record, work experience and extra curriculars are much more important and make more of an impact in post grad admin decisions than a prestigious college name!
Thank you so much, Patricia!
Grace
Dominik Nagy
Financial analyst intern
1
Answer
Budapest, Hungary
Updated
Dominik’s Answer
Hi! Thank you for this question. There is indeed some truth to this statement, all else equal
a student from Harvard will have better graduate position prospects than a student from a
lesser known state college, however there are some other things to consider beyond the university's "fame" you go to:
1, your degree of choice
2, tuition fee
3, distance from your hometown
4, curriculum (extremely important in my opinion, make sure that you have a good understanding of the subjects you sign up for!)
5, additional pros/cons (ex.: possibility to have 1-on-1 meetings with your professors, range of facilities the university provides, student satisfaction, etc.)
I assume that by "well known" you are referring to the ranking of the university at Times Higher Education/qs world university rankings. In my opinion, it's much better to go to a university with a better subject rating than to go to a university with a better overall rating.
I think that, the ranking of the degree itself matters more than the ranking of the university, because ultimately that's more representative of the knowledge that you will obtain during your studies.
Lastly, feel free to use chatgpt/other AI for such questions, it could provide some useful advice. Hope this helps!
a student from Harvard will have better graduate position prospects than a student from a
lesser known state college, however there are some other things to consider beyond the university's "fame" you go to:
1, your degree of choice
2, tuition fee
3, distance from your hometown
4, curriculum (extremely important in my opinion, make sure that you have a good understanding of the subjects you sign up for!)
5, additional pros/cons (ex.: possibility to have 1-on-1 meetings with your professors, range of facilities the university provides, student satisfaction, etc.)
I assume that by "well known" you are referring to the ranking of the university at Times Higher Education/qs world university rankings. In my opinion, it's much better to go to a university with a better subject rating than to go to a university with a better overall rating.
I think that, the ranking of the degree itself matters more than the ranking of the university, because ultimately that's more representative of the knowledge that you will obtain during your studies.
Lastly, feel free to use chatgpt/other AI for such questions, it could provide some useful advice. Hope this helps!
I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question!
Grace
Joshua Abrahams
Markets
3
Answers
London, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Joshua’s Answer
Hi Grace,
I think the true answer is somewhere in the middle.
Of course going to a prestigious college is going to be a factor in your favor and, if possible, I would still recommend trying to go to a college with a good "brand".
However, this is not the biggest factor. Your work ethic, interview skills, extracurriculars and getting stuck into college life are all massive parts of the equation. If you're able to do these things then you're putting yourself in a great position, whatever college you went to.
So in conclusion, I would describe it as one factor in a long list of factors.
Hope that helped!
I think the true answer is somewhere in the middle.
Of course going to a prestigious college is going to be a factor in your favor and, if possible, I would still recommend trying to go to a college with a good "brand".
However, this is not the biggest factor. Your work ethic, interview skills, extracurriculars and getting stuck into college life are all massive parts of the equation. If you're able to do these things then you're putting yourself in a great position, whatever college you went to.
So in conclusion, I would describe it as one factor in a long list of factors.
Hope that helped!
Thank you so much!
Grace
Mario Motti
Summer Analyst
2
Answers
London, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Mario’s Answer
Hello Grace,
Having a degree from a renowned university can undoubtedly make your resume more noticeable. But, it's important to remember that there are numerous other elements that contribute to your comprehensive profile. These include, but are not limited to, your academic performance, involvement in extracurricular activities, ability to establish professional connections, and completion of internships.
In essence, you might need to put in a bit more effort, but achieving success is absolutely within your reach if you know how to utilize your unique abilities to your advantage.
Best of luck!
Having a degree from a renowned university can undoubtedly make your resume more noticeable. But, it's important to remember that there are numerous other elements that contribute to your comprehensive profile. These include, but are not limited to, your academic performance, involvement in extracurricular activities, ability to establish professional connections, and completion of internships.
In essence, you might need to put in a bit more effort, but achieving success is absolutely within your reach if you know how to utilize your unique abilities to your advantage.
Best of luck!
Thanks for the advice.
Grace