Tuesday, November 29, 2011

What's in a Name? Colleg

One of your classmates sent me a compelling article regarding publications ranking colleges. Here is the link: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/11/what-makes-a-college-good/2814/#.TsAKu8qfprM.email. The article raises some good questions about what makes a college good, which brings me to...

Questions:
1. How did you go about picking a college? What particular features and characteristics were you looking for? Did you consult any sources like the Newsweek rankings?
2. Did "name" and status (by that I mean elite schools like the Ivies or well known schools) affect your choice of college? Why or why not?
3. For those of you who have worked or who are working in a particular field where degrees are significant, have you noticed a bias towards the "name" of a college? Do you think the name of a college holds much sway in the job hiring process?
4. How do you think colleges should be ranked?

21 comments:

  1. When I was looking for colleges, I wanted one with a strong broadcast media curriculum since that is my major. My top two choices were UNT and UT Austin. I ended up choosing UNT because it was cheaper and closer to home. True, I considered UT Austin and Texas A&M but only because those are the two most widely know schools in the state. So yes, I think names do play a big part in decision making, but ultimately the college you go to needs to be the one that benefits you the most.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Being a native Texan, I always thought I wanted to go to UT or Texas A&M. During my junior year in high school, I visited College Station, and it just didn't feel "right" for me. Once I narrowed my choices down to UNT and UT, I realized that UNT was a better fit for me for multiple reasons, including scholarships, location, and majors. I do think that the "name" of the college can play a part in the job hiring process, but I feel that it ultimately comes down to the individual's qualifications and not the name on their degree.

    ReplyDelete
  3. When I began to look at colleges, distance was a very big factor for me. I did not want to go to a college in the city I was from, but I did not want to go to one that was hours away. UNT is about 45 minutes to 1 hour away from my home, so I viewed it as far enough away to live on my own, but not too far away that I could not go home and see my family whenever I wanted. I did not consult any sources like the Newsweek rankings. I just toured the campus, loved it and its location, and that was about it.

    "Name" schools really did not affect my choice of school. If I liked the school and what it had to offer, then I do not care if it was Ivy League or not. However, I do think the "name" of a college holds some sway in the job hiring process. If someone says he or she went to Harvard or Yale, then we usually instantly assume he or she is super smart. This is not always the case, yet we just connect Elite school with brainiacs. It is wrong, but that is how our society seems to function concerning that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wanting to be a teacher, I knew UNT had an excellent educational program. I grew up in a small town, so I was worried I would be overwhelmed if I went to a bigger school. Many of my teachers went to UNT, so I talked with them about it. They all loved it here, so I knew it would probably be the best fit for me. I think when employers are going to higher someone, they mostly want to see that they took the initiative to go to college and get a degree. It takes work to do that no matter how big of a name the school is. Sure the big name is recognizable but effort and hard work that is shown through grades and outside activities is equally as important.

    ReplyDelete
  5. When i first decided that i wanted to go to college i really didn't jump on the ball to pick a college. I at the time i had a girl friend and i wanted our relationship to keep going and wanted us to go to the same college so that played a huge part in choosing. Also, my family was not financially fit so i had to chose the college that would give me the most money in scholarships. Yes i did want to go to a big named school but i also wanted to go to a school that had the best graduation rate for my major that i wanted. Graduating from a big school would look good on my resume but at the same time i had to pick the best school for me and also a school that was close to home. I don't think that the name of the college depends in job hiring i think its weather or not you have a degree or not and the job that you are trying to get. It wouldn't be wise to apply for an accounting job and you only have your 2 years associates. And i think that colleges should be ranked by there graduation rate. Schools that may have a high population but a low graduation rate is not really good. I would want to attend a college that has less students but high graduation rate.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My choice in colleges was based on several factors. Namely, I based them off of location, and what they have that I'm interested in. For example, a lot of my friends wanted me to go to Texas A&M, for the name, the education, and the stigma surrounding the university. However, when I thought about it, whether or not it is a good school, it just didn't have what I needed.

    ReplyDelete
  7. When choosing colleges, I definitely looked at the name and the prestige of the schools Film programs. Living outside of America made it tough for me to visit schools, so I had to basically blindly apply to schools not knowing if the name and the associated expectations lived up to the reality. I looked only at schools with top film programs: NYU, Chapman, Emerson, UT. But after finally moving back and seeing the schools first hand, I knew immediately that they were not for me, too large and impersonal. I feel like, for me to get the best educational experience, it's much more important for me to learn in an environment that I'll be treated like a student and not a number, as it seemed the other larger schools were. If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn't have wasted my time and efforts in applying to those schools, because I don't belong there.

    ReplyDelete
  8. when I first chose my college, i chose the first one that accepted me. I had done nothing to prepare for which college I wanted and I was completely unorganized. I ended up choosing the school because the beach was close to it. BIG MISTAKE. i TRANSFERRED because i thought the name of this college would be better known to business people,

    ReplyDelete
  9. I wasn't necessarily concerned with the title of the school I was going to attend. I wanted to stay close to home freshman year, and just wanted to be comfortable. Attending a big school with a big reputation never appealed to me. Being a communications major, I am happy with the communication classes at UNT, so I guess that is what is significant to me. Wether or not I'm enjoying school at the university I am attending. And I do believe that the name of the college is significant in regards to hiring. I believe that someone who graduated from University of Texas would most likely get hired over a student from Texas State with equal resumes. Colleges should be ranked based on students success meaning, honor roll and percentage of drop outs.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I chose my college based on what schools in my area had the best program for my major. I am on strictly financial aid so out of state was pretty much out of question for me as it is way too expensive. After researching what schools had my best interest, I applied and made my final decision based affordability, convenience, safety ratings, and overall education ratings.
    I honestly don't think many majors look at where you went to school. Certain performance majors may be biased if you went to somewhere like Juilliard, but most other majors aren't really concerned with where. They just want to make sure you are skilled and knowledgeable within your field!
    I think colleges should be ranked by the success of the students (graduation and drop out rates, as well as how far they go in life), safety of being on the campus (this is becoming a very important thing nowadays with the rate of sexual assault going up), and overall happiness of the students. If your students make good grades, but are completely miserable, I don't find that as being successful. College should be something that you have to work hard at but also fully enjoy at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I first attended Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. I picked this university for many reasons. One being that both of my parents went there, they offered me the most money and also because they offered me the major that I was originally interested in: missions.
    I really feel as though no matter what college or university you attend you will obtain a wonderful education. I don't see the value in spending 30,000$ a year to attend a private university. Here at UNT, I am paying so much less than what I was paying at ACU and I feel as though I am getting an even better, more well rounded education here than I was there.
    Colleges should be ranked in all directions. However, I feel as though no matter how you rank them, each individual experience will be different. That's why touring a school is most important :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I picked my college based on population and size, diversity activities, location and my major. I didn't want to go to a university in the middle of know where, I'm a city girl trapped in a country's body and needed somewhere to explore and get my feet dirty!. I also like diversity because I'm a very sociable person and love to meet new people. Location didn't want to be to far from home that way it will be easier to go back home whenever I wanted to :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I really chose this campus because I really liked the area it was in. I liked that it was a good distance from home,but not to far at the same time. I also like that Denton is somewhat of a small town with a large city right next door. So it is really like you get the best of both worlds. The only hard adjustment i had to make was that it is soooo hot here. I was not used to the humidity at all when i first got here. Despite the heat UNT has grown on my and I am happy about the decision I made.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Area of the school was important for me because i didn't want to attended a school in a small town. Whether or not the school had my major and i mainly did all my research by looking at the school's website. UNT was my 1st choice because of their music program because i was going to major in music, but i decided to minor. Colleges should be ranked by GPA's maybe i really don't know.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I think the name of where someone attends college has always been important. Lets face it, if two people were on a job interview and one went to Harvard and the other went to North Texas, which one sounds better? I chose to attend North Texas because it was one of the cheapest universities in Texas and I have a younger brother in college as well. I have always wanted to go to the University of Texas but it's just too pricy and unrealistic. North Texas is a great school that offers many degrees and it has the most college students in Texas so I think they're doing something right. I don't know how colleges should be ranked, I haven't really thought about it too much. I do think that sports has a lot to do with how colleges are ranked and maybe that needs to change.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I chose UNT because I had a sister here and our relationship is the kind that I knew that she would be there for me, if I needed her, but that she wouldn't hover.
    When I was transferring up, I came in without a major, so that wasn't a factor for me. I chose it because I liked Denton and the feel/looks of the campus. It's a pretty dumb way to choose something so important, but I tend to rely on gut feelings quite a bit, so it was not an unusual way to pick a school for me.

    ReplyDelete
  17. When choosing a college my main concern was is the college going to help me do what I want in my life. Also I wanted to go to a college that had some recognition, and didn't make me look like a total dumbass compared to my sisters who go to Texas A&M and Yale. My first choice was UT because they have a good name which feeds into the argument that you're making about how name does effect your decision. I wanted to go there for advertising but I didn't get in and I wound up at UNT and I feel it was a blessing in disguise. I feel UT might sound more impressive in an interview, but I also feel a name doesn't represent a person, but a person represents a name. I think colleges should ultimately be ranked on how many of their graduates have jobs 3 years after graduation.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I went about picking a college based on only a few particular things, including population, location, athletics, and the reputation that the school had, and carried. I based UNT off of the fact that it was close to home and it was a good school to go to, and earn my education from. In a way the name of the college did affect my decision, but in the end it really didn't matter, because just because its an Ivey league school or a well known doesn't mean that its the school for you. I have noticed a bias towards the "name" of the college, in high school were told that where you go depends on weather or not you will get hired or not, but i ' really experienced that yet. i am not quite sure how colleges should be ranked i think that it should be definitely based more on academics then anything, but then again it is fun to go to a college that is good in other things so its not always about studying or school so you can also have a little fun in life and live your life as a college student.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I came to school as a music major so naturally my first criteria is that the school had to have a solid music program. I am particularly into heavy music so it was preferable that the school focused on modern music as well as recording arts and the music business. Most importantly I was looking for a music school that focused on group work and learning through peer interaction. I consulted a lot of forums and personal contacts with experience to find out what real people were saying about different music school experiences rather than looking on things like Forbes or Newsweek as I suspect that they focus on other aspects. Overall I was very particular about the school I wanted and I was really able to only find 1 school that had everything I was looking for and that was Berklee College of Music. Although I was accepted I was unable to attend due to price so I went to UNT instead hearing that is had a similar atmosphere.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Well, for the longest time I wanted to go to a college outside of Texas, specifically in Minnesota, because that is where I am from originally, so I applied to schools in Minnesota, but then I found UNT. UNT was not my first choice, but it seemed easier to go to a Texas school versus one in Minnesota because of cost, and many other things. I was looking for a school that was big, was overall a good price, and had a good academic program. Name or status never affected me, because I have always thought that yes elite schools are elite for a reason, but it doesn't mean that those schools are particularly the school for you. FInding the school that fits you as a person was most important to me. In my field of study Political Science, unfortunately, the name of the school you go to is very important because politics in general is all about the image, therefore, what school you go to contributes to your image.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Well I think that that plays into everyones decision. In my case I picked it because of the good music program and film programs that are revered around the world. Even if its a small inkling in their mind Im sure everyone does go b name in status in some way.

    ReplyDelete