Whats So good about a Degree from a prestigious College

Question

I'm currently attending a community college, and wanted to know what's so special about degrees from a prestigious college? I am unsure if I want to attend a prestigious college such as Johns Hopkins, or McDaniel. I know that these colleges cost more, but are they really worth the money? I am also considering the state college's, such was University of Maryland, or Towson University. Can someone please shed some light on this matter. I want to get a degree that a job wont frown upon. I feel that if I get a degree from a prestigious school, I wont ever have to worry.

Answer 1

Going to a highly regarded university will open more doors for you when you look for a job.  Some companies only recruit at the top schools.  

The second advantage has to do with going to graduate schools.  If you want to get a graduate degree, then going to a more prestigious undergraduate school will help you get into a better graduate program.  This is especially true for professional programs.  Someone graduating from a top MBA program will get a job paying $50-70K more per year than someone going to an unranked MBA program.  If you go to a school like Towson State as an undergraduate, it will be very difficult to get into a top MBA program.

That being said -- the same is not true for the better public universities.  University of Maryland is a highly regarded university.  Going to Johns Hopkins won't do much more for you than U of MD -- but either would be much better than Towson State.

For many people these are not important issues, and a less prestigious school would be fine.

Answer 2

"Prestigious" schools are usually that way because they have a higher quality of education, or overall programs. Another possibility is they have a large number of graduates in their programs progressing into highly paid positions in large companies.

It is somewhat sad to say, but a lot of our society looks at the name of where you want, far more than the fact that you went at all.

Even if you go to a prestigious school, if you cannot perform to a job's expectations... it won't do you much good. That name on a piece of paper is more or less a foot in the door, and sometimes a 'leg up', if you are dealing with alumni.

Answer 3

An article was just published that showed students who come from ivy league school have much larger starting salaries than students from other colleges with the same degrees in the same subjects. I think there are more connections made for jobs at more prestigious schools.

Answer 4

I wonder about this too.

I'm going to a community college as well, but I'm planning to change my major, and transfer to a real college sometime very soon.

I've thought about a more prestigious private school, but they are much more expensive, at least 3000 more per year. I just don't think i'll be able to afford that, although with grants and loans, i'm not sure.

I've tried talking to the transfer office at my school, and the're not really helpful at all. They just tell me, "Go to the best school that you can afford."

My plan is to just go to a state school to get a bachelor's degree, and then go to a more prestigious one (if I can afford it) for my masters.

I don't think the quality of the education is really any less at a state school, than it would be at a more prestigious one, but I do think that employers look at that stuff. I've heard that people who go to better schools get paid more, and are able to find jobs more easily, but I actually don't think that's entirely accurate. I doubt that an employer would pick one applicant over another JUST because of the school they went to.

Probably, as long as you don't go to some joke-school, like one owned by religious nuts or something, you'll be fine.

Also, don't forget about grants, scholarships, and loans. Those can make even an expensive school much more affordable, and I think it's easier to get grants and scholarships than most people think.

Answer 5

Unless you're going into law or investment banking, where you went to college means little. Studies have shown that two students who went to different colleges (one an ivy league, the other a state school) but had similar stats didn't make much more money than the other. In other words, a person who went to a state school but was accepted into an ivy league school, or a person who went to a state school but had ivy league stats and was rejected for some bizarre reason (ivies are really a c**p shoot now a days) made about the same amount of money as someone who graduated from an ivy league school. Basically, it's about motivation and work ethic more than what college you went to.

Answer 6

I guess if you want a job at a prestigious organization or company, they really look at colleges and degrees