Choosing a college

[bibiche]

What are the things you and your student(s) look for when choosing a college? Before finances enter the picture, what are the most important considerations? Prestige? Networking? Student body? Resources? A certain program of study? Course taught by full-time faculty rather than adjuncts?

 

I'm really puzzling over this. Getting into certain schools is so hyped, there is so much pressure on kids and I wonder what is drawing people to certain schools.  As I see it, the faculty at most decent schools is drawn from the same pool of elite graduates (eg I have friends who got their PhDs from the same department at the same Ivy League school, both are well-respected scholars with interesting research projects, but one is teaching at Harvard and another is teaching at a second tier state school), so why one school over the other for undergrad?  What are your reasons?

 

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

Factors to consider:

 

Quality of teaching 

Size (dd didn't want a tiny school but she didn't want a huge one either)

Proximity to home (or somewhere else they want to be close to)

The area where the college is located:  City, small town, etc.  West coast, east coast, etc.

Strength in desired area of study

 

 

I do think some of the lower tier schools could make it hard to get into good grad programs?  I am not sure if this is based on bad advising or the educational reputation itself.  We visited one of these schools because it was close to home and the kids were not getting into grad programs.  

 

It is a tough decision.  For us, it wasn't cut and dry.  DD applied to two Ivies, but more because they are financially a good option for us, rather than the "name".  I think there are ALOT of great schools that aren't in the top 30 or 50 or whatever.  They have great reputations with grad schools and internships and employers.  

 

[Julie of KY]

I made a list of potential schools and then sat down and discussed them with my son. We picked a few to visit to start with - local and then some farther that had different draws. After visiting  a couple of schools, he had a much better idea of what he wanted and we reworked his list.

 

What is going to be important is going to vary a lot between students. For my son, he wanted decently ranked programs in the two areas he was interested in, in driving distance to home, and preferred smaller over huge school. How much you keep looking will also depend of if the top choice is likely to admit and financially feasible.

 

[Dmmetler]

We're looking for schools, first and foremost, that regularly have undergraduate students presenting posters and talks at conferences in herpetology, both nationally/internationally and regionally. We've found that many of the schools that are best for undergrad research aren't the big name private schools, public ivy,or flagships. Rather, they tend to have enthusiastic, actively researching faculty and to have relatively few graduate students, and often good honors programs with a decent amount of flexibility. 

 

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

We're looking for schools, first and foremost, that regularly have undergraduate students presenting posters and talks at conferences in herpetology, both nationally/internationally and regionally. We've found that many of the schools that are best for undergrad research aren't the big name private schools, public ivy,or flagships. Rather, they tend to have enthusiastic, actively researching faculty and to have relatively few graduate students, and often good honors programs with a decent amount of flexibility. 

 

 

I have heard this from several reliable sources as well.  Sometimes at Ivies and large big name schools, all research is focused on grad students and the undergrad opportunities are actually less.

[creekland]

We wanted known programs in the areas my guys wanted to study.  We tended to contact those working in their fields already and asked them what schools they would recommend - or offered school names to get their thoughts.

 

Then we looked at "fit," - things like size, type, location, etc.

 

Visits counted a bit for us.  My guys wanted to feel like they belonged where they chose.  There are oodles of schools, so nothing was too unimportant to consider really, but the top bit I wrote about was "the" thing that narrowed places down for us.

 

Well, that and finances since we're not a full pay family.

[Arcadia]

My extremely picky oldest wants a campus that makes him feel at home. We have toured many campuses because my husband's business trips happen to be at a college campus or near a few. His top choice is unfortunately the one with the lowest acceptance rate currently and within commuter distance. He is not looking at postgraduate or academia. We are extremely likely to be full pay.

 

UCB, UCLA, UCSD, SCU - he doesn't like the vibe

Calpoly - nice but campus too small, bookstore was pathetic, library was normal, dining choices on campus wasn't enticing. The campus wide free WiFi was good though.

SJSU - we enjoy the library but we don't feel as safe on campus. We are within commuter distance with public transport there but my husband would pick us up at the drop off point if we go to the library there.

UNR - too rural

JHU, MIT - not interested and he didn't say why but he doesn't like the east coast in general.

U of Toronto - smacked in town, very near chinatown. Neutral about it.

U of Waterloo - people are friendly, courtyard is nice, dining choices have enough choices he would be happy with. Property prices for condos within commute distance are affordable. We spent a day there.

Stanford - bookstore is 3 storeys with a cafe on the second floor. My kids love the courtyard. They have their favorite dining choices at Tresidder Union. They know where the vending machines are for the math dept because of taking AMCs there. My oldest attended Stanford Splash and love it. My kids love the Marguerite shuttles and knows how to take that shuttles to go shopping at Stanford shopping mall or at Town and Country Village. We can take public transport home. Very familiar with Cantor Art Museum and Bing Hall. Two Trader Joe's within walking distance if we want to walk.

 

We intend to tour U of British Columbia when we tour Vancouver so not sure how oldest would like Canada's west coast.

[bibiche]

I do think some of the lower tier schools could make it hard to get into good grad programs?  I am not sure if this is based on bad advising or the educational reputation itself.  We visited one of these schools because it was close to home and the kids were not getting into grad programs.  

 

I suspect it is more the advising and how willing a professor is to help a student.  But I know good students from "lesser" schools who have been accepted to elite PhD programs because their profs have guided them to certain projects and contacted colleagues to bring the students to their attention.  

 

 

I can definitely see how it would make sense if one doesn't have a clear idea what one wants to study to choose a school with a really strong reputation.  That makes sense.  Inversely, for a student who knows what she wants to study, I can see choosing a school that might not be the most prestigious but has a great department in the student's area of interest.

 

I guess there is student personality to consider too, of course.  Does the student want a big school or a small school, or want to be a big fish in a small pond or vice versa?  I actually know someone who chose Brandeis over Harvard for undergrad because he wanted to be the Big Fish. Hey, whatever works. 

 

I guess it also depends on ultimate goals, too. For business, yes, it is probably more important to go to a school where you will be with the movers and the shakers. If you want to work for, say, Goldman Sachs, yeah, you want to choose Dartmouth over UNH.

 

It just makes me sad to see kids so so so stressed out, even to the point of thinking their lives are over if they don't get into Harvard or equivalent.  But maybe that is because I am coming at it knowing that DS will almost certainly get a doctorate, so it is not undergrad that is the most important. I dunno.  Just pondering.

Edited February 28, 2017 by bibiche

[8filltheheart]

Well, we don't ever separate out costs, but how the dept interacts with its UG students is a huge factor in final selection. (And, yes, my kids have had top notch faculty at their lower tier schools.)

 

We just got home last night from an insane college trip. Two schools that have completely impressed me are UOk and USCarolina. The honors colleges at both of these schools are excellent. Which leads to one of the most important thing I have learned over my kids--looking for elite programs on avg college campuses. Ds's experience in CBH at UA has led to fabulous opportunities. Top Scholars at USC is amazing. I am so excited for her and the opportunities that TS offers. The kids in that program are jaw-dropping accomplished and have had tons of support amg faculty and TS mentors. The mentoring is truly incredible. I can't begin to express how thankful I am that Dd gets to be part of that group. ...... (I am completely exhausted bc we drove over 2600 miles in a week, so excuse my inability to articulate anything clearly. I am jello today.)

 

By contrast, this is an example of a horrible dept: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/493481-well-not-what-i-expected-is-a-fairly-accurate-summation/

[bibiche]

By contrast, this is an example of a horrible dept: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/493481-well-not-what-i-expected-is-a-fairly-accurate-summation/

 

Whoa. I have never heard of anything like that. Incredible. I hope your son is having a good experience wherever he ultimately chose to go.

[8filltheheart]

Whoa. I have never heard of anything like that. Incredible. I hope your son is having a good experience wherever he ultimately chose to go.

Ironically, that is the school that the majority of people would recommend compared to where he is currently attending. Bama has been nothing but wonderful. He has had so much dept support. The faculty are great mentors. He is currently trying to decide amg several top REU offers for the summer.

Edited March 3, 2017 by 8FillTheHeart

[wapiti]

bibiche, I was given some interesting tips in this thread:  http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/636122-college-search-considerations-beyond-the-obvious/

[GoodGrief]

My oldest ('13 grad) was looking for schools with somewhat unusual programs (Turkish) and I think the politics of the schools were important to her. She was pretty independent in the process, and did not think much about finances. It all worked out in the end, but I realized that with the second go-around, I needed to be paying attention :-)

 

My second daughter ('16 grad) was very uncertain about what she wanted in a school, aside from the fact that she was thinking about engineering. She did eliminate schools with 3/2 engineering programs. We looked for schools in which affordability would be a possibility, though not necessarily a certainty, be it through automatic or competitive merit scholarships, or generous need-based aid. She wanted to investigate the atmosphere of smaller religious schools, but also looked at larger public universities, and smaller private secular institutions.

 

Ranking was really not an issue at all,and her list included very highly ranked as well as essentially unranked schools.

[bibiche]

bibiche, I was given some interesting tips in this thread:  http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/636122-college-search-considerations-beyond-the-obvious/

 

Thanks!  :)

[madteaparty]

I'm going to PM you. This is one of those uniquely American things, I think. The whole" choice" thing is a bit of

a red herring.

Edited February 28, 2017 by madteaparty

[Ann.without.an.e]

 

 

It just makes me sad to see kids so so so stressed out, even to the point of thinking their lives are over if they don't get into Harvard or equivalent.  But maybe that is because I am coming at it knowing that DS will almost certainly get a doctorate, so it is not undergrad that is the most important. I dunno.  Just pondering.

 

 

I totally agree! It is very sad.  DD applied to a few top tier schools, but she isn't dead set on them.  There are many schools she likes that aren't the tippy top.  She may very well end up at our state school, Chapel Hill, just because they have offered her wonderful opportunities and a great scholarship.  She can definitely get into great grad programs from there if she applies herself to her undergrad studies.  

[Mom22ns]

You might look at last year's decision thread. Many people posted not only where there kids were going, but why. It might give you some insight into what became important in the search. 

 

For my kids, location, quality of the program they were interested in and size were probably the top 3 factors, but lots of others came into play all the way down to dorms and food. Prestige and connections aren't on our list, but the importance of those things varries a great deal by major.

 

Edited to add the link. 

Edited March 1, 2017 by Momto2Ns

[Luckymama]

Coursework was the most important factor for current high school senior. She wants to major in International Relations but will enter college at the junior-level in Arabic. She needs schools where she will not run out of Arabic. We started with the list of Arabic Language Flagship schools and a list from Foreign Policy about best schools for IR. I searched 112 schools for their Arabic offerings (seriously, I have been using the same legal pad for all my notes).

 

Second, finances. We eliminated schools we could not afford after running Net Price Calculators and after researching availability and amounts of merit scholarships. Our EFC puts us at full-pay for all but the most generous of schools (Harvard, Yale---not good fits wrt Arabic).

 

Third, seeing if/how the puzzle pieces of IR and Arabic and multiple study abroad periods necessary for a Language Flagship fit together.

 

Fourth, investigating the outcomes of graduates. What language level do they reach: superior (D's goal) or Advanced High or lower? Where are they hired? Where do they go to grad school? Do graduates win competitive scholarships and fellowships like Fullbright, CLS, Boren, Schwarzman, and Truman?

[clementine]

Our list was started with schools that were good in her major.  She wanted to be within a 10 hour drive from home.  Then we shortened the list by tuition/scholarship money available/other costs.  We toured 5 colleges, she picked her top 2 and auditioned for them.  After she was accepted to both, there was a clear top choice for her, so that made things easy.  

[madteaparty]

Coursework was the most important factor for current high school senior. She wants to major in International Relations but will enter college at the junior-level in Arabic. She needs schools where she will not run out of Arabic. We started with the list of Arabic Language Flagship schools and a list from Foreign Policy about best schools for IR. I searched 112 schools for their Arabic offerings (seriously, I have been using the same legal pad for all my notes).

 

Second, finances. We eliminated schools we could not afford after running Net Price Calculators and after researching availability and amounts of merit scholarships. Our EFC puts us at full-pay for all but the most generous of schools (Harvard, Yale---not good fits wrt Arabic).

 

Third, seeing if/how the puzzle pieces of IR and Arabic and multiple study abroad periods necessary for a Language Flagship fit together.

 

Fourth, investigating the outcomes of graduates. What language level do they reach: superior (D's goal) or Advanced High or lower? Where are they hired? Where do they go to grad school? Do graduates win competitive scholarships and fellowships like Fullbright, CLS, Boren, Schwarzman, and Truman?

How were you able to search graduate outcomes? I know the scholarships publish lists but otherwise? I find some of the stuff that comes out of the schools can be a bit misleading.

[Luckymama]

How were you able to search graduate outcomes? I know the scholarships publish lists but otherwise? I find some of the stuff that comes out of the schools can be a bit misleading.

Misleading how? "Our school is one of the top producers of XYZ" without hard numbers?

 

Various ways:

D asked. Dept heads volunteered the info or it is clearly on the dept websites. We have been given info put out by the office that coordinates fellowships. I follow all the finalist schools on twitter so I see announcements and read press releases.

Edited February 28, 2017 by Luckymama

[regentrude]

What are the things you and your student(s) look for when choosing a college? Before finances enter the picture, what are the most important considerations? Prestige? Networking? Student body? Resources? A certain program of study? Course taught by full-time faculty rather than adjuncts?

 

I'm really puzzling over this. Getting into certain schools is so hyped, there is so much pressure on kids and I wonder what is drawing people to certain schools.  As I see it, the faculty at most decent schools is drawn from the same pool of elite graduates (eg I have friends who got their PhDs from the same department at the same Ivy League school, both are well-respected scholars with interesting research projects, but one is teaching at Harvard and another is teaching at a second tier state school), so why one school over the other for undergrad?  What are your reasons?

 

Quality of degree program.

 

For overachieving highly ambitious DD, this was the number 1 factor. She made her list by taking a ranking list for her subject, went down the list from the top, eliminated the schools where she disliked size or location, added two safeties, and applied to 12 schools.

 

For DS, the top criteria were the availability of the major he wants plus the opportunity to train in his chosen sport in a strong club (not necessarily at the college). The city where his current club is located was highly favored, and since one of the universities there has a strong program in the major, that became his top choice. He got accepted quickly and never bothered with finishing the application to #2, but I insisted he complete the application to the state flagship as a fall back option in case financial aid offer did not work out.

 

Ranking far down on the list are student body, town, networking, "vibe" etc.

Edited February 28, 2017 by regentrude

[8filltheheart]

How were you able to search graduate outcomes? I know the scholarships publish lists but otherwise? I find some of the stuff that comes out of the schools can be a bit misleading.

We make appts with depts and ask. If you go into a dept and all the srs lack direction or the dept can't carry on a personal conversation about its recent grads, walk away. If the dept has has students doing a broad range of different things and talks about them with reflection of who they are and their different paths, that is a dept to look into more closely.

 

I really don't judge based on avg student results. I want to know what my kid can achieve. Who are the faculty behind them and what will they help them achieve.

 

For example, Dd wants to achieve a high level of Russian proficiency. Some depts responded to her by saying this is what we offer. (She is already close to graduation level proficiency.). Other depts have said they were willing to work with her individually to help her achieve her personal goals.

[8filltheheart]

I totally agree! It is very sad. DD applied to a few top tier schools, but she isn't dead set on them. There are many schools she likes that aren't the tippy top. She may very well end up at our state school, Chapel Hill, just because they have offered her wonderful opportunities and a great scholarship. She can definitely get into great grad programs from there if she applies herself to her undergrad studies.

She could also get into great grad programs from a non-top tier school (UNC is obviously not "just" a state school.) I absolutely do not believe that great grad programs are limited to elite school grads.

[regentrude]

We make appts with depts and ask. If you go into a dept and all the srs lack direction or the dept can't carry on a personal conversation about its recent grads, walk away. If the dept has has students doing a broad range of different things and talks about them with reflection of who they are and their different paths, that is a dept to look into more closely.

 

This.

 

Our department chair meets with prospective students and their families and takes time for these visits. He knows every single one of our physics majors by name and knows where our graduates go after graduation.

[Ann.without.an.e]

She could also get into great grad programs from a non-top tier school (UNC is obviously not "just" a state school.) I absolutely do not believe that great grad programs are limited to elite school grads.

 

 

Yes, you are totally right!  Being from NC and living here my whole life, UNC feels like just a state school I suppose  :lol:   She could go to other state schools or other private schools and have great opportunities as well.  I think with good advising, if someone applies themselves, they can stand out regardless of their undergrad school.

[madteaparty]

Misleading how? "Our school is one of the top producers of XYZ" without hard numbers?

 

Various ways:

D asked. Dept heads volunteered the info or it is clearly on the dept websites. We have been given info put out by the office that coordinates fellowships. I follow all the finalist schools on twitter so I see announcements and read press releases.

Say, employment numbers including grads that are employed by the school, or not distinguishing whether they are working in field of study or...

[RootAnn]

Fourth, investigating the outcomes of graduates. What language level do they reach: superior (D's goal) or Advanced High or lower? Where are they hired? Where do they go to grad school? Do graduates win competitive scholarships and fellowships like Fullbright, CLS, Boren, Schwarzman, and Truman?

 

 

How were you able to search graduate outcomes? I know the scholarships publish lists but otherwise? I find some of the stuff that comes out of the schools can be a bit misleading.

 

This was my question, too. How do you know what language level the recent grads reached? Was this info on websites or in-person interviews? 

International Relations is one of the possible majors that dd#1 is interested in, but how do you find out who hires IR majors from colleges or do IR majors have to get masters/PhDs before being in demand??? (I don't even know what questions to ask yet.)

[8filltheheart]

This was my question, too. How do you know what language level the recent grads reached? Was this info on websites or in-person interviews?

International Relations is one of the possible majors that dd#1 is interested in, but how do you find out who hires IR majors from colleges or do IR majors have to get masters/PhDs before being in demand??? (I don't even know what questions to ask yet.)

We got answers to many of those questions via email. For places with answers she liked, she emailed more and eventually we visited in person.

 

In terms of IR, you should get a broad range of answers--govt, ngo's, etc. You should ask about Fulbright's. UOk has a Diplomat on Residence on campus, so they talk about foreign service officers, etc. There are so many different directions.

[Hoggirl]

--Fit

--Brand (gonna get flamed here, but I think this matters. Students don't always wind up majoring in what they think they will

major in. I believe choosing by programs can be too limiting for *some* students)

--Climate (ds had zero interest in going somewhere that had snow on the ground for months on end - though that doesn't seem

to be happening this year)

--Football (sorry! We are SEC people. It mattered to ds. He was fortunate to have the option of an academic powerhouse

coupled with strong athletic programs providing him with events for him to attend)

[Arch at Home]

- Liberal Arts College: DD is undecided so we were looking schools that welcomed and encourage exploration.

- Size: Between 1,500 and 3,000

- Distance from Home: A school could only be too close to home but never too far away

- Diversity of Thought: As evidenced by diversity of race, ethnicity, and religion. Interestingly though, two women's schools are still on the list so gender is not an issue.

- Median ACT Range of Entering Freshmen: DD wanted to be surrounded by academic peers so we selected schools where possible her ACT was within that range.

- Perceived Academic Focus of Student Body: A party or Greek school was off the list. She wanted to be at a school where students were enthused and actively engaged in learning.

- Rigor and Quality of Undergraduate Teaching: She is looking for a school which would push her and fellow students out of their comfort zone and to really think. She is currently polling students from various schools regarding the number of pages read per week and written per semester in humanities classes.

- Integration into Surrounding Community: This is not a deciding factor but definitely noted as she has both rural and urban schools; schools that were very introspective and those that used the surrounding community as their classroom.

- Food: Food options as she is on a gluten-free diet

- Aesthetic and Physical Layout of Campus: Does it fit her concept of what a college campus should look like. I believe that if all of the above were met, aesthetic would not be an issue.

- Finances: We are still trying to figure out whether finances are going to be an issue. We are finding that either we will be paying very little to attend a local state school or biting bullet and paying a lot more to get above. There doesn't seem to be much inbetween.

 

Edited March 1, 2017 by Arch at Home

[8filltheheart]

--Brand (gonna get flamed here, but I think this matters. Students don't always wind up majoring in what they think they will

major in. I believe choosing by programs can be too limiting for *some* students)

 

 

I hope you don't get flamed.  There are a broad range of opinions on this subject. My personal perspective is not in agreement with yours, but you absolutely have as many valid reasons for yours as I have for holding mine.  It is a big world out there!  :)

 

 

- Size: Between 1,500 and 3,000

- Diversity of Thought: As evidenced by diversity of race, ethnicity, and religion. Interestingly though, two women's schools are still on the list so gender is not an issue.

 

- Median ACT Range of Entering Freshmen: DD wanted to be surrounded by academic peers so we selected schools where possible her ACT was within that range.

 

- Perceived Academic Focus of Student Body: A party or Greek school was off the list. She wanted to be at a school where students were enthused and actively engaged in learning.

- Rigor and Quality of Undergraduate Teaching: She is looking for a school which would push her and fellow students out of their comfort zone and to really think. She is currently polling students from various schools regarding the number of pages read per week and written per semester in humanities classes.

 

-

 

 

- Finances: We are still trying to figure out whether finances are going to be an issue. We are finding that either we will be paying very little to attend a local state school or biting bullet and paying a lot more to get above. There doesn't seem to be much inbetween.

 

Bibiche, this is why your student needs to find their own "feet."  My dd found smaller campuses claustrophobic and less diverse than larger campuses.  On large campuses, Greek life is easy to ignore.  There are so many kids on large campuses that finding their clan, even if it is not the dominant group, exists. That is true for other factors as well--even if large groups of kids are not studious, large groups are.  It is the probability in large numbers.

 

Finances for our family have also always been cheaper on public campuses with merit than privates.  For other families privates will come out cheaper.  It takes significant effort finding what suits your child's needs.

[Ann.without.an.e]

I hope you don't get flamed.  There are a broad range of opinions on this subject. My personal perspective is not in agreement with yours, but you absolutely have as many valid reasons for yours as I have for holding mine.  It is a big world out there!   :)

 

 

Bibiche, this is why your student needs to find their own "feet."  My dd found smaller campuses claustrophobic and less diverse than larger campuses.  On large campuses, Greek life is easy to ignore.  There are so many kids on large campuses that finding their clan, even if it is not the dominant group, exists. That is true for other factors as well--even if large groups of kids are not studious, large groups are.  It is the probability in large numbers.

 

Finances for our family have also always been cheaper on public campuses with merit than privates.  For other families privates will come out cheaper.  It takes significant effort finding what suits your child's needs.

 

 

So much truth here.  My dd also finds super small schools unappealing. And the large campuses depend on the student vs campus size.  DD loved NC State but found Chapel Hill to feel "crowded" and that didn't seem appealing to her either.  She needs to revisit CH, maybe we were there on a bad day but there just didn't seem to be room (no room in the library for anyone to sit, no room in the union, etc).  Before she completely decides against CH, we need to investigate this more. So it isn't even always a certain size, but how crowded is the campus with that size, if that makes sense?  DD loves diversity and she is in the running for a scholarship at a smaller than she prefers school that lacks diversity.  If she gets the full scholarship, she'll need to decide exactly how important these factors are to her because you see, we can't take finances out of the mix.  Finances were a huge factor when dd decided where to apply.

[Mom22ns]

--Fit

--Brand (gonna get flamed here, but I think this matters. Students don't always wind up majoring in what they think they will

major in. I believe choosing by programs can be too limiting for *some* students)

--Climate (ds had zero interest in going somewhere that had snow on the ground for months on end - though that doesn't seem

to be happening this year)

--Football (sorry! We are SEC people. It mattered to ds. He was fortunate to have the option of an academic powerhouse

coupled with strong athletic programs providing him with events for him to attend)

 

What I think it awesome about this list is that the only thing on it that made the list for either of my kids is fit. The fact is that everyone is different, and when you start compiling a list of what is important in choosing a college, well, it can't be done. There is always something that mattered to someone that will be left off the list. Just because my list is the polar opposite of this list, doesn't mean both lists aren't valid. 

 

Homeschooling gave us the ability to do what was right for our kids. In truth, there are so many and such varied options for college, that we retain that ability. Looking at everyone else's list is a great place to get ideas, but make sure you look at your kids and your family and make your list based on the reality of what you find, not what someone else tells you is important.

[bibiche]

Thanks for all the input; it is very interesting (and reassuring on this board, at least) to see what goes into these very personal decisions.  I actually don't have too much angst about it - DS is from a family of academics and in any case, we have some time before we need to make this decision. :)  My question was more for looking at what motivates people to choose certain colleges.  I agree with the reasoning of all of you, even though it is sometimes different.  I think "brand" is certainly important in certain fields. And I always think the strength of a department is important.  You want a strong student body, of course. And you want a good fit for your student.

 

My family is of the opinion that a really good, solid undergraduate education can be gotten at a great number of schools as long as the student is motivated. Of course, certain programs are going to be better for certain things, but I don't think choice of undergrad is the single most important decision of a person's life as it often seems made out to be. As I mentioned above, I find it sad that so much pressure is put on kids to get into certain schools.  I literally see this on an almost daily basis, and I am talking about really young kids - seven and eight years old! - not just highschoolers.  

 

Of course, it is entirely possible that the closer we get the more we might get caught up in it, so I guess my nonchalant attitude could always come back to bit me in the butt.  :lol:   I hope not.