Effect of College Name on Grad School

[GrabLife]

How much does the name and/or type of college a student attends factor into graduate admissions? I am looking at a few colleges to complete my degree (returning to school) and realize there is some give and take with each choice. While a good name school will be helpful, I am concerned that the "good name" college I am looking at will also be more difficult for someone who is rusty with the course work, and it favors the traditional students in terms of research opportunities, which probably also translates to potential challenges with recommendations. I am leaning away from this school, but wondering if I am giving up something very helpful by having the name behind me.

Another choice is a large state university that lacks in reputation, but is a place I can shine and there are a lot of resources available to me. I will also be able to get in some other classes, like professional writing and intro to info systems, which may also help my entrance into a good grad school. The last choice is a small college that offers great personalized attention, but resources are limited, faculty very small, and the cost is a little higher (but managable).

My overall question is, how much does the college name/reputation/type play into graduate school admissions? Am I better off with a great record at a mediocre school, or a mediocre record at a great school? Any suggestions?

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[krisrox]

How much does the name and/or type of college a student attends factor into graduate admissions? I am looking at a few colleges to complete my degree (returning to school) and realize there is some give and take with each choice. While a good name school will be helpful, I am concerned that the "good name" college I am looking at will also be more difficult for someone who is rusty with the course work, and it favors the traditional students in terms of research opportunities, which probably also translates to potential challenges with recommendations. I am leaning away from this school, but wondering if I am giving up something very helpful by having the name behind me.

Another choice is a large state university that lacks in reputation, but is a place I can shine and there are a lot of resources available to me. I will also be able to get in some other classes, like professional writing and intro to info systems, which may also help my entrance into a good grad school. The last choice is a small college that offers great personalized attention, but resources are limited, faculty very small, and the cost is a little higher (but managable).

My overall question is, how much does the college name/reputation/type play into graduate school admissions? Am I better off with a great record at a mediocre school, or a mediocre record at a great school? Any suggestions?

The title of your post sounds like the title of a paper. It made me giggle.

IMHO, a mediocre record anywhere won't get you into grad school. Don't think your school's reputation will make up for a low GPA. If you can get better research experiences at a "better" school, however, then it will give you a leg up in that sense.

 

[RejectClinical]

In my opinion, I would choose the school that gives you the best shot of having a high gpa. I went to a small LA college that no one had EVER heard of it....I think all of my potential POIs had to google the school, but it allowed me to get a high gpa and I was able to get into a top 20 school. Having a high gpa and gre scores to back it up is way better than choosing a school based on prestige, especially if that school is going to make your gpa lower.

 

[Neuropsych2be]

Prestige is in the eye of the beholder. It is also something a bit overblown. In my opinion, in the USA, you have the Harvard Yale Princeton Stanford and then everybody else. In admissions, the difference between Tier 1, tier 2 and Tier 3 are probably not even on the minds of the committee. I believe that the "ranking" system was invented by US News and World Report. Ignore it. Instead, the best college for you, is the best college for *you* not someone else and certainly not some ranking system invented by the popular press. Go somewhere you feel you can shine and grow intellectually.

 

[nycegurl]

I think that going to a school that offers lots of resources (in addtion to having a decent program...not necessarily one that is the easiest) is important since having the right experiences (e.g. Research, volunteer etc...) can open a lot more doors than just going to a school that is limited but gives easy A's.

 

[Psychology 76]

I agree to what everyone has said so far. Obtaining good experiences and sound knowledge is what is important. That said, it can help to have a LOR from a prestigious researcher or intern at an ivy league school

 

[VeggieDelight]

What I read in your post is a lot of anticipation of potential problems as a nontraditional student. Remember that even if you get something more tailored to you at this stage, you'll have to compete with folks fresh (or a couple years) out of undergrad- might as well join them now if you can? The reason is that BOTH your GPA and where you got it from matter equally. If you think you will be able to work for that solid GPA from a more prestigious school, do it. The lines may be blurred as you go down the undergrad rankings, and people from all types of schools gain admission to grad programs, but ignoring name recognition is not something I'd recommend because it undoubtedly carries weight. And yes, above all, you need resources. Quality research experience, breadth of coursework, networking- these are typically found or are more readily available at the bigger name schools.

Of course, never go where you know you will be unhappy. I am assuming you are only worried about academics.

 

[GrabLife]

Wow, great replies! Thanks for the input. I finally decided on the state school and am very happy about it. It does have a strong research program, so what it lacks in name, I hope to make up for by diving into whatever they have going available. Ultimately I believe my comfort level will be higher there, and there is far more flexibility for me with the classes I take, giving me some control. I am very excited - now I can just worry about my classes!

VeggieDelight - love the name! Are you a vegetarian?

 

[deleted176373]

Wow, great replies! Thanks for the input. I finally decided on the state school and am very happy about it. It does have a strong research program, so what it lacks in name, I hope to make up for by diving into whatever they have going available. Ultimately I believe my comfort level will be higher there, and there is far more flexibility for me with the classes I take, giving me some control. I am very excited - now I can just worry about my classes!

VeggieDelight - love the name! Are you a vegetarian?

Having gone to a Tier IV+ state school - University of Texas at San Antonio, I was able to get interviews at some really good schools:

University of Kansas - Clinical
University of Alabama - Clinical
University of Maine - Clinical
Texas A&M - Counseling
Arizona State University - Counseling
Baylor - Clinical Psy.D.
Michigan State University - Clinical
Uniformed Services University - Clinical
and others.

As a non-traditional student, I graduated Summa Cum Laude, high honors, honors thesis, and a bunch of other scholarships and awards. So while the school name didn't help, all the awards did and so did the faculty. They are interested in sending their best forward to help bolster the school reputation and name. What makes a school like this valuable is, if you can put it together with a solid GRE score which confirms that even if you had gone elsewhere it's likely that you would have been an above average performer, you stand out as a great student. The GRE all of a sudden becomes far more important, so a 4.0 GPA at UTSA must be confirmed with a good GRE score (in my case a 1300.)

So remember the GRE will be the great equalizer when it comes to comparing you to other students who went to schools that have more prestige. The schools' reputation shouldn't hurt you significantly if you put all the other pieces together.

Mark

 

[VeggieDelight]

VeggieDelight - love the name! Are you a vegetarian?

Thanks , and yes.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Thanks , and yes.

More meat for the rest of us.

 

[GrabLife]

Mark - great job on the GREs and honors! Looks like you're helping make a good name for the teir 4s AND the non-trads. I hope to help you out on that! Another good thing is this school is requiring the least number of courses to complete my degree and I'll be able to add in some writing and additional research skills courses.

VeggieDelight - I am celebrating 15 years of being a veghead on July 14th!

 

[VeggieDelight]

More meat for the rest of us.

And so it seems that some of you don't want it, T4C! At one school, one of my interviews ran late so I was delayed for lunch. By the time I got there, all the veggie wraps had run out (I later got apologies from the meat-eaters who had felt a bit adventurous that day).

OK, digression done. GrabLife- congrats on the anniversary and good luck with school!! When the time to make the next decision rolls around, you'll know to where you should come back!

 

[deleted176373]

Mark - great job on the GREs and honors! Looks like you're helping make a good name for the teir 4s AND the non-trads. I hope to help you out on that! Another good thing is this school is requiring the least number of courses to complete my degree and I'll be able to add in some writing and additional research skills courses.

VeggieDelight - I am celebrating 15 years of being a veghead on July 14th!

Get to know your profs well... also, if like me, you review your professors before taking their classes, I learned that some of the most "hated" professors were the ones that made students work the most... by extension they also knew the students the best and wrote the best reference letters for top students... so get to really know the faculty and figure out which faculty members might be the most helpful in writing recommendation letters.

Just remember, it's the whole package... if the only weak thing is the name of the school, you'll be in great shape.

Mark

 

[olychick65]

Get to know your profs well... also, if like me, you review your professors before taking their classes, I learned that some of the most "hated" professors were the ones that made students work the most... by extension they also knew the students the best and wrote the best reference letters for top students... so get to really know the faculty and figure out which faculty members might be the most helpful in writing recommendation letters.

Just remember, it's the whole package... if the only weak thing is the name of the school, you'll be in great shape.

Mark

My undergrad is a private liberal arts- a good school, but unheard of unless you live in the area. I didn't get a single interview within 2000 miles of where I live, and exactly one professor I interviewed with (not my POI) had heard of it. My favorite response to my school was, "so, what exactly is this X university all about, anyway?" like it was an infection, from my POI at a top 10 school.

That said, telling people about my school, the 'special' things about it and my connections to it gave us something to talk about and ways to find common interests. Going to this school also gave me ways to be more involved in the department- rather than coding (or only coding) my research advisor dedicated his lab primarily to my senior thesis for a year and made me supervisor, so I got to do the 'fun' things. With a smaller dept and no grad students... you get more opportunities.