As early as August, seniors are faced with the task of selecting a handful of schools out of the 5,000 American universities. Those looking to study internationally have even more colleges to sift through.
Rather than visiting each individual college, an institution’s name and prestige can provide applicants with a general estimation of the university, but colleges often have more merit than their names alone suggest.
“Ultimately, when it comes down to working with each individual student, we want to make sure that it is not only a college that they’ve heard of, but more more importantly, how that college fits for them in terms of the alignment,” Veronica Pulido, Al G. Hill Jr. ’63 Director of College Counseling, said.
For the individual and the family, figuring out what type of college to choose — well-known or not — can be a monumental task. Making that decision is a complicated process that begins with understanding a student’s purpose of even applying to college and whether or not a college’s prestige should come into consideration.
“Why even go to college?” Pulido said. “Is it because I need a skill? Is it because I want to continue learning and growing? Is it because I want to know more about myself? There’s lots of reasons that students go to college, but having those initial conversations is really helpful just to put it on the table.”
And even then, understanding a student’s purpose of going to college doesn’t pinpoint the exact college that suits a student. Students still have to pick between small schools, big schools, public schools and private schools out of the many possible options.
“While name is a quick way to do it, in terms of knowing that you’ve heard of that institution, it is also a matter of, ‘this is an environment that a student would be in for four years, and so we want to take advantage of all the offerings of that institution,’” Pulido said.
Another integral part of the debate between college prestige and experience is the potential job and internship opportunities that come from a school’s alumni network. A prestigious university, for example, might provide more breadth and depth of opportunities than a lesser-known college.
“In terms of the schools that everyone’s heard of, potentially, those institutions are going to have great networking for alumni support,” Shandera said. “I think colleges that are more well known can potentially just open another door for you, but ultimately, it’s what you do with it is the thing. You can go to any institution and do really well and have great opportunities.”
Students can get caught up in the pressure of choosing the perfect college. However, a major part of the college experience depends on the applicant: college acceptance doesn’t dictate the entire future of a student’s career.
“Just because you go to a certain school doesn’t mean a job is going to land in your lap after you graduate. You still have to put in the work,” Shandera said. “You still have to gain experience and network and do those things, and you can do that at a variety of institutions.”
In choosing the right college, students must factor in the size of the institution. For smaller schools with less people, it leads to more individualized teaching, while for larger schools, it allows for more freedom.
“Smaller schools are known for having more individual attention, more guidance, hand holding through the process or adjustment coming into college, and that can be really valuable for a lot of students,” Shandera said. “However, at a larger institution, while you have to be a little bit more independent and do a little bit more guidance on your own, I think there are a lot of really great opportunities available, because larger institutions tend to have larger budgets and really strong networks and opportunities that are available.”
While most colleges offer a wide range degrees, the college environment offers opportunities outside of strictly education, whether they be internships or networking opportunities. These opportunities can play a major role in what students end up doing after graduation.
“It’s probably true that schools that have larger networks, larger name recognition and probably have a little bit more spotlight attention from future employers,” Shandera said. “There might be a lot of groundwork or already laid there might be really strong networks available.
A lot of students choose colleges based on the weather, how far away it is Wfrom home or the cost of living, but the school encourages students to also think about what industry they want to go into and where would be best for them.
“Some schools may have really strong regional connections because they serve an area in particular,” Shandera said. “If you go to a smaller school in New York, they may not have a lot of ties to Texas, but they may have a lot of ties to the tri-state area.”
Ultimately, whether students decide to go to a larger college for better networking or a smaller one for more individualized teaching, applicants must take an in-depth look at each individual college.
