First, the article you really should read: The New York Times has a piece up by Marty O'Connell, executive director of Colleges That Change Lives, a non-profit focused on helping students find the best college for their them. (link is here)
In it, O'Connell gives some good advice about how to go beyond the rankings to find the right college fit--and why you should consider expanding your horizons. Conceptually, I agree--not every valedictorian is should go to an Ivy League school.
However, O'Connell writes: "Employers and graduate schools look for outstanding skills and experience, not college pedigree. " Which is... sadly, not really the case. Graduate programs are probably more open to obscure schools--they're in the same industry of higher education afterall, so they understand the role of smaller, liberal arts institutions.
Employers? Sadly...not so much. After graduation, I worked for what's probably considered a "marquee" employer, but speaking from my experience, we only recruited at "top" (ie name-brand) schools. If you were a rockstar at a small school we'd never heard of? Sorry, you never had a chance. Should have gone to MIT.
But should you go to Princeton if you hate it just to get the "right" job afterwards? Of course not--life is about living and enjoying the moment, not positioning yourself for some future step. And things always work out in retrospect--if you have a great experience at a more obscure school, you'll never be able to imagine going anywhere else.
But to say that school brand doesn't matter is pretty disingenuous.
On a lighter note, have a blast checking out the top-5 college application tips, published in the Boston Globe. From his new book (anyone not have a book to pimp?), the "legendary guidance counselor" tosses out such nuggets as:
1. Research schools by looking at guide books and going on the Web.
Really? You can learn about schools on the interwebs? Truely sir, you are a legend. ---CJ
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