i found an interesting read tonight while mindlessly surfing .. it's got something to do with c-o-l-l-e-g-e, and this matter has been raining over me for weeks... the fact that i'm enrolling to a more average university ('mediocre' is what my mom says) while my friends and former classmates are in the 'heavyweight' Ivy-leaguish ones. This SparkTalk Article has got my sentiments written all over it, and i'm sharing to you this big excerpt (got some strong points in bold/underline):


The College Admissions Game and How Not to Play It
posted by Justin on 4/7 11:29 AM

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There's a key point here that's easily overlooked: having a college degree matters, but where you go to college doesn't matter nearly as much. That's not what media coverage of top-ranked colleges might lead you to believe, but according to the NACAC report, it's a fact. As millions of students nationwide await a verdict from college admissions committees by April 15, everyone should step back and chill out: going to college is an experience, not a contest; and colleges are just institutions that offer different ways of having that experience. The experience and the education that results from it matter most, not the prestige or selectiveness of the institution.

Heeding that advice is much easier said than done. The first step is to stop believing the hype about college rankings. Annual lists of ranked colleges by publications like U.S. News have imprinted students and parents with the notion that big-name colleges like Yale, Princeton, and Harvard are the best schools in the country. They are the best schools based on certain stats, but they're not the best schools for every student. Should everyone who gets into Harvard go there? No, but over eighty percent of students accepted to Harvard decide to go there.

It takes a tremendous amount of self-awareness to know at age seventeen or eighteen which school will give you the best college experience, but every student should question the notion that a brand-name school is the surefire way to a great education. Here's a quick list of factors to consider that matter more than a school's prestige:

teaching methods

size of classes

faculty specialties

faculty accessibility

location (rural, city, town)

course requirements

available majors

(...and last but not least...)

whether students enjoy life and the education they get there.
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