Nuances to certain schools?

[Anonymous]

Example: I notice verbal praise in my Northern Virginia workplace for WVU and when I look it up it seems to have a very high acceptance rate (80%+) but is listed as primarily Caucasian and affluent? But it’s discussed as if it’s a hard to get into institution and prestigious but on paper to me it doesn’t appear to be?

I’m AA and grew up in an area of primarily AA population so I know more about HBCUs at times than PWI. I’m posting this to learn and not be ignorant around others.

[Anonymous]

You’re asking if schools have nuances? Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Example: I notice verbal praise in my Northern Virginia workplace for WVU and when I look it up it seems to have a very high acceptance rate (80%+) but is listed as primarily Caucasian and affluent? But it’s discussed as if it’s a hard to get into institution and prestigious but on paper to me it doesn’t appear to be?

I’m AA and grew up in an area of primarily AA population so I know more about HBCUs at times than PWI. I’m posting this to learn and not be ignorant around others.

What backwater NoVa workplace do you work? People may like WVU but nobody ever discusses it as though it’s prestigious.

The school will accept anyone with a pulse. It’s lost 35% of its students over the last 10 years.

[Anonymous]

Objectively, West Virginia has a lot going for it. It’s a state flagship, it’s a land grant university, R1 research university, close but not too close to the DMV. It has a law school, dental school, and medical school.

You might like the size of less than 25k total students.

But it is not exactly highly selective. Demographically speaking, it may not be far off from the state of West Virginia as a whole.

Subjectively I like the looks of the campus and I believe the students enjoy their time there.

[Anonymous]

If you're looking for your own kid, I would recommend Pitt over WVU.

I have lived in several different parts of the U.S. In all of them, there are locally prestigious schools that are obscure outside of the region. And there are lower-ranked schools that outperform in placing their best graduates in the same jobs within the region that prestige school grads get.

It's easy to offend people when asking or reflecting on school prestige. I suggest that if you are talking to coworkers about schools that you just ask open-ended questions.

You can check up on their impressions by visiting the schools in person.

There can be very smart students at a wide range of schools. At a lower-ranked school, I think the quality and engagement of the faculty is more important than anything else. A lot of education doesn't require fancy buildings or resources. And the best teachers who show personalized concern for students are quite often the ones who are not famous/prominent in their fields.

[Anonymous]

No one thinks WVU is a good school. It’s just a close by school that accepts everyone.