Easiest Brand Name College/University to Get Into?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know at the outset that this is an impossible question to answer, as one would need to better know grades/scores, etc., and it's also so subjective. That said, please do take a stab at it. Assuming a strong student (but not top ten percenter in grades or SATs) and well rounded extracurriculars (but not a recruitable athlete or a phenom in any one thing), and no hooks, what are some of the "brand name" schools one might take a look at.

This was pretty much me, a good but not great student. Probably the best school for someone like that as far as "name" wise would be a large public that's not the state's flagship, but not a satellite school either. It would be the number 2 public school in it's state and would have "Tech" or "State" in it's name. It would have national recognition from athletics; either they make the top 8 regularly in basketball or go to a major bowl each year in football.

Assuming that the student will continue to be solid but not spectacular in college, then ideally, it would be in a big population center to help with recruiting and internships, and have a large alumni network. If you're not sure about what to study, then unis with 25k+ students are good since there's a wide variety of majors.

[Anonymous]

Get one of those college guide books that every book store sells about the top 300+ colleges. You can look at scores, grades etc. and then make a "guesstimate" about your child's likelihood of getting in.

I would say Ohio State, Miami of Ohio, Penn State, Villanova, Temple, Tulane, Clemson, Elon, Wake Forest and many others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get one of those college guide books that every book store sells about the top 300+ colleges. You can look at scores, grades etc. and then make a "guesstimate" about your child's likelihood of getting in.

I would say Ohio State, Miami of Ohio, Penn State, Villanova, Temple, Tulane, Clemson, Elon, Wake Forest and many others.

Wake Forest is a stretch compared to those others you named.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn State if you want to stay in the ny-wash corridor.

ridiculous recruiting and alum network from a sheer size perspective.

? ridiculously good or ridiculously bad?

good.

[Anonymous]

Miami of Ohio is a terrific school for a strong-but-not-outstanding student. They give very generous guaranteed merit aid to kids who fit this profile (my DS was offered $12K a year for a 3.8 weighted + 31 ACT), they focus on undergraduate teaching (few gradutate programs), they have D-I sports, a gorgeous campus, interesting course offerings, and a passionate alumni base. They notify on a rolling basis (a note to let you know you got in before the official notification date is a nice touch). They have excellent grad school acceptance rates, ratings from the ratings publications, and recruiting success in the job market. Everyone I know who went there absolutely loved it and remains loyal to it many years later.

[Anonymous]

NYU. Sounds very prestigious, but is really not extremely selective. Also GWU, American, Boston U, Boston College.

Large private schools in Boston, NY, DC will always have an overvalued reputation, because the I-95 corridor is where the dominant players in media/gov't/finance can be found, and a lot of their alumni will be found in those industries.

Meanwhile schools that are more selective than these (Rice, Vandy, Duke, Wash U, Emory) will seem less prestigious than they really are, because they are in flyover country/deep south.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYU. Sounds very prestigious, but is really not extremely selective. Also GWU, American, Boston U, Boston College.

Large private schools in Boston, NY, DC will always have an overvalued reputation, because the I-95 corridor is where the dominant players in media/gov't/finance can be found, and a lot of their alumni will be found in those industries.

Meanwhile schools that are more selective than these (Rice, Vandy, Duke, Wash U, Emory) will seem less prestigious than they really are, because they are in flyover country/deep south.

GWU and American U do NOT have a strong Alum network - DUKE has a stronger network in DC

[Anonymous]

Agree with an earlier poster who said southeren schools even when pretty darn good (like Vandy, and Duke) really don't "show well" outside of the south. And, yes folks, DC is in the south...so don't argue about how great people in DC think they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with an earlier poster who said southeren schools even when pretty darn good (like Vandy, and Duke) really don't "show well" outside of the south. And, yes folks, DC is in the south...so don't argue about how great people in DC think they are.

Vandy perhaps, but Duke is well known everywhere.

[Anonymous]

No, not really pp.

[Anonymous]

I think that flagships have an advantage over other schools in terms of reputation. For example, I know exactly zero people who have gone to University of Wyoming, or a bunch of other flagships, but when I see a resume with a name like that I've got something to go on, and my mind goes to my stereotype of state flagships as solid places with a wide variety of majors, and some very bright kids who made sensible cost effective choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think that flagships have an advantage over other schools in terms of reputation. For example, I know exactly zero people who have gone to University of Wyoming, or a bunch of other flagships, but when I see a resume with a name like that I've got something to go on, and my mind goes to my stereotype of state flagships as solid places with a wide variety of majors, and some very bright kids who made sensible cost effective choices.

Good point.

[Anonymous]

University of Michigan, from out of state (50% or ballpark admission rate).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:University of Michigan, from out of state (50% or ballpark admission rate).

are you serious? Is that an accurate and recent number?

Forget this whole thread OP and go there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYU. Sounds very prestigious, but is really not extremely selective. Also GWU, American, Boston U, Boston College.

Large private schools in Boston, NY, DC will always have an overvalued reputation, because the I-95 corridor is where the dominant players in media/gov't/finance can be found, and a lot of their alumni will be found in those industries.

Meanwhile schools that are more selective than these (Rice, Vandy, Duke, Wash U, Emory) will seem less prestigious than they really are, because they are in flyover country/deep south.

Take Duke out of that list. Duke is known EVERYWHERE. (BTW, not a Duke alum and I don't like it but i'm not going to deny how strong the alum network is and how well it places grads into prestigious jobs/careerpaths).