Anonymous wrote:People say the real value of college is making connections. If this is true, wouldn't you be better off trying to get internships and network at events than going to a no-name university? Is there any point in going to a college outside the T70 or so?

Depends on the aid package.

Quality:price ratio, OP.

The lower the rank, the lower the price has to be to justify it above a community college + 2 year transfer to State U.

Most people are rational and just send their kids to start off at the local community college when funds are tight. But some people - and I've seen posters on DCUM in this category - have more pride/money than sense and claim their kid needs "the college experience" and pay 50K+ for a garbage college. If they're only regional, it seems a terrible waste of money. Oh well.

Anonymous wrote:Many colleges are regionally strong in terms of how people treat their grads.

My F500 employer has a strong "no special snowflakes" vibe right now. There are people getting good jobs with degrees from schools I'm sure you have never heard of. They have to prove themselves at the entry level. After that, project success and EQ take over.

Agree with this. I moved to DMV area from to head the regional office of a F500. The past few regional CFOs had undergrad degrees from Towson or Loyola MD. I wasn't familiar with these schools but the grads I worked with were top notch and went on to be leaders in the company without even getting MBAs which is rare for our co.

Anonymous wrote:Many colleges are regionally strong in terms of how people treat their grads.

My F500 employer has a strong "no special snowflakes" vibe right now. There are people getting good jobs with degrees from schools I'm sure you have never heard of. They have to prove themselves at the entry level. After that, project success and EQ take over.

This. And the minute you put your high school on your resume, just because it is a private school, your application is out.

If your family already has the connections you'll use those rather than develop them in the low ranked college.