do it matter which college you go to?

Question

im thinking if i choose to pursure my masters it shouldnt matter where i get my BA..right?

dr s looks like he might be getting the "best answer"

ranto, stop hating on dr s b/c hes a doctor and you;re a teacher...you're full of crap..get out of here please.!

Answer 1

not in my opinion:

bachelors degree from harvard + no passion or drive = no job/no admittance to graduate school

bachelors degree from any university + inspiration = great career/success.

Accreditation does matter but you have to make something of your career. You can't just assume your degree does all the work.

Answer 2

actually it DOES matter.

Your question is a bit different from what I thought it was, when I read the added information.

If you know your major, then the college you go to is very important. Still, if your budget is tight, there IS a way to keep costs down somewhat. Much of your first two years is basics and requirements, and not a lot of your major subject, so you can save money by going either to a good Junior College, or a cost-effective 4 year college for the first two years.

The critical factor is "what credits will transfer" in splitting your college into 2 years in one school, and 2 years in another. The biggest problem in changing colleges is that some colleges, even though accredited, are not strong in their teaching standards, and other colleges won't accept some of their classes for credit towards graduation.

Personally I think your last two years (at least) of college should be to a school where your major is one of their STRONG subjects. If you split between two (2) 4-year colleges, see if the 2nd one will accept all your credits from the first college you attend. Sometimes they'll say "we'll accept THIS class ONLY if you take a class they didn't give that we require before you take this class."

If you know what graduate school you want to get your masters from, then you should contact THEM for guidance. I'm sure they'd be happy to help you, and tell you if they feel you need to go to your undergrad college where your major is a STRONG subject. Even if you don't know for SURE which grad school you're going to, you probably have some which are of interest to you, so pick a few and ask THEM!

If grad School A says, we will accept everything but not transfer all your credits from college X, then you don't want to study at college X!

Even if you don't go for your masters, it's best to study at a college where your major is one of their stronger subjects.

To keep the cost of schooling down, remember that you do NOT need to go to one of the top ivy-league schools. They cost a lot more, but there are many colleges that cost less and are really just as good... the so-called "ivy league" is more snob appeal than absolute top of the line, in my opinion.

Finally, if you go to a school that's not as strong in your major, you need to do extra things, independent study, getting summer jobs in work relating to your studies, or one of a number of other things to prove you're really worth having as a student, even if your school was not so strong.

My sons chose to go for their AA degrees to get the basics out of the way. They chose Junior Colleges which had good reputations, and tended to have all or most of their credits accepted no matter where you went on to for the next school. And, in SoCal, that was a big cost savings.

Answer 3

Do you want to get your BA at one college and then pursue a different school for your masters? I would just find a school that offers both a BA and a masters in whatever subject you want.

If you do decide to go to two different schools, the second one you are applying to will look for an impressive resume. The better the first school, the better your chances of getting into the second school.

Answer 4

Dr S is right about one thing -- but wrong about another.

You can get a great education at most schools. For example, I am convinced that you can get as good an education at most middle of the road state schools as you can at Harvard, Stanford, Duke or Princeton. The problem is that you can also skate through the middle of the road state school without learning much. You can't do that at the other schools.

Therefore, people who are deciding if they should accept you to a graduate program are going to take the quality of the undergraduate institution into account.

Very few of the students in my MBA class at Duke and no students in my PhD program at Berkeley went to middle of the road state schools. Most went to much more prestigious schools.

So yes -- it does matter which college you go to.

Answer 5

It can matter. At a minimum, most reputable grad schools will want you to come from an undergraduate program that is regionally accredited (rather than, say, nationally accredited, which sounds better but is usually worse). For some fields, in addition to regional accreditation, your particular program must be appropriately professional accredited.

So, for example, if you live in NY and planned to study engineering, you want to go to a school that has been regionally accredited by Middle States, and which has ABET accreditation for its engineering programs. But if you wanted to study English, then just the regional accreditation is enough.

In addition, some grad schools will only admit students who come from an undergraduate school that they consider competitive.

And you want to keep your grades up. In some fields (some sciences, for example), masters programs won't admit you unless you have above a 3.0 GPA in your undergraduate work.

So go to a decent school. It doesn't have to be *Harvard*, but it has to be decent. Your local state university is likely fine.

Answer 6

well mate,
In Pakistan this thing really matters .i completed my Olevels this year and everyone around is asking me to go for a better college as Olevels doesnt matter much ...

hmm..!
so my advice go for a better college..!

Answer 7

yes it actually does, depends on what you are doing your graduate studies in. you should research your college first.

Answer 8

"do it", High School is a prerequisite!