Does the Prestige of Your University Determine Your Success?

[light_bulb]

i've heard becoming a lawyer now is almost like shooting yourself in the foot because it's such an overcrowded field.

 

[Moonbear]

Different schools are more competitive for different majors, and that doesn't necessarily have to be the most expensive or biggest name school. You wouldn't study animal sciences at Harvard, nor would you choose MIT to study art. Employers do look at how competitive your education is. There is also some truth that alumnae networks can help you get jobs if you go to some schools, but that is more relevant for things like business and political science majors than it is for science majors. So, it is worthwhile to attend the most competitive school you can afford, but don't be lured in just by a "brand name" if that school isn't strong in the field you're interested in. Employers given a choice between someone who attended a competitive state university or a community college will choose the applicant with the degree from a state university, simply because they know the coursework is harder, so the student needs to be that much better to get the same grade.

As for the comments/questions on law school, it depends on the field of law. Most people going in have unrealistic expectations of what that degree will get them, others choose the right field and have the right undergraduate background to do exceedingly well. You're not going to make gobs of money as a criminal defense attorney, but if you have a strong undergraduate science or engineering education, intellectual property law is still booming (they can't find enough qualified graduates to hire, because while you can find good law students and good science majors, it's hard to find people good in both). Not a lot of people interested in science would be drawn to such a tedious job either (long days buried in never-ending mounds of paperwork). Though, the secret with law school is you don't pay for it. You get a job with a firm to do research for them, and let them pay your way through law school. If you're a strong enough student with a strong enough undergraduate background, they'll do this. It takes an extra year or two to finish law school while working, but it sure beats accumulating that amount of debt, and you can attend whatever school they will pay for you to attend and know they won't have a problem with the value of a degree from there (plus your work experience will then count for far more than the law school you attended).

 

[J77]

Like Ki Man seems to be arguing for himself -- better "schools" usually mean world-class researchers.

I'd always try to get in the "school with the best name" for this reason.

This obviously matters more when doing research -- however, it think it has an impact on the teaching also. Maybe not in the quality, but in the general "cutting-edge" atmosphere of a department.

(Also, in the UK, the name of the uni will be one of the first things that jobs like, eg. banking, look at when handed a bundle of cvs.)

 

[Dan 1st]

( hmm ... it really wasn't my intention to start off an argument ... )
I still have time to decide, being 16. I'm sure the french system is different too, I'll get advice from my current school for the future.
Going back to the original "how much does school matter" I guess that's in function of how seriously people take their studies, the job they want to get later, how they want their future to be. I Doubt there are many people in the world who can get a good job just by knowing the right people.
In general though, for anybody, I personally thinik school does matter quite a lot. For the social factor ; you meet people, make friends, work with others . For ( of course ) the education factor - it's good to learn things, and even the things some people say are "useless" might serve some purpose later on in life, you never know... . I'm sure there are many other positive points in school too...