Big Name Universities V. Lesser Known Schools and Hiring

if you're graduating as an RN, then it can honestly be true! We have 4 new RNs in our family. 2 graduated from a community college, 2 from university. All GPAs were comparable, all work-related experience was fairly similar. All were in St Louis.

The 2 from the community college struggled to find jobs. One of them found a hospital position within the 1st year (I think it was 9 months). The other waited 15 months & ended up taking a nursing home position.

The 2 who went thru the university fared much better...both having jobs with reputable hospitals immediately or within the first month of graduation. Actually both of them had positions before taking their boards.

I truly believe the school made all of the difference!

But one more thought: I have a friend who's the head of HR for her employer. She's said many times that she'd hire someone with an associate's degree/certification with "real-life" experience....before a newly-graduated bachelors. It makes sense!

I don't think that's necessarily true.
I went to an itty bitty school in western PA. That degree - my BA - has gotten me more interviews and job offers than my MEd from a very well known, highly regarded MA university... My itty bitty undergrad has an awesome reputation, but it's not very well known - although it is more well known that I thought.
I've been told, "Wow - you graduated from there - you know that's one of the most difficult schools to get into in the US." Who knew anyone had ever heard of it? I often want to say, "What about my graduate degree?? That's cool right?" I worked really hard for that, too!
That said, if my interview hadn't gone well, I'd probably not have been hired. You can graduate from a great school, but if you can't interview, you won't get the job. If you don't perform well in the job, you won't keep it. So really -- you are hiring the person not just their school's name or reputation.

LBC

My husband just had this argument over an interviewee with a co-worker. The other guy wanted to hire him because of his school but my husband didn't want him because he had no real work experience. They took him on anyway and it was a disaster and he ended up quitting and then they took on the guy my husband wanted from the beginning who was a much harder worker and had more life experience and it all worked out good.
I think a lot of people think they paid to go to a good school so think that automatically opens doors for them so then they rest on their laurels and don't put in the effort required. Just cos you went to Yale or Oxford University doesn't mean you are brilliant - it could just mean you have parents with very deep pockets!!

I absolutely think so... How hard the school is to get into supposedly reflects how well the person did in HS etc. And supposedly, top schools challenge their students more so it's more of an accomplishment to graduate from NYU than a community college or party school. A top school often is a screening for the job interview to begin with. We mostly only recruit from Ivy League schools where I work. Ironically though, we find many of the graduates are not particularly hard working once they start and it's the kids from "very good" schools who have a better work ethic and more common sense. I've heard this from my friends at other big companies too etc. Raw intelligence or grades in HS aren't always indicative of how well someone will do on the job. But what university or college someone graduated from is definitely a first screen for most employers.

I say - go to a school with a good reputation, but don't worry if it is a big name. Make sure it is a good fit, and don't feel you have to spend 40K to get the name on your certificate. Perhaps it matters when you first get out of school, but I know that when we look at resumes (as a hiring manager), we are looking at experience, not where the person graduated undergrad. After the first 3-5 years in the market, I think it makes little difference. And if you spend beyond your means, you could end up paying for that big name long after it matters.

I also know that many "big name" universities aren't as good from an undergraduate perspective. My step-son went to a very well regarded SUNY 4-year college (Geneseo). My step-daughter went to Tulane. Tulane, like many "big-name" schools was geared to the graduate population, and to professors who care about research and publishing, not teaching. My son had many more opportunities as an undergraduate because there wasn't a huge graduate student population to take all the research and teaching positions. He also was always taught by a professor, not a TA. AND he actually got a job because of where he went.

That said, my daughter briefly attended NYU, and loved it, so perhaps that was a better experience.