We Further Interrupt This Program

To follow up on City Girl's post ...

Honestly, I don't think you would have been happy at Really-Good-State-School. It wasn't on the East Coast for one, and theater and fencing weren't it's big focuses for two. At least you have a college degree that didn't come off the internet. You didn't go to a community college that accepts everyone who can pay, and you graduated in four years. The national average is now at 5 - 5.5 years spent in undergrad.

Besides, name recognition of undergrad (unless you went to uppercrust ivy league, not all the places that think they're ivy league but aren't) isn't good for much. Work samples and personal references from your old boss are. Internships to prove yourself with said old boss are. And then in your field there's name recognition. For example, if you study Latin at MIT I don't think anyone will care over much. Iowa never makes top ten lists as an overall institution (unless it's a really good football year) but their writing program is the undisputed No. 1 in the country for the past 25 years.

Oh, and if you read the manifest (mission statement, whatever) of Really-Good-State-School you'll see they don't give a crap about whether you're an in-state resident or not. They want to be seen as a "national" school.

Personally, I'm glad I didn't apply to Really-Good-State-School. People around here always wanted to know if you were planning to go there, if you got in there or not and it really pissed them off that I hadn't applied. I didn't want to go to the freakin school! I wanted to go someplace far enough away (preferably out of state) that my mother wouldn't show up unexpectedly. That I wouldn't be tempted to slink back to my parents houses every time something went wrong in college. I knew I needed to learn to be independent and going out of state helped me with that.

But more to the point why does this woman care so much? Honestly, where you went to school doesn't matter that much. Yes, in certain circles the weight of a good name does wonders, but for the most part life becomes about having that bachelors degree and proving yourself. Getting your foot in the door someplace and making the best of it. So long as you're alive, happy, and paying your bills so that the IRS/debt collectors don't come knocking, then your college days should be fond memories. Not a list of regrets based on facts and figures of which school is better on paper.