Forum - Ask the Hiring Manager

QUESTION:

Does the college that a person attends affect the number of job opportunities that will be available to her when she graduates? I am presently a student at Villanova University, however I am considering to transfer to FSU; however, many people tell me that if I go to FSU my chances of getting a job right out of college are much less than if I graduate from Villanova. Is this true?

From: Kendra Gosselin, Villanova University


ANSWER FROM BRIAN KRUEGER:

Hi Kendra-

The answer is yes, it does matter. And not only at graduation, but also after graduation. As a graduate of Notre Dame, I can tell you that I had many more entry level job opportunities than my friends from high school who went to state schools. And I continue to have open door opportunities (now more than 15 years later) because of my Notre Dame background.

But, that being said, going to a name school should NOT be the only factor upon which you base your decision of where to attend (or continue to attend, in your case). It should also NOT be the only factor upon which an employer bases a decision of where to recruit. In the former case, you should also consider cost factors, alignment of specific degrees and majors to your career interests, and the effectiveness of the university career center. In the latter case, I have always made the strong argument that good future employees graduate from State U. as well as Harvard U., which is why our site is open access to all (vs. other sites that require you to login with a password from your university, restricting you to seeing only jobs targeted for your university). Good employees come from all backgrounds.

So if going to a name school is your tiebreaker, it is a valid tiebreaker. However, you need to take into account the myriad of other factors.

I hope I've helped rather than hindered your decision process. Best of luck to you.

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All job search information at this forum is provided by Brian Krueger, author of the book College Grad Job Hunter, the definitive guide for college grad job search. Used by permission of the author.