Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale… if these are the only colleges you follow or hope to attend, you might have namebranditis. Look beyond the perceived level of prestige to find a college that is right for you.
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Trying to convince some people that Harvard isnโt necessarily better than a less famous school is like trying to convince the guy sleeping in line outside the Apple Store that the iPhone isnโt a better product than a Blackberry. No matter how much evidence you show them to the contrary, some people just wonโt be convinced.
But at Collegewise, the students we work with who get into Ivy Leagues or other prestigious schools tend to be, paradoxically, less enamored of a school’s name and more enamored of its opportunities for learning. A student who says, โI want to go to an Ivy League school,โ is almost certainly in love with the image, not with the learning. Heโs suffering from namebranditis, an affliction causing sufferers to fall overly in love with prestigious colleges. And those students are much less likely to be admitted.
All colleges โ even prestigious ones โ want to admit students who are genuinely interested in the school for the right reasons. Thatโs why applicants need a good answer to the question, โWhy have you decided to apply here?โ Youโll need to show evidence of a thoughtful college search, not just an attachment to the name or a recitation of facts you found on the website.
Hereโs a quick way to tell if youโre suffering from namebranditis: if a school changed its name to one which most people wouldnโt recognize, would you be less inclined to apply, or to accept an offer of admission?
- Imagine Dartmouth became โThe College of New Hampshire.โ
- What if Caltech became โSouthern California University of Math and Science?โ
- What if Duke became โDurham College?โ
If the name change caused the school to lose its luster, youโve got namebranditis. The good news is, thereโs a cure โ find the right schools for you, whether or not theyโre prestigious.
Thereโs nothing wrong with wanting to attend a school that happens to be renowned. But a schoolโs fame (or lack thereof) shouldnโt drive your college selection. There are at least 100 other colleges whose offerings are indistinguishable from those at the most selective schools, and you deserve to find colleges and programs that are genuinely good fits for you.
To find those schools, start by testing yourself for namebranditis. And if youโve caught the bug, cure yourself by really thinking about what you hope or expect to gain from your college experience. Then, go find those schools that can give it to you.
