Public colleges, private universities, technical schools, and all other types of post-secondary education institutions offer unique educational opportunities to many different kinds of students. All colleges are intrinsically unique and each one offers a multitude of different educational and academic experiences and programs exclusive to that particular university; a bachelor’s degree from college A will be fundamentally different from a bachelor’s degree from college B, no matter the number of similarities. So why is it, when every single university has something special to offer to its respective student body, that certain people (regardless of their educational backgrounds or collegiate affiliations) will lump colleges into generalized groups and deride them on unsubstantiated claims? Things such as this make this particular columnist quite testy and irritable when it comes to the topic of collegiate prestige and reputations.
So, just what am I writing about? I’m writing about people’s interpretations of, and ideas towards college prestige, as previously mentioned. Put simply, it is the concept that certain colleges are, by their specific graces, more distinguished, sophisticated, refined, and renowned than other schools, rendering the latter inferior to the former. Fundamentally, this whole concept’s effect on the reputation of a college is dependent on human opinions and sentiments, rendering it flawed to begin with. According to this model of college prestige, a college which is refuted as being classy and educationally advanced can develop a sort of intangible reputation-related dominance over other schools over time, given that such other schools do not improve how they are perceived in the public eye. This relates directly to issues that I, among others, have faced in going to a
public college.
For the latter portion of my senior year of high school, I was occasionally addled, criticized, and antagonized whenever the topic of college came up. The reason for such treatment? College-specific prestige and reputation. Although BGSU is an affordable, diverse, and culturally varied college with excellent educational programs, some people never seemed to get past the “party school” reputation so commonly associated with the University. Private-school hopefuls would sometimes deride my college choice, claiming it was an easy four-year college with little to no academic merit, and that a bachelor’s degree from BGSU carried very little weight. It is exactly this kind of ignorance which promotes the idea of college prestige in an unfair and biased way. I have nothing against private schools, but I do have a particular dislike of the private-school-superiority-by-all-means-because-they’re-just-better-than-public-schools mentality. Unfortunately, college prestige also has the direct potential to influence plausible students to apply to a university, whether public or private, for sometimes irrelevant and non-educational reasons.
As any person will tell you, sports teams can do a great deal to improve an organization’s image in the public eye – collegiate sports are not an exception. As of late, Ohio State University has been forced to radically change its admission requirements. High school GPA, ACT scores and extracurricular activities play a greatly increasing role in determining who gets in and who is left on the cold Columbus concrete. The total number of admitted students? Over 50,000 of them. Needless to say, all other applicants were turned down. I can safely assume this drastic increase in applications to OSU is the direct result of the rise of the Buckeyes’ football program (now we all know why so many University students wear scarlet ‘ gray on campus). However, not all was good and grand for Ohio State University. During the doldrums period of the late 1970s and mid 1980s, it can be argued OSU had a somewhat less prestigious reputation. Though never unsavory by any means, OSU undoubtedly enjoys more commerce nowadays than it did 25 years ago. OSU has always had an excellent medical science and medicine program, but the success of its football team is what has lured thousands upon thousands of students to its campus. This is an example of how a college’s reputation can override its importance as an educational institution.
The prestige and allure of a winning sports team can heavily influence thousands of people to consider applying to a college and this is evidenced by the current situation at Ohio State University.
Pardon me if I sound opinionated (which I am – this is a column!), but the primary reason to attend a university should be for educational reasons, not ones pertaining to college football. Furthermore, a college should be judged on its merits, and not be derided on the basis of hype-fueled, unsubstantiated rumors and myths. College is a time to learn, not a time to criticize others for their post-secondary choices or to cave into the idea certain schools are better than others based on their reputations.
