What's in a Name? School Prestige...

[Kayla123]

I got into Johns Hopkins for Environmental Health.  The problem is, there isn't a lot of financial aid there.  There are some huge benefits--namely, it's JOHNS HOPKINS, and it's only a year long program, #1 in the country for Public Health.

 

The problem is, the degree there is a little more limiting than the degrees I could get at other schools.  I've been accepted into the University of Michigan and George Washington University, and I'm waiting to hear back from UNC.   These schools are way more affordable, and would let me do research.

 

But whenever I think about attending a school like Hopkins... it just blows me away.  Of course these other schools are great, too, but I would love to attend such a distinguished one.

 

So, are you having this problem at all?  Does a school's prestige *really* matter so much?

[student12345]

The name shouldn't matter. Call them school X, Y, and Z. No, I mean you should really forget the names of the schools. Would you still want to attend school X, which is expensive and doesn't have any research opportunities? What are you planning on doing beyond the Master's, a PhD? If so, I'd say research is more important than whatever you could learn in classes at school X. So I'd say Y and Z are much stronger options. 

[mpheels]

Hopkins is #1 in public health, but the others you mentioned are consistently top ranked as well. UNC is currently #2, and Michigan is #4. The name recognition/prestige difference within the field is negligible. Once you graduate, having real work experience will be a greated advantage than the name on your diploma, especially considering the professional network you will build through research

[juilletmercredi]

I disagree that the name shouldn't matter.  Johns Hopkins is a great place for public health (this is my field) and there's a reason for that.

 

The thing is, UNC, Michigan, and George Washington are ALL ALSO very very very good places for public health.  UNC is #2, Michigan is #4 and George Washington is #16.  These differences are not large enough to pay significantly more money at Johns Hopkins!  Add that to the greater opportunities at the other schools and you should definitely forget about JHU.

 

And yes, in public health doing something during grad school is more important than name brand - an internship during your MPH program will help lead to a job more quickly than the name.