Prestige of your undergraduate institution?

[red7tribe]

Hi all,

I'm going to apply to PhD programs this fall. I went to a very small, mostly unknown, liberal arts undergraduate institution, before getting my MA (also in history) from a well-known state university. Obviously this will vary program to program, but how much does the prestige of your undergraduate institution matter if you've received your MA from a well-known university? I strongly believe the lack of prestige of where I received my BA caused me to get into fewer MA programs than I otherwise would have, and I'm not sure if I should expect the same result again this time around.

[dr. t]

Actually, if anything I've observed the opposite effect - top universities take more candidates from low-ranked institutions. I think you have a little confirmation bias going on.

[mvlchicago]

It's six of one and half a dozen of the other usually; going to a top ranked undergrad place won't make up for the fact that you're massively disqualified for a PhD program. Similarly, going to a low ranked undergrad place won't dissuade the very strong letter that your advisor wrote to the admissions committee. 

Does being amazing at a top ranked undergrad place help your case? Sure. But the networks for PhD admissions (especially if you have a Master's) aren't nearly as solidified as the ones for jobs just yet. Do your thing, I think you'll be surprised how much the MA helped your ability to conceptualize your project's "fit" at the schools to which you apply.

[RevolutionBlues]

I similarly went to a small state school for undergrad and think it might have worked against me in PhD applications (although probably not nearly as much as all of the other shortcomings, i.e. lack of clear purpose, language skills, etc). This didn't seem to matter as much after getting an MA from a larger state school, although again the bigger factor was probably just being better prepared and better qualified. I would disagree with telkanuru a little bit to say that most students I have met at top-tier graduate programs went to fancy schools for their undergrads, whether ivy league, flagship state universities, or highly selective SLACs. However, this is potentially more correlation than causation. In short, I agree with mvlchicago.

[dr. t]

t most students I have met at top-tier graduate programs went to fancy schools for their undergrads, whether ivy league, flagship state universities, or highly selective SLACs.

I mean, yeah, of course, you don't see many PhDs who got their degrees at CCs. At that point, I don't think we're talking about prestige any more though.

[prculus]

Yikes! I did receive an AA from a CC, although I went to a top-50 university (top-20 public institution) afterwards and came through with a 3.99 cumGPA. I wonder if having an AA would hinder acceptance to a top institution?

[stillalivetui]

Yikes! I did receive an AA from a CC, although I went to a top-50 university (top-20 public institution) afterwards and came through with a 3.99 cumGPA. I wonder if having an AA would hinder acceptance to a top institution?

Don't sweat it. I know of a tenured professor at a top 20 institution who went to a CC initially.

Edited September 25, 2015 by stillalivetui

[catsandscarves]

For my first round of applications, where I only got in 2/10 after graduating from a very small liberal arts college, I called every school and asked why I was rejected. 6/10 said they did not even read my application because they did not know my school. I appreciated their honesty and picked up an MA from a state school. This drastically changed my second application cycle, and I had choices between a few top programs in my field. (humblebrag for information's sake ). The MA made all the difference.

Edited September 25, 2015 by catsandscarves

[dr. t]

Don't sweat it. I know of a tenured professor at a top 20 institution who went to a CC initially.

If plural of "anecdote" is not "data," the singular sure as hell isn't either.

I wouldn't worry about the AA if you got a BA elsewhere later. And a decent MA will cover a mediocre BA institution.

[Chiqui74]

Yikes! I did receive an AA from a CC, although I went to a top-50 university (top-20 public institution) afterwards and came through with a 3.99 cumGPA. I wonder if having an AA would hinder acceptance to a top institution?

Nope.  I have an AA from a community college.  I don't think it matters.

Also, I went to a very large but largely unknown public university. I had no pedigree (a term the department I'm currently in detests anyway), and I had multiple funded offers.

If adcoms are not reading applications  because they don't know the school, and then have the audacity to tell, you probably don't want to be there anyway.  Not to mention they are not doing their jobs as they should.  Honestly, I'm shocked that they would do AND say that.  I would have asked for my application fee back.  You pay for them to review your application, if they don't, they have not held up their end of the contract and should return the money.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Chiqui74