Wow...really? I've been working in my field (television) for almost 20yrs..and nobody has EVER cared WHERE I went to school. They only care about what I know. UT is way more prestigious than Sam Houston in the RTF department..but it certainly didn't hurt me to go to SHSU. Its all about who you know and what YOU do that sets YOU apart..not the school. I've got friends that went to both schools and studied the same program..their success is about equal..those that worked hard did well in TV/Film regardless of the school, and those that didn't work hard..didn't succeed. I chose not to handicap my future with debt..after all - the majority of the FORBES Richest 400 say that the best way to build wealth is to NOT go in debt in the first place. Wherever you choose, good luck, work hard, and intern, intern, get a job early..but stay in school and complete your degree. Good luck.
My general, shot-from-the-hip advice about college: 1) Go where it is practical for you economically. A giant amount of debt is starting to outweigh the net worth of most degrees. 2) If you're paying for school, get a STEM degree. If not, still strongly consider STEM. Otherwise, your time would be better spent getting experience and networking (unless you're going for something like a teaching cert, nursing, or other specialization, etc.) 3) Study near where you want to live and work. If you don't like Houston, don't study here. The majority of your contacts and opportunities will be based where you go to school. And ima is dead-on. Don't mind people that play pee-pee games. Work hard and live well. Stay above that noise, it's for people with security issues.
On that: Spoiler Sorry, couldn't help myself. I know too many people who went to UH and either hated it and got out (same can be said of SHSU! Lots of people I knew there wished they were at A&M), or stayed and are back home with their folks. Of course, this is more due to the majors they chose rather than the school, but I hear so much UH hate routinely from those who went there that I can't help it. Plus, my good friend is a grad student there and has nothing but bad things to say about the program his is in relative to his undergrad (Baylor). I'm not the most prideful SHSU alum, but two years after graduation and I'm doing better financially than any of the ~30 friends from high school I still keep in touch with (excluding those with or in pursuit of graduate degrees). Took me a while, but last December I got a good job precisely because my degree was from Sam Houston. As for which college you should choose... pick one based on what you will study. I originally went to Sam to major in Criminal Justice because that (among a couple other things) is what they are known for. I ended up switching majors five times because I'm indecisive like that, but if you already know what you want to study then that should be the deciding factor. And as others are saying, networking is really the best reason to go to college nowadays. Get to know your profs, get involved in student organizations, and seek out internships. My biggest regret with college is not doing these things early enough.
It's to be expected from current students and recent grads, but watching grown men get into pissing contests about what college they went to is kind of sad. Where ever you go, just work hard, don't party too much (speaking from experience...) and finish. No one cares where you went to school in the real world, except for the people I mentioned above.
Having a solid alumni network can be very helpful. Texas Exes network reaches all over the world, and is very useful with the job search. The Aggie Network is also pretty big, particularly in the Houston and DFW areas. Texas residents are pretty lucky in that they have two Tier-1 public universities in UT and A&M. I enjoyed laughing at all the fools in my class who paid a ton of money for a mediocre private school education at places like Wash U, Vanderbilt, Emory, Case Western, etc.
Solid schools, but not worth the incremental investment unless the student has rich parents with money to blow.
The college that you want to go to should be your choice, not others. Personally, I didn't want to stay in state. Heck, I didn't even want to go to Bama until I visited it and fell in love. Great football team, Some of the best looking women, great nightlife and challenging classes. As for finding the whole job thing? Well I graduated in May and I got a degree in Finance with a specialty in Investment Management and I start my first big boy job this fall. In the end, just go and visit each campus, but I'd highly recommend going AWAY from your household for college. The experience won't be the same if you're commuting.
Pick the school you like. Don't worry about what people say about other schools. With the internet and inter-library loans, the differences between schools isn't as important as it was in the past. Just make sure you get a degree in something marketable, and go to a school where you will have an amazing time.
