Does the name of my undergrad help me with admission? Forum

[Blessedassurance]

I just graduated from the University of Buffalo and I would like to know if the name of my school helps me?

Is this a joke?

[Mr. Pancakes]

No, I am comparing it to let's say X University that is not even a research school or have any PH.d Programs, or just have a low ranking (a regular no name state school). For example, I would have a better shot with lower grades than less say Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia.

Bro you attended a state diploma mill exactly like I did, deluding yourself into believing that there's some vague notion of prestige based on being ranked 111th in USNews is laughable, and a kid for Columbus State with a 4.0 is going to ruin your shit every time.

That's just our nationally ranking. We are ranked higher in certain programs. For example, we are ranked 17th in our Pharmaceutical Science and Anesthesia program.

Bravo. Nice performance.

[dowu]

[laxbrah420]

I once went to Bourbon street to pick up chicks pretending to be a tourist from the University of Buffalo. I thought it was a good pick due to the laid back nice guy reputation of Western NY and the fact that I thought that its lack of rigor would make me seem like not a nerd.

[dowu]

No, I am comparing it to let's say X University that is not even a research school or have any PH.d Programs, or just have a low ranking (a regular no name state school). For example, I would have a better shot with lower grades than less say Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia.

Bro you attended a state diploma mill exactly like I did, deluding yourself into believing that there's some vague notion of prestige based on being ranked 111th in USNews is laughable, and a kid for Columbus State with a 4.0 is going to ruin your shit every time.

That's just our nationally ranking. We are ranked higher in certain programs. For example, we are ranked 17th in our Pharmaceutical Science and Anesthesia program.

Cool story - no one gives a shit. Get real.

[Mr. Pancakes]

I once went to Bourbon street to pick up chicks pretending to be a tourist from the University of Buffalo. I thought it was a good pick due to the laid back nice guy reputation of Western NY and the fact that I thought that its lack of rigor would make me seem like not a nerd.

Buffalo co-eds will give you a beej if you are wearing a lacoste shirt and buy them a mai tai.

[JohniB]

This bit of TLS lore has always bothered me. HYP are generally prestigious schools, but LS adcomms probably also make exceptions for prestigious programs at other schools. A high GPA in Electrical Engineering from Berkeley, MIT, CalTech, or Stanford is a lot more meaningful than a high engineering GPA from HYP.
ETA: I realize btw that you left it open ended--"and only a few others." The general consensus seems to be HYP have an edge. I don't think that makes any sense.

This is what I am talking about we have programs that are top ranked like our Pharmacy school that is ranked 21.. That is what I mean. We have programs that have great rankings. So am asking if that would help. For example, Engineering degree from Berkeley is seen as a little better than a degree from HYP.

[sunynp]

This bit of TLS lore has always bothered me. HYP are generally prestigious schools, but LS adcomms probably also make exceptions for prestigious programs at other schools. A high GPA in Electrical Engineering from Berkeley, MIT, CalTech, or Stanford is a lot more meaningful than a high engineering GPA from HYP.
ETA: I realize btw that you left it open ended--"and only a few others." The general consensus seems to be HYP have an edge. I don't think that makes any sense.

This is what I am talking about we have programs that are top ranked like our Pharmacy school that is ranked 21.. That is what I mean. We have programs that have great rankings. So am asking if that would help. For example, Engineering degree from Berkeley is seen as a little better than a degree from HYP.

No. You need to give this up. Your question has been answered repeatedly. This forum knows a lot more about law school admissions than your advisor. Law schools care about their rankings which are in large part based on the GPA and the LSAT of their class.

[JCFindley]

This absolutely has to be a flame.....

If not, I only know about the University of Buffalo because my beloved Auburn Tigers use them as A.) A warm up football game or B.) Homecoming....... I am sure it is a fine school but it is NOT nationally prestigious.....

Now, while we are on the subject, since Auburn won that BCS title thing two seasons ago and Alabama won it the year before and after I am almost POSITIVE that being from the state of Alabama will help with LS adcoms so long as that LS also has a big football program like ND, or Mich, or Iowa, or USC or something......

This is true, right???????

[JohniB]

This bit of TLS lore has always bothered me. HYP are generally prestigious schools, but LS adcomms probably also make exceptions for prestigious programs at other schools. A high GPA in Electrical Engineering from Berkeley, MIT, CalTech, or Stanford is a lot more meaningful than a high engineering GPA from HYP.
ETA: I realize btw that you left it open ended--"and only a few others." The general consensus seems to be HYP have an edge. I don't think that makes any sense.

This is what I am talking about we have programs that are top ranked like our Pharmacy school that is ranked 21.. That is what I mean. We have programs that have great rankings. So am asking if that would help. For example, Engineering degree from Berkeley is seen as a little better than a degree from HYP.

No. You need to give this up. Your question has been answered repeatedly. This forum knows a lot more about law school admissions than your advisor. Law schools care about their rankings which are in large part based on the GPA and the LSAT of their class.

Ok. Thank you. But I am a minority, so I should at least get a boost from that. I was just told by my counselor and by classmates that my school was well known for it's rigor (and some good programs) and that that would look better on my law school applications and give me a little gpa boost. But I guess they were wrong.

[law2015]

This bit of TLS lore has always bothered me. HYP are generally prestigious schools, but LS adcomms probably also make exceptions for prestigious programs at other schools. A high GPA in Electrical Engineering from Berkeley, MIT, CalTech, or Stanford is a lot more meaningful than a high engineering GPA from HYP.
ETA: I realize btw that you left it open ended--"and only a few others." The general consensus seems to be HYP have an edge. I don't think that makes any sense.

This is what I am talking about we have programs that are top ranked like our Pharmacy school that is ranked 21.. That is what I mean. We have programs that have great rankings. So am asking if that would help. For example, Engineering degree from Berkeley is seen as a little better than a degree from HYP.

But you have a degree in Poli Sci so how is the above relevant to you? Poli Sci is prolly one of the easiest majors at every school and U. of Buffalo is not a good school.

[Thirteen]

This absolutely has to be a flame.....

If not, I only know about the University of Buffalo because my beloved Auburn Tigers use them as A.) A warm up football game or B.) Homecoming....... I am sure it is a fine school but it is NOT nationally prestigious.....

Now, while we are on the subject, since Auburn won that BCS title thing two seasons ago and Alabama won it the year before and after I am almost POSITIVE that being from the state of Alabama will help with LS adcoms so long as that LS also has a big football program like ND, or Mich, or Iowa, or USC or something......

This is true, right???????

It will help you in interviews and networking situations.

[sunynp]

This bit of TLS lore has always bothered me. HYP are generally prestigious schools, but LS adcomms probably also make exceptions for prestigious programs at other schools. A high GPA in Electrical Engineering from Berkeley, MIT, CalTech, or Stanford is a lot more meaningful than a high engineering GPA from HYP.
ETA: I realize btw that you left it open ended--"and only a few others." The general consensus seems to be HYP have an edge. I don't think that makes any sense.

This is what I am talking about we have programs that are top ranked like our Pharmacy school that is ranked 21.. That is what I mean. We have programs that have great rankings. So am asking if that would help. For example, Engineering degree from Berkeley is seen as a little better than a degree from HYP.

No. You need to give this up. Your question has been answered repeatedly. This forum knows a lot more about law school admissions than your advisor. Law schools care about their rankings which are in large part based on the GPA and the LSAT of their class.

Ok. Thank you. But I am a minority, so I should at least get a boost from that. I was just told by my counselor and by classmates that my school was well known for it's rigor (and some good programs) and that that would look better on my law school applications and give me a little gpa boost. But I guess they were wrong.

Yes, you will get a URM boost. I'm going to recommend again that you get all your application advice from this forum. People are knowledgeable and will help you. If you have other friends that use the same advisor, send them here too.

[JohniB]

This bit of TLS lore has always bothered me. HYP are generally prestigious schools, but LS adcomms probably also make exceptions for prestigious programs at other schools. A high GPA in Electrical Engineering from Berkeley, MIT, CalTech, or Stanford is a lot more meaningful than a high engineering GPA from HYP.
ETA: I realize btw that you left it open ended--"and only a few others." The general consensus seems to be HYP have an edge. I don't think that makes any sense.

This is what I am talking about we have programs that are top ranked like our Pharmacy school that is ranked 21.. That is what I mean. We have programs that have great rankings. So am asking if that would help. For example, Engineering degree from Berkeley is seen as a little better than a degree from HYP.

But you have a degree in Poli Sci so how is the above relevant to you? Poli Sci is prolly one of the easiest majors at every school and U. of Buffalo is not a good school.

I thought it would help me because they are known for their rigor and I was told that because of the other programs, it would help me as well.

[09042014]

I just graduated from the University of Buffalo and I would like to know if the name of my school helps me? I have been told by my counselor that the name of this school will help me and will make my Grade Point Average look better because my school is more rigorous than a no name state school. Is this true? Am in a better position than people who go to small schools that are not ranked at all? And other ranked school because of the prestige of my school? Also, my school is ranked 111th in the best colleges in the United States and 54th in best public schools in the United States. Those are just a couple of the rankings.

No. Don't count anything from it because the name of your school is mostly negligible as far as adcoms are concerned. The exceptions are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and only a few others - but even then, still not anything to waste a glimmer of a thought on. As you'll find, LS admissions is primarily a numbers game (GPA and LSAT). The only other thing I can think of that would be more than marginally beneficial is being a URM.

Good luck!

This bit of TLS lore has always bothered me. HYP are generally prestigious schools, but LS adcomms probably also make exceptions for prestigious programs at other schools. A high GPA in Electrical Engineering from Berkeley, MIT, CalTech, or Stanford is a lot more meaningful than a high engineering GPA from HYP.
ETA: I realize btw that you left it open ended--"and only a few others." The general consensus seems to be HYP have an edge. I don't think that makes any sense.

It may not make sense to you, but with years of LSN, the CW has enough evidence to get this right. Schools don't evaluate candidates the way you think they should.

Has anyone looked at it empirically? From me just looking around the only trendI noticed was H likes Hug and Penn like ivy league splitters.

It's also impossible to take out other correlated factors like better job prospects, better internships, or other qualities (hyp ug selecte well rounded students coming in). Also getting hyp shows you know how to work education admissions.

I'm sure some adcoms love hyp, but I'm sure some don't care.

And at schools that aren't holistic (damn near all non t14) it probably doesn't matter at all.

[Na_Swatch]

I just graduated from the University of Buffalo and I would like to know if the name of my school helps me? I have been told by my counselor that the name of this school will help me and will make my Grade Point Average look better because my school is more rigorous than a no name state school. Is this true? Am in a better position than people who go to small schools that are not ranked at all? And other ranked school because of the prestige of my school? Also, my school is ranked 111th in the best colleges in the United States and 54th in best public schools in the United States. Those are just a couple of the rankings.

No. Don't count anything from it because the name of your school is mostly negligible as far as adcoms are concerned. The exceptions are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and only a few others - but even then, still not anything to waste a glimmer of a thought on. As you'll find, LS admissions is primarily a numbers game (GPA and LSAT). The only other thing I can think of that would be more than marginally beneficial is being a URM.

Good luck!

This bit of TLS lore has always bothered me. HYP are generally prestigious schools, but LS adcomms probably also make exceptions for prestigious programs at other schools. A high GPA in Electrical Engineering from Berkeley, MIT, CalTech, or Stanford is a lot more meaningful than a high engineering GPA from HYP.
ETA: I realize btw that you left it open ended--"and only a few others." The general consensus seems to be HYP have an edge. I don't think that makes any sense.

It may not make sense to you, but with years of LSN, the CW has enough evidence to get this right. Schools don't evaluate candidates the way you think they should.

Actually while its definitely true that HYP get a boost beyond most other UGs, the general wisdom on TLS is a little bit too simplistic. When you really examine admissions, there are a couple things that you can find:

1. HYP get a boost, but H's boost is by far the most useful in the fact that H UG grad's have extra leeway in being admitted to HLS (the largest of the T6). Looking at the H admission charts for H UG's shows that you can be a few points lower on your LSAT or say have a 3.8 GPA and still have the same admission chances as people from schools other than H.

2. Princeton does not get a smilar boost as H -> HLS and also has a lower GPA median. Thus even though there is a boost, P is definitely the least represented out of HYP in the T6 law schools.

3. It's not just HYP and everyone else. Like other posters have mentioned, Adcoms will give consideration to what school you come from. Stanford UGs have a similar boost like HYP. Doing well at a T20 UG with a high GPA will also give you a leg up in terms of comparison to relatively similar applicants. Of course the dominant factors are still GPA and LSAT, but the University you attend for UG can definitely be more than just another soft in certain cases.

(Note: For the OP, once you're down in the T100 colleges there really are no distinctions anymore. Here it's all about just your grades and score. The final exception is T4 colleges and online schools. At the very, very low end your school will detract from your application.)

[lawyerwannabe]

Stanford loves all things elite. Ivies + MIT + Berk + Duke/UVA, etc.

[aca0260]

8/10 flame score. The Pharm ranking was rather obvious, and yet people bit so I can't blame you.

[sfxx]

Pretty solid flame, I cracked a smile

University of buffalo is maybe a top 20 school in the state of new york alone, lol @ people posting long-winded responses

[dowu]

Pretty solid flame, I cracked a smile

University of buffalo is maybe a top 20 school in the state of new york alone, lol @ people posting long-winded responses

Its all my fault for giving a serious response in the second post.

Damn you, OP. You little!

[1776]

Isn't UB a no name state school?

[Pate]

It has been known at TLS for quite a while. A U Buff grad has an auto ticket to a full ride anywhere. Ask the school for limo service and they’ll add it to your package. It’s a fact.

[S-IV]

When USNWR sees the run down of GPA's of a school's incoming classes, I'm pretty sure they do not see where the incoming students earned those GPA's or the "rigor" of their respective undergrad programs. Thus, it means nothing to law schools. It's that simple.

[dowu]

It has been known at TLS for quite a while. A U Buff grad has an auto ticket to a full ride anywhere. Ask the school for limo service and they’ll add it to your package. It’s a fact.

Truth.

[twenty]

On an unrelated note, if you're interested in making your life more interesting/potentially significantly shorter, ask a UPenn alumni if UPenn is a state school. When they say no loudly and emphatically, furrow your eyebrows and ask if they're sure.

I did this to my neighbor. In retrospect, probably not the best plan.