The concept of branding has invaded our culture.  Not only do brands have brands, but people, including students, are encouraged to promote their “personal brand”.  Soon, my dog will start working on one–his brand will probably be “well-behaved but quirky,” so he gets more treats, although his behavior will undoubtedly remain problematic despite his campaign.

Colleges, of course, have been cultivating their schools’ brands for years.  US News and World Report has certainly contributed to this as well, with their list of rankings based on gobblygook and reputation.  Many schools work hard to move up in the rankings, so they can get to that fabled “T-20 school” status.  Presumably, everything is good at a T-20 school, right?

Wrong. There is no way that could possibly be true unless Harvard has come up with some sort of perfection machine that none of the rest of us know about.  A school’s brand is a carefully and thoughtfully cultivated image that the school wants to present.  Knowing about a school’s brand can be useful, but it isn’t an accurate picture of the institution.  Why?  Brands aren’t about reality.  In many cases, like my dog’s, they are actually a distortion of reality.

When I see people making big educational and financial decisions about where to go to college primarily based on the brand image of a school, I cringe.  Just because a school is highly ranked or prestigious doesn’t mean it’s a good place for a particular student.

That’s why I encourage my students to try to discover more of the reality of a school.  This can involve a deep dive into the types of academic programs or internships the school offers, or a thorough canvassing of the school social life using social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, ZeeMee, etc.  It’s work to really try to get a clearer picture of a place, which is why so many people default back to public opinion or rankings.

To give an example about Harvard, when I visited a few years ago, it was mentioned that some classes have undergraduate course assistants, meaning that if you are a first-year, a second-year student who took the class the year prior is basically now your TA.  I don’t think that’s mentioned in the marketing video, but it’s definitely a consideration.  Being taught by the guy down the hall, who certainly knows more than you, but is not an expert–is that worth $92,000 a year?  However, it’s possible that if Harvard did invent the perfection machine, this problem may no longer exist.  In any event, it’s something you wouldn’t know too much about unless you make a concerted effort to find out what a school is really like.

As your student makes their college decision, I would encourage them to really look at the nitty-gritty details, and not about what the reputation of the school may be.  You might be surprised by what they find!