[Student Reporters] Colleges Do Not Determine Success In a Person's Career

College reputations don't determine success in a person's career. This might be hard to comprehend for most Korean students and parents as they focus on the college's reputation when selecting what colleges to apply to. Korean students fail to see behind and beyond the college reputation because of the value they see in the college's name.

It is possible that reputation could play a vital role in getting a job in the future because of the recognition and impression prestigious colleges give to people. However a student from Corona del Mar Ponteah Damirchi disagreed with this belief as she said "Well the college name can be important but I know people who have graduated from Roosevelt University which is famous for business and their careers were chemists! I think it [reputation] may be important for someone who wants to be a lawyer for example because most people want lawyers from good schools.

What I find more important in order to be successful is to graduate with good grades to show that you have mastered the material that you need to know for your job. If you show people that you know how to do your job and you do it well then [the reputation of the university] you graduated from won't be important." Ponteah believed that when students apply to college they should look for "a college that they know that they can do well in."

Mrs. Hath a counselor from Corona del Mar also discredited the importance of college reputation to a graduate's career in America "It is more important to focus on the field the student is planning to study. For example a student who wants to be a dairy farmer is no good to go to UCLA since UCLA is not known for dairy farming. That student should go to a university with specifically agricultural programs where it is the right college for his/her own future prospects." Mrs. Hath strongly suggested social skills to be crucial in a person's career. "Social skill is critical in determining success.

Even though a person graduated from a prestigious school if that person does not know how to get involved or deal with other people then he might not get hired." With the belief that the college reputation should be deemphasized she stated that when students apply to college "they should look for a good fit that is right for their focus. Some students might look at academics some students might want to be involved in active unions and some might just want to go to college to party. Students should go to colleges that have what they are looking for."