I'm a college student hoping to transfer from a local college. It's like deja vu from senior year: requesting information and leafing excitedly through glossy brochures; filling out collegeboard's college matchmaker every day in hopes of finding another match. The two major problems that struck me my senior year have hit me yet again: One being that I have no money, and two being that I'm shallow.
As I scroll through hundreds of possible options on my collegeboard college matchmaker results, I completely neglect the colleges and universities with names that I find to be unattractive. All of the state universities have a sort of a ring to them; University of Florida, University of Nevada, University of Washington... it sounds sophisticated, catchy, and, dare I say it--cool. And in my regretfully judgemental state of mind, I skip over all the "un-cooly" named colleges and click on the ones that sound cool.
Call it petty and shallow. Chide me with that cheesy and overused saying, "Beggars can't be choosers." But the way I see it, once we scrape of all the "best education for your money" and "mission to give you the best education possible" feel-good college marketing propaganda, a college is a product, and I am the prospective consumer. As the prospective consumer, I want the product that best suits my needs, no matter how superficial they may be. When my friends tell me about their acceptances to Kansas State University, San Francisco Art Institute, Eastern New Mexico University, and the such like, do I want to shamefully admit that I will be attending Floogwall College? (I don't think there really is a Floogwall College. At least, I hope there's not, or else I'm about to be sued for what little college money I have.) And maybe "Floogwall" is an extreme example--but try out collegeboard matchmaker and I guarantee you'll find a college with a name that's almost as ugly.
Colleges should keep in mind the needs of the college student. Most college undergraduate programs are meant to appeal to people in their late teens and early twenties. Yes, I'm aware that most people in that age range have very little money to their name and have to settle for whatever good ole' dad can afford, and yes, "Beggars can't be choosers!" And most college students could fit into the category of "beggars" (beg Dad for money, beg McDonald's for a job, beg the internet for a scholarship), but colleges need to face the facts. Beggars are choosers, and college students are among the choosiest of beggars.
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I do the same thing. One of the main reasons I applied to St. Edward's University is that it sounded so much better that UT Austin. I like college names that sound prestigious. I also had pretty much no money. Luckily I got a scholarship.