Weber State beats Stanford

One night after work last week, I enjoyed the evening sunrays while taking a stroll around the iconic duck pond on my university's main campus. I used the time to reflect for a moment on the things I had experienced here over the past four years. Then, my thoughts wandered to what had brought me here.

To be quite frank, and without any intent of bragging, there are not a lot of people like me in our 26,000-head student body. When I graduated from high school in Germany (which in and of itself is quite the accomplishment), I ranked in the 98th percentile of my class statewide. Actually, as I received perfect grades through my final examinations, I was in the top tenth of the 99th percentile of my class in that category. The truth is that, upon application, I believe that I could have been admitted to almost any university on the planet.

I applied to exactly one: Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Now, if you don't hail from the Rocky Mountains or (by pure chance) are a big fan of Damian Lillard, you have probably never heard of that school. Granted, it has some academic upsides - like the country's best nursing program - but to many outsiders (including employers), a degree from Weber State falls short of the glamour and ring of an Ivy League diploma. In fact, WSU is not even categorized as a research university by the state of Utah, which creates a quite significant reputation and funding gap between it and many larger public universities.

Now, you may wonder why I went here, and if I cry myself to sleep every night, regretful about the many opportunities I missed out on by not attending a larger university. To your likely surprise, I believe that I have made the perhaps best choice of my life by coming to Weber State. Yes, I sometimes suffered from big-fish-small-pond syndrome, especially in lower-level courses, but I actually believe that on the undergraduate level, Weber State (and many mid-size universities like it) can dance with Ivy League schools. When it comes to pure real-world job skills and employability, schools like mine might actually win. LinkedIn is obviously a professional network, and for its purpose, let me make a probably quite controversial statement, limited to factor markets alone:

Weber State beats Stanford.

And no, I don't drink. But I sure acknowledge that someone who makes a statement like this needs some good talking points in order to not be considered a drunkard. Here are five, but the list is probably longer:

1. Professors who care: While course structure in many undergraduate classes is surprisingly similar among schools of all sizes, a good professor can make a tremendous difference in student experience and learning. If you are a student in an entry-level course in just about any subject at an Ivy League school, you will probably be taught by a graduate assistant. If that is, for whatever reason, not the case and you are actually with a real professor, he or she will probably be so disinterested in teaching the course that the quality of instruction suffers. At the very least, you will never be anywhere close to the top of your professor's mind if you struggle with the content. Coming in during office hours with a question? Don't even think about it. Just get a tutor. In contrast, professors at universities like mine usually love teaching, or at least like it enough to stick around despite 4-4-0 teaching loads. I have heard more than one of them beg in front of the class that students who struggle should stop by during office hours. And despite teaching more courses than professors at large universities, chances are that professors here will know your name within one or two weeks (and remember you long after the end of the semester).
2. Professors who know the real world: Most professors at Weber State are second-career academics. Some have decades of relevant work experience in their teaching fields. Now, contrast this with most professors at larger institutions, who have never actually worked in the field they research and teach. The impact on student experience and real-world preparation is tremendous.
3. A curriculum built towards the workforce: While top-universities produce a high percentage of students who remain in academia, and analytical and research skills are heavily emphasized in curricula, the workforce is the target for the vast majority of mid-size university students. You will be hard-pressed to find a major without a requirement for some sort of hands-on interpersonal communication, "teamwork," or leadership course. Let's face it, entry-level employees will almost always learn the majority of technical skills on the job. However, your ability to express ideas, lead, and work as a team will be a much bigger key to your professional success (and it will likely be the reason you get promoted, too).
4. Graduates who hit the field running: I understand that the demanding coursework at large universities often leaves students at these institutions without time to pursue relevant non-academic employment. This is probably the strongest contrast between large and small schools I could think of, as I have rarely encountered a student at my university without substantial relevant work experience by the time of graduation. And no, I'm not talking about summer internships alone. Almost all students who throw their caps in the air and walk away from campus with their diplomas on graduation day have worked in a professional setting, often directly related to their field. Not only does that bring them some real-world experience before starting their ultimate careers, but they are also made familiar with other less tangible or teachable aspects of work life; from reporting to a demanding supervisor to navigating office politics.
5. A diverse environment: A final remarkable upside is the diversity of student bodies at many mid-size universities. Now, we often think of diversity as diversity in race, and there is some truth to it - however, Caucasian, Asian, and African-American 20-year-olds are still all 20-year-olds. When it comes to creating an environment in which there is true and valuable learning from one another's experiences to better prepare for the workforce, gathering together a colorful group of young adults with relatively limited life experience won't cut it. It still won't cut it if everyone in the group is nominally very smart. That is because the truly defining characteristics of a great professional are not studied, but learned through experience. Now, mid-size universities often look a lot ethnically like their surrounding communities, which can be as racially diverse or homogenous as you can fathom. But often, there are sizable numbers of seasoned professionals who are returning to school to finally get a degree. Or, there are mothers who have foregone a college education to raise children, and now that the nest is empty, they are looking to enter the workforce with an expanded skillset. Or, there are students who have served in the military and after their final deployment, they are looking to start careers as civilians. This diversity of life experiences allows for true variety of perspectives in class discussions. Sometimes, it even allows for direct mentorship between generations. I have learned more from these non-traditional students' experiences than from some of my classes, and this is another level of real-world insight that large universities are often deprived of.

In closing, I hope that next time you face a choice between hiring a big-school or a smaller-school candidate, you will think twice before making a blind call in favor of the academic heavyweight. Perhaps, we are more employable. And perhaps, everything that you think is going wrong in higher education these days is actually going right at mid-size universities like mine.