• the knowledge room
      registered
      • Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 6:55PM
      • the knowledge room
        registered
      • Do you think it is worth someone going to NAU over a school like Wisconsin or Villanova etc, and winning national championships in cross country but sacrificing the academics and the overall schooling experience? Even if you want to become a professional runner, you will eventually have to fall back on your degree. Is it worth going to NAU??????
    • iowakidscanrun
      registered
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 7:11PM - in reply to the knowledge room
      • iowakidscanrun
        registered
      • Great question. Probably depends on the kid. Lots of good academic schools with good programs. On the other hand you don’t have to go to a top academic school to have good career options if you’re motivated.
    • Jack-o-rnr
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 7:16PM - in reply to iowakidscanrun
      • Jack-o-rnr
      • iowakidscanrun wrote:

        Great question. Probably depends on the kid. Lots of good academic schools with good programs. On the other hand you don’t have to go to a top academic school to have good career options if you’re motivated.

        Exactly. It depends how good of a runner you want to be and if you're a fit for NAU. You can get a good education from NAU if you want. People put too much emphasis on the name of a school.
    • the knowledge room
      registered
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 7:20PM - in reply to Jack-o-rnr
      • the knowledge room
        registered
      • I agree, however the people putting too much emphasis on the name of a school are normally the ones hiring people.
    • Jack-o-rnr
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 7:30PM - in reply to the knowledge room
      • Jack-o-rnr
      • the knowledge room wrote:

        I agree, however the people putting too much emphasis on the name of a school are normally the ones hiring people.

        What are you trying to do that you need an Ivy League education on your resume? if you are a fit at NAU athletically go for it and be the best you can be. You only live once and not name people can run for NAU. Lots of people can graduate from schools with big names.
    • NAU Alumni
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 7:45PM - in reply to the knowledge room
      • NAU Alumni
      • the knowledge room wrote:

        I agree, however the people putting too much emphasis on the name of a school are normally the ones hiring people.

        Not always, it depends what you're doing.

        NAU btw is an excellent school. I went to ASU and NAU. If you want a great college experience, NAU can offer it. You don't need a car, people are nice, it's relaxed in Flagstaff, the air is clean, you will make very good friends, both dorm and off campus living is nice.. it's high quality. I would prefer my kids go to NAU over any other school in Arizona. ASU by comparison is a college experience, but it's massive.. like just craziness. NAU is a lot more close-knit and since Flagstaff is smaller (than Phoenix) and it's mainly based around the college, you basically have no choice but to make good friends and have a great experience. Plus the running will be great and it's wild sitting there in the gym and the entire Swedish Olympic team rolls in for a workout, as an example. Very safe too.
    • Mounty Pylon
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 7:46PM - in reply to the knowledge room
      • Mounty Pylon
      • the knowledge room wrote:

        I agree, however the people putting too much emphasis on the name of a school are normally the ones hiring people.

        This.
    • ados
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 7:47PM - in reply to the knowledge room
      • ados
      • the belief that degrees from good schools are necessarily correlated with better outcomes is largely irrational

        if i were that caliber of runner, i would take nau over stanford in a heartbeat
    • Degrees matter
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 8:58PM - in reply to ados
      • Degrees matter
      • As someone who has both hired people and has been involved in grad school admissions, I don’t understand why anyone who has the chance to go to a school with a good running program AND a good academic reputation (eg, Stanford, Washington, Michigan) goes anywhere else. If you’re gonna work at the local Fleet Feet, I guess it doesn’t matter, but if you want to have a real post running career, it matters a lot.
    • College guy 101
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 9:17PM - in reply to Degrees matter
      • College guy 101
      • Degrees matter wrote:

        As someone who has both hired people and has been involved in grad school admissions, I don’t understand why anyone who has the chance to go to a school with a good running program AND a good academic reputation (eg, Stanford, Washington, Michigan) goes anywhere else. If you’re gonna work at the local Fleet Feet, I guess it doesn’t matter, but if you want to have a real post running career, it matters a lot.

        That's not true. If your working at a fleet feet after any college thats your choice or it's you. The degree does not get you the job, the person does.

        Funny to you mention working at a running store. I knew of a Stanford grad working at a running store for year before getting another job. It took him a year to find a full time job with a Stanford degree.

        The point is the person gets the job, not the school. You can get a great education from NAU.
    • ados
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 9:45PM - in reply to Degrees matter
      • ados
      • Degrees matter wrote:

        As someone who has both hired people and has been involved in grad school admissions, I don’t understand why anyone who has the chance to go to a school with a good running program AND a good academic reputation (eg, Stanford, Washington, Michigan) goes anywhere else. If you’re gonna work at the local Fleet Feet, I guess it doesn’t matter, but if you want to have a real post running career, it matters a lot.

        no, it doesn't
    • wrt
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 11:03PM - in reply to College guy 101
      • wrt
      • College guy 101 wrote:

        Degrees matter wrote:

        As someone who has both hired people and has been involved in grad school admissions, I don’t understand why anyone who has the chance to go to a school with a good running program AND a good academic reputation (eg, Stanford, Washington, Michigan) goes anywhere else. If you’re gonna work at the local Fleet Feet, I guess it doesn’t matter, but if you want to have a real post running career, it matters a lot.

        That's not true. If your working at a fleet feet after any college thats your choice or it's you. The degree does not get you the job, the person does.

        Funny to you mention working at a running store. I knew of a Stanford grad working at a running store for year before getting another job. It took him a year to find a full time job with a Stanford degree.

        The point is the person gets the job, not the school. You can get a great education from NAU.

        Sure, you can get a great education at NAU and a lot of other places, but that doesn't mean brand doesn't matter. Try getting hired at McKinsey or Goldman Sachs out of college with a degree at NAU vs. Stanford.

        I managed a conjoint study a number of years ago with hundreds of hiring managers across the US, mostly in major corporations. Participants were asked to choose among candidates with different attributes/qualifications including major, GPA, experience (one year) and university degree. Brand prestige was definitely a driver in the hiring decision, but there were segments. There was a group of managers for whom the name of the university was the most important attribute, but for another segment experience was most important, etc.

        The implication is that the school you graduate from will matter for some hiring managers but others may not care that much. A lot depends on the industry. There is no question that the name of a university can open doors in certain fields like consulting, finance, or even tech. It's just naive to think otherwise.
    • Dr. Obvious
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/21/2019 11:23PM - in reply to NAU Alumni
      • Dr. Obvious
      • Plus the running will be great and it's wild sitting there in the gym and the entire Swedish Olympic team rolls in for a workout, as an example. Very safe too.[/quote]

        It would be a whole lot cooler if it was the Swedish Bikini Team.
    • ny guy
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/22/2019 12:14AM - in reply to wrt
      • ny guy
      • Funny I just wrote a big yada, yada on this in a different thread.

        1 - a surprisingly large percentage of the population has no idea what Goldman or McKinsey, is and what a job at these or similar firms does to your lifelong earning potential (and possibly career satisfaction).

        2 - that said, if you go to NAU and achieve a GPA of 3.7 or better, have a 4 year athletic career, and even fool around for a few years as a pro runner, you could then easily get into a top MBA program and gain entrance into this kind of firm. A high undergraduate GPA and 4 years of D1 sports, is highly valued by the best grad schools and firms.

        3 - if a Stanford grad with any major can't get a real job, that's due either to lack of effort, or not being willing to consider basic jobs in industry. It's just assumed (maybe occasionally incorrectly) that any Stanford grad (or other top 50 US college) had at least a 700 math sat in high school, and can be trained to do almost any corporate management job.

        So yes NAU can be a great choice, but understand the benefits of the top schools and the tradeoff you make.
    • Greg's best friend
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/22/2019 12:32AM - in reply to wrt
      • Greg's best friend
      • wrt wrote:

        The implication is that the school you graduate from will matter for some hiring managers but others may not care that much. A lot depends on the industry. There is no question that the name of a university can open doors in certain fields like consulting, finance, or even tech. It's just naive to think otherwise.

        no one has denied that. but to take this grain of reality and make it bigger than it is not a useful exercise in general.
    • The knowledge corner
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/22/2019 4:46AM - in reply to the knowledge room
      • The knowledge corner
      • An NAU education is perfectly fine for 99% of the jobs you’ll be applying to. Unless you’re trying to get a job at a prestigious company you’ll be fine. You may not even want to work for one of those companies anyways. Get good grades, build a network, and work hard.
    • Swift
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/22/2019 7:34AM - in reply to The knowledge corner
      • Swift
      • Many of my fellow teachers graduated from prestigious universities. Our principal is a community college graduate with a degree in PE.
    • itdepends
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/22/2019 9:18AM - in reply to the knowledge room
      • itdepends
      • For what it's worth, I have Masters degree from NAU. The degree has certainly helped me out, even if the name of the school hasn't.

        It also depends what you want to study. Interested in Forestry and Botany, NAU is pretty top notch.

        But as I've gotten older in life, I've learned it is really just a small (often sad) crop of people who are only interested in name brand schools. I remember first starting thing this years ago when my cousin, a Notre Dame grad, was talking about how awesome their new job at a super top notch firm in Chicago was going, but then they made this terrible face and said they couldn't believe there were people working at the same company from Southern Illinois University! Ugh, Salukis, imagine that!

        I just laughed and thought how much smarter and wealthier that person is right off the bat without having $100+ in student loan debt.

        Also, Flagstaff just rocks. If you can run up there and go to school, just do it.
    • commonsenseguy
      • RE: Worth running for NAU? 11/22/2019 10:49AM - in reply to the knowledge room
      • commonsenseguy
      • Easily go with NAU for the running culture in Flag, especially if you'll go on to even higher education than just a bachelors.