Carpenter, Kayla: Credentialing

Students consider many aspects when deciding on a college to attend. Some of these considerations include major factors such as location, price, academic majors, and reputation. One of the most important aspects to those who plan to pursue a professional degree such as doctors and lawyers is the credentialism of the institution. The article "Death by Degrees" mentions how twenty-two of Obama’s first thirty-five cabinet appointments possessed a degree from an Ivy League university, MIT, Stanford, the University of Chicago, Oxford, or Cambridge. All are well known and recognizable institutions around the world with highly respected reputations. An undergraduate or graduate degree from any of these universities allows for a much greater chance to be hired for a position or acceptance to a more prestigious university.

This was one of my considerations when deciding on a college. I plan to become a physical therapist and pursue a doctorate degree. Many medical professions place much weight on where students earn their degrees. With my future career plan in my mind, I wanted to attend Louisiana Tech in Ruston, LA, to earn my bachelors and masters degree in physical therapy. They have a specific program set up at the institution for pre-physical therapy and even have a graduate program available to earn a masters degree. Louisiana Tech University is also an accredited institution and recognized by many employers. Also as an advantage to my degree, LSUS in Shreveport, LA, considers Louisiana Tech undergraduates preferentially when they are applying for graduate studies. LSUS's institution has a significant credentialism in the medical field and would assist in being hired in the future. LSUS was also an option for me while deciding on which college to attend for my undergraduate studies. I definitely would have a greater chance of being admitted to their physical therapy graduate program if I had attended there for my undergraduate degree.

However, after touring the campus, I realized quickly that LSUS is more suited for graduate students than undergraduates. Louisiana Tech seemed like the option for me until the reality of price and loans set in. SAU was then my only option because of price, but I am having to give up the opportunity of earning a degree from a more highly rated institution. In the end, credentialism played an essential role in my college decision but was not the deciding factor.