What’s Important: University Reputation

There are many factors that can influence your college decision. In our What’s Important series, we are unpacking seven common factors parents and students tell us are influential when they are choosing a university. This series will also provide resources for your college search based on the factors that are most important to you. Today’s factor is University Reputation.

When you attend a college or university, you are identifying with that school to some extent. How closely you identify with the school is up to you. But for years to come, you will be putting this school’s name on your resume, reading the alumni newsletter, and receiving invitations to Homecoming. In other words, your relationship with your alma mater has the potential to be an ongoing relationship that lasts the rest of your life. As you would in other potentially lifelong relationships, you want to determine your compatibility with the schools you are considering.

Although there are many aspects of the college experience that impact your “compatibility” with a school, university reputation could be especially important to you. If reputation is your priority when choosing a college or university, you want to get a sense of the school’s history. What does the school consider to be their mission, and what have they done to demonstrate that mission over the years? Who have been the notable figures associated with this school, and what did they accomplish? Do the people who attend or work at the school know who they are as an institution and why they do what they do?

And perhaps most important: Is the school consistently showing signs of growth, of learning from past mistakes, and of adapting to better equip new generations of graduates?    

What to look for on a college website

• Read the history and “about” sections of the website; these pages tend to articulate the school’s mission and will give you a sense of how the school positions itself
• Find content that is written or produced from a student or employee perspective; consider how these individuals talk about the school and what their personal experience has been
• Make note of third-party data that you can verify yourself, such as rankings, accreditations, or statistics from national surveys; while data that is slightly out of date is not necessarily problematic (it may simply be on the docket for an annual update soon), misleading statements are cause for concern
• Skim news releases from the past year or so — do they demonstrate that the school is continuing to grow and thrive?

Example questions to ask your admissions counselor

• What is your university’s core mission?
• Can you tell me about a few of your notable alumni?
• What have employers said about your graduates?
• What new programs or initiatives have you instituted in the past few years?

What to look for on your college visit

Talk with students, professors, and other employees to get their first-person perspectives. Ask them why they chose to come to this school. Remember that the people you meet on your campus visit were once in your shoes, so to speak: Out of all the options open to them, they chose to come to this school to live, earn a degree, and work. Meeting them face to face and hearing their thoughts about the school could help you make your own decision.

Links to HU resources related to university reputation

• Our About webpage
• A description of our University mission and philosophy
• A list of our accreditations and associations
• The Spirit of a Forester, a list of seven traits that describe what it means to be an HU student and alum

“I chose to attend Huntington because of the Department of Nursing's status. I have heard many good things about the nursing classes and the professors. They are always happy to see students and very welcoming; additionally, they have made their time available to anyone who needs extra help, whether with classwork or just with college in general.”

Erin (2025)