NA vs RA grad school

[alexf.1990]

What's the RA school with the worst rep? Maybe University of Phoenix? Deserved or not they're usually the poster child for for-profit bad apples.

What's a single NA school with a good rep? I don't know if I can think of any that people outside of niches like us would know. So the NA person might make me assume that their unknown school is some RA school I haven't heard of (and therefore likely better than UoPhx at least, per popular opinion)... But if I knew it was an NA school upfront, I'd be inclined to think it was probably on par with UoPhx at best.

Personally I think U of Phoenix comes to many people's minds. High profile.

Aspen is considered one of the best NA schools, apparently. What I mean is schools that have many graduates with successful careers. Some of the other schools that were "one of the best" later got RA approval.

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Huh?  This is a strange question.  I'd like you to find me 10 random strangers not on this board- if I name an accreditor, I'll give you a dollar if they can tell me if it is (1) regional (2) national (3) fiction.  Without googling, can you tell me how many RA accrediting agencies there are? What about NA?  No way the average Joe can name one without looking.  Maybe 2-3 and only if they work in the industry.  

People don't know this kind of thing.  
Also, the general Joe knows probably less than 200 colleges (50 University of, 50 X State Univerisity, the ivys, the big 10, and I'll give them another 50 to account for their knowledge of their own profession and geography).  On that list, I'm sure they wouldn't know if any of the schools were RA or NA - heck people don't even know the difference between NA and RA.  

Unless someone dedicates time to learning the nuances between accreditors, and then actively studies who is accredited, you're not going to get an answer that has any meaning.  Even the OPINIONS of members here are pretty limited.

True about average people. I'm wondering more about smart, educated people.

That is part of why I'm thinking of doing NA versus the bad RA. I feel that I will end up networking with some Ivy League grads and other top listed schools. I'd rather them think "never heard of her school, it must not be good", but assume that I must not have gone to a terrible school. Versus think "she went to U of Phoenix? Suspicious."

However, it's not hard to Google. Do you think the Ivy League grads have an overall correct view of what NA is?

Cookderosa is probably being generous with her 100 university estimate. I'd say its closer to 25 for the average person. They''ll know about half of the Ivies, a handful of schools from their state, and a handful of schools with good sports programs. The average Ivy grad will know of a few more universities than the average person, but its not going to be significantly more. Their knowledge will be limited to schools with high profiles in the field the Ivy grad is in, or schools their friends attended. I think its safe to assume that few people outside of recruiters, HR departments, and people on this board actually know the difference between NA and RA.

If you're looking to impress Ivy grads, look for schools with good programs in your field. In the long run, your hobbies, personality, and work history are going to matter more than where you went to college. You might be better off attending a bland university and working on the other areas of your life.