NA vs RA grad school

[cookderosa]

I'm curious which would give you a better immediate impression of a stranger. If they graduated from one of the worst reputation RA schools, or if they graduated from an NA school that was one of the best reputation ones?

Assume whatever schools you personally think are the worst RA and best NA. If it helps, assume two strangers who have equal job titles, equal pay, are the same age, and have the same amount of work experience.

I think it's a toss-up without a clear answer, but I'm wondering how others think. I feel like the NA grad probably paid less, however, so it would be a little smarter, perhaps? Then again, the RA grad has probably given themselves slightly better future options if they need to change employers or go back to school.

I'm not trying to start a discussion about the pros and cons of NA/RA because there are many discussions about that already. But would like to know your opinion about "good" NA schools versus "bad" RA? I am very strongly considering a good-rep NA school, partly due to the cost, but wondering if I should instead go to a low-rep RA school.

I don't plan to be in situations where my NA degree disqualifies me or anything, but I still think I'll get compared somewhat based on my school's rep and accreditation. (It would also disqualify me from adjunct teaching if I do NA, but I think a low-rep RA would basically keep me out too because I'm not competitive in other ways.)

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.