Hey folks, as a high school junior knee deep in the college search, I've been wondering about alumni networks. Anybody knows which colleges have the most living alumni?
Sure, I can shed some light on this! The size of a university's alumni network can be influenced by factors such as the size of the undergraduate student body, the number of graduate programs offered, and how long the institution has been around.
Here are some schools known for having large networks. Remember, these numbers change constantly as new students graduate and older alumni pass away:
1. University of Phoenix – This is the largest accredited private university in North America, and it has built a substantial alumni network of over 1 million graduates.
2. Ohio State University – It has over half a million living alumni, strengthened by its large-scale football legacy.
3. University of California, Los Angeles – UCLA boasts a large network of around half a million living alumni.
4. University of Texas at Austin – The Longhorns also have a significant network of over half a million graduates.
5. University of Michigan – This school in Ann Arbor has an alumni body of over half a million spread across the globe.
6. Penn State University – It has one of the largest dues-paying alumni associations in the world, and overall, hundreds of thousands of living alumni.
Remember, a larger network doesn't necessarily mean a better one—it's also important to consider the reach of that network into the industries you're interested in and the level of engagement of the alumni community. Many smaller schools like Dartmouth or Williams, for example, have excellent and very active alumni networks, despite their smaller size.
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