<p>For math/engineering/cs, does the name of the university matter?</p>
<p>Let's take for instance: Stanford vs. UMich
Which is the better choice?</p>
<p>Stanford and UMich are both excellent schools.</p>
<p>H*ll no.</p>
<p>Crap U is basically on par with Stanford in the engineering world.</p>
<p>Yes, name matters, but less than it does in the humanities. </p>
<p>Stanford is the better choice, although they are both good choices.</p>
<p>A better analogy would have been UMich vs. Harvard, or UMich vs. Vanderbilt</p>
<p>Prestige doesn’t matter if you don’t get the grades. As long as you do the best you can, participate in extracurriculars, do some research, and get high grades, it will be better than someone who goes to a prestigious school that only goes there because it is prestigious.</p>
<p>It matters, but…
(1) Not as much as it does for other majors,
(2) Not as much as extracurriculars/research/projects,
(3) Not as much as grades and coursework</p>
<p>What if you’re interested in sort of the research side of engineering, something more in academia? Does it make more of a difference then?</p>
<p>Everyone feels that the prestige of the university matters. Well here is an analogy:
It’s like comparing Abercrombie vs. Levi, you are simply paying for the name while both may give the same support. Yes, the “more prestigious” university may have the top professors and research opportunities, but that doesn’t mean you are going to get an overall better education. The professors can be the smartest in the world, but that doesn’t mean they can teach. If anyone says that a college student should be able to learn stuff on their own, then why are people paying so much for those professors? They’re not being a professor then, but just a very expensive babysitter.</p>
<p>Prestige does matter somewhat. In my experience, both with grad school and career in mind, going to a prestigious school can help strengthen a weaker application, but will not necessarily get you in the door over someone better qualified from a less prestigious school. Basically, if you apply to a graduate school or a job, and you are barely on the edge of getting an offer and getting denied, having a prestigious school CAN be a determining factor, but this is a very low percentage of cases. Also, in my own experience, coming form a “prestigious” school helped the graduate program I am in look past my slightly lower GPA and still offer me a fellowship.</p>
<p>The effect seems to be more pronounced in academia than in industry, but it is still nowhere near the most important factor. The most important factors will always be classes, GPA, previous experience, and in the case of grad school, recommendations.</p>
<p>I agree with boneh3ad. Sadly prestige does come into account sometimes, but this tends to be rare. As stated, it is if the college needs to decide between two equal applicants, it will most likely pick the candidate from the more prestigious college.</p>
<p>If you plan to be a practicing engineer then any school will be equal.</p>
<p>If you plan to move into grad school or into research, then name matters more.</p>
<p>Where I work, MIT graduates are golden -far more highly regarded than graduates from any other university.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the chance to interact with smarter students and better funded professors/facilities is not worthless.</p>
<p>
I’m pretty sure that UM wipes the floor with at least Harvard in engineering, not sure about Vandy.</p>
<p>A well respected school gives you better opportunities for reseach, networking, internships and jobs. Wether you get a better education or not depends more on what you make of it though.</p>
<p>Prestige isn’t worthless, but it’s not as important as other things.</p>
<p>^^Agreed. I admit that prestige may get you a one up on another applicant, but it doesn’t automatically mean you get a better education and are “smarter”.</p>
<p>wait, so if I’m competing with someone from Harvard and I go to a City University for engineering, then it’s hopeless?</p>
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<p>Yeah it does. An average engineering student from MIT will learn more than an average engineering student from University of Florida. I go to a top 10 engineering school, but I still bet that students from MIT receive a slightly better education than me.</p>
<p>The pace in a classroom is and should depend on the level of the students who are being taught. A class with highly intelligent and motivated students is going to cover a lot more material than a class of average students. That is why in many colleges there are honors programs and in high schools - honors and AP classes.</p>