<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Let me get straightly into the topic: I've offers from both and need to decide which one to take. Im from middle east and plan to work in my home country, but I nevertheless would like to hear how oxford stands in the US (reputationwise) compared to Columbia SEAS. Additional info: I am planning to work not as a hardcore engineer, but instead as a consultant focused on industrial efficiency (I think it is kind of related to Industrial Engineering and Operations Research) etc... (So I kind of prefer a broad set of engineering skills)</p>
<p>It is also important to note that Im planning to do an mba for management purposes. Please also comment how helpful a degree from either of the universities will be in terms of being admitted to a well reputed MBA program in the USA. (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton etc). I am aware of the fact that the name of my university is not the only important factor for such an admission, but we all know that it definitely makes some diffetence, I suppose.</p>
<p>Please don't shift the focus of the topic: Almost all of the related topics written before somehow ended up with loads of tirades and rantings that were quite harsh.
Thanks in advance...</p>
<p>Have you read this:</p>
<p><a href=“Why you should join Columbia SEAS - Columbia University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/columbia-university/1487614-why-you-should-join-columbia-seas.html</a></p>
<p>Either name will open doors. Oxford probably has the best name recognition in the US of any non-US university, but name recognition counts for more with jobs than grad schools. IMO, neither school has a strong advantage over the other in terms of applying to an MBA program. However, having degrees from both sides of the Atlantic could make you stand out from the crowd, so (for example) Oxford undergrad and Harvard grad could be pretty interesting to employers.</p>
<p>So, I suggest looking again at the classes you will be taking, how you will be evaluated, and what the student life is like: that is, what will your undergraduate experience be like? You already know that both are great choices: which will fit <em>you</em> (not us) best? Oxford is four years all engineering, Columbia has a significant core requirement. Oxford is in a small city; Columbia is an enclave in a large one. And so on. </p>
<p>@collegemom3717 </p>
<p>Many thanks for your fast response. Honestly, both of the programs fit me quite well, although they are nothing like one another. I can do science non-stop, just as Oxford offers, but I am also quite into liberal arts. In addition, I found Oxford society to be quite amicable (I stayed for a couple of days in the university for my interview) but have never experienced Columbia before. In other words, Columbia’s society is more like a hit or miss for me. As a result, I wanted focus morely on the practicality of my future degree, which can best be valued through a number of factors including the ones I talked about in my initial post. If you or anyone can think of any other aspect of these universities to compare, please feel free to broaden the discussion with your unique point(s) of view.
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<p>As another question, I would like to focus on your (@collegemom3717) comment again:</p>
<p>"…Oxford probably has the best name recognition in the US of any non-US university,"</p>
<p>If you were to compare the reputation of Oxford to that of Columbia in the US (from a business point of view–I just like to think about every possible future options) what would you say? Would Oxford brand be tantamount to that of Columbia, or would be (even a notch) higher or lower? I honestly have no idea about how well regarded each of the universities is in the US, but as far my research (especially in CC) goes, I have come to think that next to HPYMS, Columbia is a notch lower when it comes to prestige. (I know “prestige” is quite a relative term, but you know what I mean.) Assuming my prior statement somewhat to be correct (in the eyes of an American employer) would Oxford’s reputation be closer to those of HPYMS or Columbia?</p>
<p>For those of you who are following this thread: I do not mean to write anything offensive here. (I am quite sure that I did succeed in that, but I am writing this just to make things clear in case of anything.) As I stated before, the reputation section of my post is highly relative. (This is what I understood that the majority thinks.)</p>
<p>Well, if you are going by what is said on CC, NOTHING is equivalent to HPYSM. However, the TRUTH is different. It matters NOT what the “man or woman on the street” knows about colleges, and when CCers talk about prestige they are usually talking about name recognition in a more general social context. In short, about “bragging rights.” CC as a guide to prestige is iffy, as it revolves around common knowledge and basic name recognition, rather than in-depth knowledge about the American higher educational system or about individual schools. Most of the folks who post here about prestige are HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, and to say their knowledge is limited is an understatement! The USNWR rankings are another barometer of prestige, which place Columbia at #4 among American universities, just behind Princeton, Harvard, and Yale, and ABOVE Stanford and MIT in its rankings. Columbia is also more selective than Princeton. So what the majority on CC thinks is utterly irrelevant. What matters is what graduate schools and employers – in short, what those who are informed about higher education - actually think. You will get where you want to go using either school as your “vehicle” of mobility!</p>
<p>So, if relative measures of prestige are your criteria for selecting a college, they are endlessly debatable and rather shallow criteria. The real issue is this: the educational experience at Oxford vs Columbia is going to be almost opposite. From Oxford you will receive an intensive four-year course in one subject. At Columbia you will receive an exceptionally well-rounded liberal arts component to your engineering degree. I am a proponent of the theory that different kinds of learning have cognitive value. A more flexible and imaginative intellect might emerge from a better rounded curriculum. Which flexibility and imagination may make you a more fluid and expansive thinker, and which capacity for fluid and expansive thinking could have cognitive benefits that translate into superior skills in your chosen field. The student bodies may differ as well, with Columbia having perhaps a higher percentage of talented students of color. The diversity of the Columbia student body is a plus for some, a minus for others.</p>
<p>Neither has a really quantifiable prestige advantage, though if you choose to go to graduate school in the US or go right to work in the US, Columbia may be more useful to you than Oxford, esp. given the contacts you will make here and the internship opportunities in NY. Conversely, if you want to become more viable in Europe, Oxford may be more appropriate.</p>
<p>The point is, quantifying the prestige differential of schools at this level is akin to counting the number of angels on the head of a pin. A completely useless exercise, unless you really are simply shallow and are looking for a “name,” rather than for an appropriate education to achieve your goals. The real issue is the curricular distinction between them: four years of one subject, or four years of engineering within the context of a well-rounded liberal arts core.</p>
<p>agree with swingtime- you are really splitting hairs for ‘prestige’ at this level, by course (though Oxford is typically a bit ahead of Columbia in engineering rankings) or university. Both will give you all the opportunities you could want- and (this is one of those truisms that students hate!) it really will be down to what you make of the opportunities at either place. Also agree with swingtime on the benefits of a liberal arts background, esp. given that you want to do business > engineering. </p>
<p>I think you are looking for a proxy for making the decision, but rather than looking for external validation (imo) you will do better to look harder at yourself, and which environment you are more likely to thrive in (not least, it will contribute to getting the marks to get into that MBA program).</p>