<p>@missamericanpie
This used to be true, but no longer is, at least at top schools.</p>
<p>Regarding professional program admissions:
I don’t know about MBAs or MDs, but for JDs, the admissions process (even at tippity top law schools, except for Yale and Stanford) is about 90% numbers-based. In other words, if you have the GPA/LSAT, you’ll probably get in. School comes in for borderline applicants, but that has much less to do with coming from the same school and more to do with whether the applicant is coming from a “good school.” Some schools, of course, might even give a slight bump for applicants coming from the same school, but I surmise that this only really applies to Stanford, Yale, and Harvard.</p>
<p>The reason that WSJ chart is just silly is that it makes it seem like school makes all the difference. The reality is, if you have the numbers, Georgetown would put you in all the same places Harvard would. NYU might be at a slight disadvantage compared to Georgetown and Harvard with respect to Yale and Stanford, but it just doesn’t matter otherwise. I know plenty of NYU graduates who are at HLS or are heading there this fall. Clearly, the school isn’t holding them back.</p>
<p>The WSJ chart also only really discusses percentages, but I just have trouble with percentages when considering a large student body. Put simply, larger schools tend to have a significant diversity of focus and ambition. For instance, you can effectively count Tisch out for law school admissions (I’m sure they’d make fine applicants, and I know one or two who got into law school from it, but I can’t imagine that a significant number of them want to go to law school); I’d also imagine that a significant majority at Stern would want to get an MBA or rough it out in finance first. There’s significant self-selection involved that the WSJ chart just doesn’t account for.</p>
<p>Same with Georgetown. You can effectively rule out the School of Nursing and Health Studies–most of them will not want to go to law school. I’m sure if Georgetown had eliminated that school and increase enrollment at the College, MSB, and SFS, they’d do significantly better on that WSJ chart. Again, though, this school serves a specific purpose and Georgetown values it significantly, so it ain’t going nowhere.</p>
<p>So I hesitate to draw conclusions about professional school placement regarding good schools like NYU, Georgetown, Harvard, etc. I think they’re all fine.</p>
<p>With respect to Ph.D and Masters programs, school has even less to do with it; the quality of your department is much more important. I think, for philosophy, an NYU student would have a much easier time getting into a top Ph.D program than a Georgetown student. It’s just the way the cookie crumbles. But the notion that prestige or school caliber determines your future so significantly is nonsense. Yes, it will dictate your post-graduate employment opportunities. But in terms of graduate and professional schooling, you have much more to worry about if you’re deciding between Georgetown and a California State University, than between Georgetown and NYU.</p>