<p>That’s pretty much what I have been trying to say, lookingforward. It is the rare student that will really benefit that much from all those “advantages” as an undergrad. BTW, I have a PhD in a science. I will let you guess which one, lol.</p>
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Harvard says:
[High</a> marks for doctoral programs | Harvard Gazette Online](<a href=“http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/09/high-marks-for-doctoral-programs/]High”>High marks for doctoral programs — Harvard Gazette)
You aren’t gonna argue with Harvard are you? :)</p>
<p>^ Oh, c’mon UCB! Those are HARVARD graduate students the undergrads have the privilege of working with! Of course it’s OK at Harvard; it’s the IVY LEAGUE, after all, which in all respects is qualitatively different from those “megasize” state U’s. ;-)</p>
<p>I guess the general consensus seems to be that at least most top universities offer a strong history program. While I’m not so interested in rankings per se; I just wanted to make sure there isn’t such a huge disparity between the quality of different college history programs.</p>
<p>It’s interesting that good history programs seem to be so numerous. There is no decisive answer, it seems. I’ll take the advice some of you pointed out and explore my options in the scheme of a good college fit.</p>
<p>The most important aspect of “fit”: Go to the school with the highest SAT scores that admits you.</p>
<p>^ Riiiiigggghhhhtt…even if it’s 3 times the cost… </p>
<p>Silly advice collegehelp.</p>
<p>The ever-present trade-off between quality and cost. Yes, I know you must ultimately weigh costs. Some families are more price-sensitive than others.</p>
<p>I was thinking primarily about academic fit. Among schools with your major, choose the school with the highest SAT scores. You can decide later, after you have the financial aid offers, how to weigh quality vs cost. </p>
<p>Sometimes students have to choose a school that is a poorer academic fit because it is a better financial fit. Second-tier schools offer more financial aid in an effort to entice better students. It works for price-sensitive students. Second-tier schools have made a science of it. Sophisticated marketing.</p>
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<p>Really, really silly advice. Not helpful. </p>
<p>Caltech and MIT have great SAT scores. They do not have good history departments. If you think you might want to study history, you’d be a fool to choose Caltech or MIT, notwithstanding their great SAT scores.</p>
<p>Now history is a field where a lot of schools have good to great departments. But that’s not true in every field. If you think you might want to study classics, for example, many, many schools will have weak-to-nonexistent offerings. If you think you might want to study philosophy, it’s actually pretty spotty—a few great departments, quite a few pretty good ones, many truly mediocre ones, and a ton where it’s just not worth the price of admission. I would never encourage someone to choose a college on the basis of its strength in a single field, because most undergrads switch their intended major at least once. But if you have two or three or four fields that you think you MIGHT want to study, I think you can rule out a bunch of schools that are weak in one or more of those fields. And that gets you, academically, much closer to “fit” than simply sorting schools by SAT scores, which is a fool’s errand.</p>
<p>“Go to the school with the highest SAT scores that admits you.”</p>
<p>…because, according to so many here on CC, it’s so much more important to be with other 18-22 yo students who scored well on a few hour test than with stellar faculty.</p>
<p>“Go to the school with the highest SAT scores that admits you.”</p>
<p>I guess this statement didn’t clearly convey what I meant to say. Of course, you should choose a college that offers your major. I didn’t think there was any real danger that might happen. SATs are not the ONLY factor you should consider but they are the most important aspect of “fit” (assuming the school offers your major). Then, among schools with SATs within your range, narrow down based on strength of the specific program and other factors.</p>
<p>SATs are correlated with just about everything good about a college including strength of faculty. Bright students allow faculty to teach at a higher level. Higher SATs = higher graduation rates. You learn work ethic, values, and culture from fellow students. Sure, faculty are very important but the better the students, the better the education. Generally speaking.</p>