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I want to say that the level of academia are virtually the same at all these universities; I've sat in on classes at MIT, Yale and my state university, and I didn't see a marked difference in rigor at all!
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<p>There is a big difference in the freedom a professor can allow himself in the speed of the lectures, the amount of material covered, difficulty of exams and so on, especially at the undergraduate level. MIT and Yale will not be much different in this respect, and an individual absolutely can do almost anything at Yale (or a state school) that could be done at MIT, but an MIT instructor can assume a generally higher level of capability and a more homogeneous set of prerequisites, than when teaching undergrads at Yale. MIT versus any state school other than Berkeley would be a big difference unless teaching a grad course, and probably even then.</p>
<p>Siserune, having sat in on several science lectures at both MIT and Yale and talked with alumni of both universities, I would disagree with your point. Keep in mind that there are different "levels" of courses offered in various departments at each; some geared towards an introductory level and others for more advanced students. </p>
<p>For example, at Yale I believe a freshman chemistry student can choose from among an intro chemistry, general chemistry, advanced general chemistry, freshman organic chemistry, and freshman physical chemistry (as well as more advanced courses). In addition to offering a different pace of work, the different classes allow a greater degree of intimacy and smaller class sizes, similar to what you might find at say, Swarthmore, Williams or Reed. Supposedly the chemistry professors at Yale memorize everyone's names before the first week of class is up. In the classes I sat in on, it seemed so, since the lecture was more of an interactive class where the professor would call on students (by their first names) and have a discussion throughout.</p>
<p>CENG 120a Introduction to Environmental Engineering
CENG 210a Principles of Chemical Engineering and Process Modeling
CENG 300a Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
CENG 301b Chemical Kinetics and Chemical Reactors
CENG 315b Transport Phenomena
CENG 351a Biomedical Engineering I: Quantitative Physiology
CENG 373a Air Pollution Control
CENG 377b Water Quality Control
CENG 411a Separation and Purification Processes
CENG 412b Chemical Engineering Laboratory
CENG 416b Chemical Engineering Process Design
CENG 454bG Biotechnology
CENG 471ab Independent Research
CENG 480a Chemical Engineering Process Control
CENG 490a Senior Research Project</p>
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In my humble personal experience, people who call others idiotic are usually not smart themselves. This holds even if you attend Yale. I have met several Yale people before. They are just average IQ people, not smarter than some of the people from average state universities, but more snobish.
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<p>so that means students from all colleges are equally smart? because students who go to Yale are most certainly admitted to other schools. including your top engineering schools.</p>