<p>I often hear that, all else equal, it is better to earn an MS/PhD from a school other than the one you earned your BS from.</p>
<p>Is this true? If it is, to what extent does it usually matter?</p>
<p>I think the idea is that it is better to be exposed to multiple views of scientific thinking and have different mentors to teach you research styles.</p>
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I often hear that, all else equal, it is better to earn an MS/PhD from a school other than the one you earned your BS from.</p>
<p>Is this true? If it is, to what extent does it usually matter?
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<p>What Dirt McGirt said is true from an academic standpoint - it is probably better to be exposed to multiple viewpoints.</p>
<p>However, there is an even more important reason to choose a different school. It has to do with networking. By going to 2 different schools (as opposed to staying at the same school), you get access to 2 different alumni networks. You know what they say - business success is often times less about what you know than about * who * you know. Going to the same school as somebody who you are interviewing with is a method to establish an instant bond. It also lets you cast a wider net when searching for jobs. </p>
<p>While that may not seem so important to you now, I think the value will reveal itself later in your life. There's little point in doing well in your coursework if you aren't offered the job that you want. I have often times seen people who have done great academic work end up with worse jobs than people who, frankly, couldn't hold their jacket from an intellectual standpoint. The act of hiring is often times a highly arbitrary process where candidates often times get dinged for any reason, or for no reason at all. Hence, the ability to tip the process to your favor by establishing an alumni connection can be a powerful tool.</p>
<p>Now, obviously this has limits. Nobody is telling you to turn down MIT for engineering graduate school in favor of some no-name school just because you went to MIT for undergrad. However, if given the choice between 2 equivalently regarded programs, I would tend to choose against staying at the same school. For example, if you had gone to MIT for undergrad, then you might want to seriously consider Stanford for graduate school.</p>
<p>I asked several of my profs in undergrad the exact same thing when I was applying for grad schools. If I stayed at the same school, I would be able to get my MS early (joint program). Their responses are pretty much what the above posters already said. The general sentiment is, it's a good idea to broaden your horizon, but it won't hurt if you do decide to stay. </p>
<p>I ended up going to a different school for grad btw.</p>
<p>I recommend trying to go to at least one different school through the BS, MS and PhD degrees, but it's not that big of a deal.</p>