<p>Hi, would somebody comment on the comparison of IVY league schools to the University of Cambridge?</p>
<p>Although I only applied to schools in North America, I can gove you the following comparison (all three candidates from my school that applied to Cambridge got offers):
Point 1: A degree from either system will be highly beneficial to you in the future.
Point 2: Cambridge is MUCH easier to get into (if you have the points) than an Ivy League, but this truly depends on the course. While Ivies care about SAT scores and leadership positions, Cambridge focuses more on how you as a person can suceed in your chosen field (ie. If you apply for math, have you competed in math competitions).
Point 3: You can’t double major or do a dual degree at Cambridge. You choose one subject, and you stick to it. All Ivies encourage second degrees.
Point 4: The work load at Cambridge is much heavier over holidays, and you basically do three years of focussed study (in comparison to two years of general study, two years of focussed study at an Ivy)
Point 5: At Cambridge you get conditional offers that are quite high, ie. 43 out of 45 IB points. At Ivies, it is mostly a ‘don’t drop your grades too much’ condition (much more leniant)
Point 6: Life in England and life in the US is completely different. For me, this should be your main determinant. Although rankings are important, if you work hard at any place, you will suceed
Point 7: If you get an offer from Cambridge, it doesn’t mean you will get into even a lower Ivy League. My personal advice, if you really can’t decide, go to Cambridge. Instead of spending time waiting for the Ivies to release decisions, study hard.</p>
<p>Thanks. Very good points. What’re job opportunities in the US for a Cambridge degree holder? any feel?</p>
<p>Yikes! There is a bunch of real misinformation (and some correct information) in steibca’s post.</p>
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<li><p>For U.S. students, Cambridge is NOT much easier to get into than the Ivy League. Out of 6-7 students I know who applied to Oxbridge in the past 5 years, only one was accepted, and he ultimately went to Harvard where he won one of the top prizes for academic achievement. I am not certain Cambridge is “MUCH” harder than Harvard or Yale, but it is probably roughly equivalent. It is true, however, that lots of things that matter a lot in the U.S. – sports, extracurriculars, leadership – matter very little to Cambridge, and academic achievement (and a substantive academic interview) matter much more.</p></li>
<li><p>Some Ivies discourage or do not permit double majors. That includes, notably, Princeton and Harvard (which does permit a limited number of joint concentrations, but they are often difficult to arrange, and many popular departments like Economics refuse to participate as a matter of policy). </p></li>
<li><p>It is true that many Ivies encourage undergraduates to get an MA simultaneously with their BA, although that takes a huge amount of work, and often an extra summer or semester (or two). That practice has become fairly common at universities in the UK, especially in STEM fields, and there are four-year BA/MS programs in many subjects. At the top British universities (including Oxbridge), and also at Trinity College in Ireland, MA degrees are awarded as a matter of course after a period of time to everyone who receives a BA. And the focus of UK BA programs means that a BA there is fairly close to an MA in the US.</p></li>
<li><p>It is true that UK students do three years of focused study. It is not true that American students do two years of general study and two years of focused study. Most US universities require, and all of them encourage, students to take a number of classes outside of their main area of interest, but the two types of classes are usually intermingled. The rule of thumb at US universities is that the major requirements take up 33-40% of available classes, required general education classes 0-25%, and the remainder are electives, which students usually split between extra courses in their major, courses in related fields, and courses in completely different fields (and second majors, too).</p></li>
<li><p>At elite American universities, extracurricular activities are often as important or more important than classroom work in terms of developing job opportunities. I don’t think that’s anywhere near as true at Oxbridge.</p></li>
<li><p>Few if any American employers recruit undergraduates at Cambridge for jobs in the US (because relatively few of them are interested in working in the US, or have the credentials that would make it easy to get them visas. Obviously, any US employer that is at all sophisticated would be interested in a Cambridge student interested in working for it. And in the rest of the world, Cambridge is one of the top 4-5 brand names.</p></li>
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<p>Ivies are light years ahead in prestige, not just in the USA, but globally. The network among alumni, the power of the school are unbeatable. Just by stating that you graduate from these schools, or work in these schools, there is a subconsciously advantage given in evaluations (I have seen the raw comments in confidential NIH grant application evaluations, and other evaluations and was struck in the evaluators comments that they would point that the scientist had worked/graduated/working/ at an ivy league, even though it had no relationship with the subject of the grant.)
The social capital given from attending an ivy, or any top US school as an UNDERGRADUATE is unmeasurable, no matter what others will tell you. Another plus, is that the US system gives a different type of education in college, more applied than theoretical. If you look at the us curriculum in social sciences, statistics is a given where as in most European universities is not. In the private sector, even in international complex organizations, a US school degree is valued higher than any European one. The elits in every country in the world send their children in the US, not in European schools.</p>
<p>-■■■■■ Alert-</p>
<p>Ana1: You forgot to mention that the whole Galactic Empire is eager to send it’s children to ANY US school over Oxbridge. Fact. (No, I don’t want to argue with you, it would be absolutely worthless.)</p>
<p>Be as it may, Harvard is obviously superior to Oxbridge, Yale and Pton (+Stanford and MIT) are roughly equal with Oxbridge, Columbia is great, but not really for undergrad studies (perhaps a matter of taste, nevertheless it’s not focusing on undergrad education), Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth and Brown are clearly inferior to Oxbridge. But you can’t go wrong with any of these schools…</p>
<p>I hope you are not implying that I am a ■■■■■, that’s funny. Actually, I was foreign born and studied in the US and since I work for a multinational I see on the ground what is valued around the world. I have also come to appreciate and understand the vast difference in resources and environment between a private US school and any other school outside the USA. It is more prestigious to attend Penn or Dartmouth than Oxbridge. Only people who work exclusively in academia will think otherwise. I also put in that category the overseas campus of US schools. It might seem a great opportunity to do the freshman/sophomore year in Paris, or spend 4 years in Dubai/Abu Dhabi, wherever, but the networking and the experience you get as an undergraduate in a top US school is priceless. Go and check the top administration from the UN, to multinationals, to politicians and their kids around the world and see where they graduated from. Not only a US education is more valuable but it is considered a status symbol as well. I wonder why even the former Chancellor of Germany send his son to MIT instead of his own countries top schools. Anybody who has studied in any ivy/top LAC knows that at least half of the internationals belong to the elite in their countries.</p>
<p>d313711: It is more valuable to get an undergraduate degree from a US university than Oxbridge, or any other university in the world. It is also a mistake that many internationals do their undergrad somewhere else and then come in the US for graduate school. There is a totally different experience being an undergraduate than a graduate student at Harvard for example. That’s why freshman year you are mandated to live inside the yard, or why most schools require that freshmen get the meal plan.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for all your inputs and insights. We don’t have a visa problem working in the US. I was a bit concerned about the lack of networking and brand from Cambridge in landing a decent job in the US.</p>
<p>If you want to work in the UK, go to Cambridge; if you want to live and work in the US, go to an Ivy.</p>
<p>This make sense.</p>
<p>Sure, you’re not a ■■■■■, just slightly biased, right? ROLF</p>
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<p>The endowment of Cambridge is £ 4,3 billion, Oxford’s £ 3,3 billion. (Moreover they both own land and buildings all over the UK that worth billions of pounds). Oxbridge is exceptionally rich even by US standards. Fact. (Of course, HYPSM is wealthier than Oxbridge, but that’s 5 university from…5,000?)</p>
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<p>This statement only reflect your opinion, not others. Any proof, maybe? </p>
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<p>Spending one year abroad= getting a degree from NYU Abu Dhabi? LOOOL (Sorry to tell, but NYU Abu Dhabi degree is not equal to a NYU degree…) BTW, there are exchange programs between Oxbridge and Princeton, MIT, Yale, etc…</p>
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<p>Well, they have decent prize tags anyway…</p>
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<p>If you clam that more people graduate from HYPSM+ rest of the Ivies than Oxbridge, you’re right. That’s 10 vs 2, a fair comparision… More people can be found in the US government with Ivy degrees than with Oxbridge ones? Riiight…what a surprise. Nevertheless this hardly challenges the fact that there are tons of people with Oxbridge degrees in the top administration of the UN, multinationals and governments around the world - maybe you should check Asia, for instance…</p>
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<p>As far as I can understand, neither Oxford or Cambridge are German universities…LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL</p>
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<p>Ahh, what a surprise, I thought they’re coming from the slums of Karachi. Of course, ALL the internationals at Oxbridge comes from the poorest parts of Mumbai, right? </p>
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<p>I always knew that North Alabama State University is vastly superior to Cambridge…</p>
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<p>What a striking suprise! Indeed, the experience differs, then what?</p>
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<p>Yeah, Oxbridge students usually live in Edinburgh, not in their colleges in Oxford and Cambridge, respectively.</p>
<p>Pal, your logic and knowledge is truly amazing. I hope your alma mater is proud of you…</p>
<p>Thanks again for all your inputs and insights.</p>