<p>How many people are in Asia? How many have you met? Is UCLA well known because they sell lots of T-shirts in Asia?</p>
<p>It’s completely understandable why west coast schools are well known in Asia. So many Asians have migrated there of course.</p>
<p>
Unfortunately, yes. Also, many Asian students choose to attend UCLA.</p>
<p>UCLA is seriously far too low on every person’s list. Its not that “prestigious” but its far better known than universities like Cornell. Berkeley is arguably lesser known in Hong Kong. I know that for a fact.</p>
<p>Hmm well my reason for creating this thread was to find some lesser knowns that are famous in Asia. For example, I know for a fact that Michigan, Berkeley, and Cornell grads are considered as baller as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Caltech grads (I’d say those are the big 4 along with maybe Yale). Also, I’ve heard that University of Washington and USC have a decent reputation in India at least. Any other lesser knowns that do well internationally?</p>
<p>By Asia, are you referring to Far East Asia or India? Perceptions in the two regions are drastically different. -.-</p>
<p>
Add Yale, Caltech and Princeton.</p>
<p>
Minus Wisconsin, U of Washington and UCSD, then it’s a very good approximation.</p>
<p>^ absolutely, because those three are more respected than Columbia in Asia or even in Europe.</p>
<p>Wisconsin is known, particularly in South and Southeast Asia.</p>
<p>^ NO; not in Southeast Asia. Maybe in South Asia it is. But in Southeast Asia, Texas-Austin and UIUC have even more rave than Wisconsin has.</p>
<p>UCLA, All the IVY leagues, USC, Stanford, NYU</p>
<p>Post #29: “NO; not in Southeast Asia. Maybe in South Asia it is. But in Southeast Asia, Texas-Austin and UIUC have even more rave than Wisconsin has.”</p>
<p>I was referring to awareness of Wisconsin amongst government officials in SE Asia based on academic ties and involvement in development projects, etc. Wisconsin has very strong programs in SE Asian Studies, and longstanding involvement in the region. A family member with degrees from UW has lived and worked in academic, governmental, and business capacities in the region for 15+ years, and Wisconsin is well-respected and known. </p>
<p>I don’t know about Texas’ or UI’s involvement in the region, but both of those universities are not particularly known for area studies related to the region.</p>
<p>Oh, to specify, the people I’ve most heard the opinions of in this subject are East Asians.</p>
<p>zapfino, I have not known someone in SEA who’s occupying a high seat in government, academia or business who have been to Wisconsin. I have not known any prestigious university in the SEA region that has links, ties or projects with Wisconsin. for most people in SEA, the State of Wisconsin is unkonw, let alone a university named after it. For those who have heard of it think of it as a provincial State – less develeoped and less opportunities provided to their citizens. Wisconsin is not anything like California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illionois or Massachussettes.</p>
<p>Maybe to some circles, Wisconsin is regarded. I just haven’t met a few of those people though. But the State Us that are generally well-regarded or well-respected in SEA are Berkeley, Michigan, and to a lesser extent, UVa, UCLA, Texas-Austin and UIUC. But aside from those schools, I also hear the ff schools mentioned in ramdom : SUNY, Penn State, UCSD, UC Irvince, UC Davis, U of Washington and Indiana Univeristy.</p>
<p>Wisconsin grads active in SE Asia-
President of Bangladesh
Minister of Education Thailand
Minister of Foreign Affairs- Taiwan
Prime Minister Bhutan</p>
<p>Also extensive work with India in modernizing agriculture. Now working with China in same areas.</p>
<p>Hmm… Basically for India, any university strong in a pre-professional degree of engineering and or business is well known and has a brand name.
I think people should be specific what part of Asia they are talking about, the Indian sub-continent or East Asia</p>
<p>Bangladesh, Taiwan and Bhutan are not parts of Southeast Asia. They probably belong to South Asia. As for Thailand, who cares if the Minister of Education in that country went to Wisconsin? I’d be more impressed if you’ll tell me the top students in Thailand would dream of attending Wisconsin or they would rather be at Wisconsin than Brown or Cornell, or Wisconsin is as regarded at Michigan, Columbia, Penn, Duke and the like.</p>
<p>Re; Post #33—</p>
<p>Just because you have not known of persons or institutions in SEA with links or projects with U Wisconsin does not mean that UW is not known in the region. Perhaps your circle is too restricted. </p>
<p>UW has significant numbers of alumni in the region as one might expect from a large public university with large numbers of international students (and, I assume Illinois and Texas also have significant alumni presence in the region, as well). </p>
<p>There’s a difference between familiarity with a university and familiarity with an American state. Sure, most people in SEA will not be familiar with the State of Wisconsin, but I think that’s true for some other states that you mentioned, such as Illinois or Massachusetts. For some states, they may be known as vacation spots or known from American TV shows (e.g., California or Florida) or known for certain cities (e.g., Chicago in the case of Illinois) or known for a stereotype (e.g., cowboys, in the case of Texas), but that’s about it. I suspect Berkeley, Michigan, and UCLA are more widely-known (particularly in East Asia), but simply because they are more widely-known does not mean U Wisconsin is unknown. If you’re just talking about the person on the street or prospective students who slavishly follow USNWR rankings, then perhaps UW is not as well known. </p>
<p>I daresay, in some parts of SEA, Australian universities that most Americans have never heard of, will be better known than most American universities.</p>
<p>[University</a> of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies](<a href=“http://seasia.wisc.edu/About/history.htm]University”>http://seasia.wisc.edu/About/history.htm)</p>
<p>[Untitled</a> Document](<a href=“http://www.international.wisc.edu/Thai/research.html]Untitled”>http://www.international.wisc.edu/Thai/research.html)</p>
<p>[Untitled</a> Document](<a href=“http://www.international.wisc.edu/Thai/alumni.html]Untitled”>http://www.international.wisc.edu/Thai/alumni.html)</p>
<p>^ I think the more appropriate term to use here is regarded or respected. I’m saying Wisconsin is a great university, but it is not as respected and regarded as Berkeley and Michigan in Asia (as a whole). I believe there is a just a certain cachet – or brand power – that Berkeley and Michigan enjor over their State U rivals. These two State Us often rival the elite privates in stealing top students from going to HYPSMC, something that is hardly known (or believable) for Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Re: Post #38</p>
<p>I would agree that Berkeley and Michigan have great prestige and name recognition throughout Asia, due to their research accomplishments and alumni base as well as their longstanding involvement in the region.</p>
<p>In my initial post, I was merely tossing out the name of Wisconsin as a university that has long involvement in the South and South Asian regions. It is known and respected; this does not necessarily mean that it is as well-known or respected as Michigan or Berkeley. Along with Berkeley and Michigan, it has one of the major SEA Studies centers in the US.</p>
<p>Within the US, as you noted, Berkeley and Michigan do enjoy a brand power over other public universities. I would note that Michigan and Wisconsin also have a longstanding appeal for undergrads in certain circles of the Northeast (more so for Michigan and Wisconsin’s may be declining), whereas not so much for Berkeley, Illinois, and Texas. Though Illinois is a great research university, it does not have much social prestige for undergrads outside its region (“flyover country” bias); the same with Texas (perceived as too regional and the state as too conservative). Perhaps, they have greater deserved recognition and prestige in Asia than in certain regions of the US.</p>
<p>
Why are we even talking about “regarded” or “respected” universities? </p>
<p>The title of the thread asks for the most “famous” US schools. Fame does not imply “prestige” much like Paris Hilton isn’t a great actress/singer/role model/anything.</p>