Most Famous US School Brand Names in Asia?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Right. But prestige in Asia isn’t based off anything real, just vague, general impressions of what’s popular, so who cares? It’s like reading PEOPLE magazine and concluding that Paris Hilton is the most prestigious person in the world because look, she’s mentioned 20 times.</p>

<p>From everything on here, it appears that Asians think that if something is prestigious (=I’ve heard of it), it’s good … and if it’s not prestigious (=I haven’t heard of it), it can’t be any good. But that’s illogical thinking. There are plenty of lesser known “things” that are very high quality – from clothing to handbags to vacation spots to colleges. Why should anyone respect such illogical thinking and want to kow-tow to it?</p>

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<p>xiggi, where do you get these stats regarding foreign students? hope you can share the website.</p>

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<p>Re: Post #80:</p>

<p>“What makes places like HYPSM, Berkeley, Caltech and Wharton prestigious in Asia is that they are quite selective and just don’t go by absolute numbers of admitting students but by the quality of their intake.”</p>

<p>Really? So, HYPSM et al. are prestigious in Asia because they’re hard to get into? That’s one of the reasons they’re prestigious in the US, too. I guess those Asians read USNWR, too. </p>

<p>Of course, their output in research accomplishments might have something to do with their prestige, too.</p>

<p>“Their alumni also occupy high seats in government, academia and large organizations and corporations.”</p>

<p>Really? No surprise there. That’s what one would expect of alumni from highly selective universities.</p>

<p>“Wisconsin is not prestigious is Asia.” </p>

<p>No one claimed Wisconsin is prestigious in Asia. But, Wisconsin is known and respected in South and Southeast Asia on the basis of its research accomplishments, alumni base in the region, and its longstanding involvement in the region. That’s different than your focus on selectivity as the primary criterion of prestige.</p>

<p>“It does not have the respect that Berkeley and Michigan have.”</p>

<p>No one said it does. Admittedly, Berkeley and Michigan are better known and respected. That’s true in America, too. Of course, I stated this in Posts #37 & 39, but from your first emphatic upper-case “NO”, you seem to have the distorted perception that anyone claimed Wisconsin was as prestigious in Asia as certain other universities and on this basis you emphatically assert that this is not the case. Please re-read what I stated in those earlier posts. I merely stated an opinion based on my acquaintance with several persons who live and work in the region. In all likelihood, your circles are quite different from mine. It’s a discussion, not a debate, so ask yourself why it’s seemingly so important for you to be right. </p>

<p>“If we would have to include Wisconsin amongst the prestigious American schools in Asia, then we should also include Indiana, Purdue, Penn State, Florida and SUNY too.”</p>

<p>I think it’s fair to say that most knowledgeable people would consider Wisconsin’s graduate and research standing across a range of disciplines to exceed that of Indiana, Purdue, Florida, and SUNY. Certainly, this is the case in America, if not in Asia. </p>

<p>“They all are no different to most Asians.”
Then perhaps Asians are not very well informed about American universities.</p>

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<p>Paris Hilton is not prestigious. (How can someone who just been caught carrying drugs be prestigious! You’re not thinking again, pizzagirl.) She is popular, but hardly prestigious. Obama is prestigious. Warren Buffet is prestigious. Those people may not be as popular as Paris Hilton or Kobe Bryant but they are highly respectable people whose accomplishments and contributions to society are over and beyond those of the average, normal people’s.</p>

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<p>I think that’s precisely why this thread was brought about. the OP was suspicious that the schools often seen prestigious in America might not be true in other parts of the world, thus this thread was created. And, the OP’s suspicion was correct. Top LACs such as Amherst, Williams, The Claremont Colleges, Oberlin and the like are not prestigious in Asia, and so are those Ivy league schools that are poor in research works such as Dartmouth and Brown. </p>

<p>You mentioned Wisconsin having a good network in Southeast Asia. I have attended some gatherings in Jakarta, Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur and I have not come accross any gathering which includes alumni of Wisconsin. In fact, there have been gatherings initiated by Ivy leaguers which have made Brown and Dartmouth more respected than Wisconsin. In many of these Southeast Asian cities, the highly respected American schools conduct career orientation annually. The Ivies were never absent along with Michigan, Berkeley, UCLA, UVa and some top privates such as Duke, Notre Dame, Rice and <a href=“mailto:WashingtonU@StL”>WashingtonU@StL</a>. But I have never seen Wisconsin participated in such events. Wisconsin’s absence of a top business school as well as a top law school is probably one of the reasons why it does not have as much respect as Berkeley, Michigan and UVa have. And, because of that, their alumni network, if they have any in Southeast Asia, has not created a mark for their alma mater school.</p>

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<p>This thread was about famous brands in Asia. My definition of famous is popular but at the same time well-respected. If one of the two required components is missing, it can hardly be defined as such. That’s why Brown can’t be famous in Asia, because whilst it is a highly respected insitution, it lacks popularity, and that lessens its brand power in the region. </p>

<p>In Asia, when you hear someone say, I have attended Harvard, for example. They’ll say, wow! Why? Because Harvard is popular and highly respected. Harvard grads are present in top seats of government, academia and large business organizations. We can say the same thing for YPSM+Berkeley,Caltech,Wharton + Michigan,Columbia,Penn,Chicago,NU to a lesser extent. but we can never say the smae thing for Wisconsin, Florida, Penn State or SUNY, despite that those are great schools with top research outputs.</p>

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<p>I have to add the United States Military Academy aka WESTPOINT in my list of famous American schools in Asia. How could I have missed that!</p>

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<p>So, you are talking about BUSINESS gatherings. What about scientific meetings or discussions on advancing agriculture?? You business types are so shallow. You THINK you know it all–but just run economies into the ditch every decade with one half-baked scheme after another. PUKE. Meanwhile science really makes advances that improve lives. But they don’t get into hob-nobbing with one another and exchanging prestige.</p>

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<p>^ why is MIT and Caltech in my list if this was all about networking of top business executives/businessmen? Why is Yale even there when its business school (SOM) is not even that good and popular?</p>

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<p>Well, I have a slightly different take on the OP’s purpose. As I perceived it, he wanted to know how any lesser known brands fared in Asia, as he was already aware of the obvious brands (e.g., Harvard, Michigan, Berkeley, et al.) I’m assuming perhaps that his interest might be in terms of how they are perceived in business, for example (though I might be wrong about his intended purpose).</p>

<p>I think Wisconsin is a “lesser brand” relative to some of the others so it seems to fit with what the OP was asking about. From my personal acquaintance with several persons who live and work in the region, they speak highly of Wisconsin, and those who have ties to Wisconsin have been very successful in their endeavors. Though admittedly degrees from certain schools might impress many Asians or open some doors or provide access to some networks (and this may prove to be an initial advantage), the persons of my acquaintance do not perceive that they have run into barriers based on their degrees or their perceived status. They have served them very well, in other words. All of them had graduate and/or law degrees as well as strong cultural knowledge and linguistic skills, so this may have served to mitigate whatever initial disadvantage, if any, of a ‘lesser” brand. At the end of the day, I would maintain that it’s a person’s competence and cultural awareness that will win over an initial advantage of the “more prestigious” brand. I would note that in this region, one’s colleagues and competitors are not only other Americans, but also Brits, Germans, Aussies, New Zealanders, et al., most of whom are highly experienced and competent. Even though many of them also have “lesser brands”, they also fare well. </p>

<p>I suspect your circles might be different than those of the persons I’ve talked to. The work of the persons with whom I’m acquainted ranges from general legal and business activities to teaching to consulting, including advising foreign governments. Areas of their experience and expertise include foreign trade/WTO issues, legal reform, business regulation, the IMF, and various development projects through US government and European agencies. They’ve worked most extensively in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, but also have experience in China and across the SE Asian region, including Laos and Cambodia.</p>

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<p>^ fair enough. :)</p>

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<p>You are conflating the “finance” types with all business types. These other business types actually create value instead of shuffling it around in Excel ;)</p>

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<p>Fair enough. I was only talking about a subsection of business that creates little and destroys much.</p>

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Pivot tables are your friend… ;)</p>

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gee, I wonder which college can claim these two as alumni? You really don’t know what the h3ll u are talking about when you’re talking about Columbia…as if it doesn’t have the among the most famous and prominent alums in the world…</p>