<p>I am sorry but the "rating" naming the top 50 or whatever are pretty meaningless as been discussed everywhere</p>
<p>Why are some of the "top" schools opting out of the ratings? because they mean nothing really</p>
<p>Who is to say # 48 school is worlds better then # 60? it isn't</p>
<p>"Who is to say # 48 school is worlds better then # 60? it isn't"</p>
<p>What about numbers 1 and 60?</p>
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I think most people in this thread were referring to the top 15/25 schools in relation the the other 4000 in the country. 48 and 60 are pretty close, so there is probably not much difference. As kk suggests, 1 and 60 are pretty far and probably have some marked differences.</p>
<p>i just have issues with the people who think an acceptance letter to HYPS means they are set for life. yes, many alumni are extremely successful, but most of the time it has nothing to do with the school- they would have been successful at any other school. people forget to think of the vast number of alumni who dont make the 6 figure salaries, such as teachers or journalists.</p>
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every person in the world knows what they are because they're the oldest universities in the world
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<p>Well, they're not all that old. Schools like MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Cornell, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, and Berkeley were all founded in the late 1800's. That's pretty young as far as universities are concerned.</p>
<p>Heck, if you want to talk about 'the world', then even Harvard is not even half as old as schools like Oxford and Cambridge, which were founded in the years 1167 and 1209 respectively. Heck, the truly oldest university in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is the University of Al-Karaouine of Morrocco, which was founded in the year 859.</p>
<p>the OP's posts is not well supported: there are plenty of Top 50 schools that dole out merit money, including privates. Moreover, HPSYM et al, with their no loan policies and ability to meet 100% of need, can actually be less expensive than the in-state public flagship.</p>
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which were founded in the years 1167 and 1209 respectively.
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Thank you- that statement that was made about them being the oldest in the world really bothered me.</p>
<p>citygirlsmom - just curious about your post. Naming the "top 50 is pretty meaningless" - don't understand how you come to that conclusion. The top 50 is pretty much the top for students and campus facilities from what I have seen.</p>
<p>Which of the "top" schools is opting out of the ratings. I must have missed that one.</p>
<p>Nobody says that #48 is "worlds above" #60 - but it certainly is a variable that should be considered (along with other factors) when deciding on schools.</p>
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I think (or at least hope) that after the numerous threads about the value of prestige, many CCers realize that a Harvard degree is not necessarily the ticket to success and riches. Can it help you get there faster and with more ease? Sure. But does it guarantee a 6 figure salary right out of college? Of course not. And I think many CCers realize this (and if they don't, then they'll soon find out).</p>
<p>Bascisally it's a lot easier for job placement graduating out of the ivies and other top schools when compared to "less ranked" schools. And let's be 100% candid, job placement is a concern for many, if not most college students. If you (or your parents) are doling out quite some $$$ to go to college, you'd expect to make sure that money doesn't go to waste. Also, "top ranked" schools tend to have smarter students. It isn't really the college that makes "top" schools very great, it's the students.</p>
<p>"Bascisally it's a lot easier for job placement graduating out of the ivies and other top schools when compared to "less ranked" schools."</p>
<p>That depends heavily on the field/employer; some places look NOT to hire Ivy/elite school grads because said employers believe that those grads will demand a higher salary. Moreover, there are many jobs where an Ivy degree holds little weight over others.</p>
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business week just released an article about how many companies often prefer not to hire ivy league students, because they think they are pompous and expect that 6 figure salary. bobmallet1 just proved this article true for me.
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<p>Unless you're Larry and Seregey..</p>
<p>Maybe the major point is that prestige is in the eye of the beholder.</p>
<p>I've had the chance to live in two completely different towns. (Ironically, these towns border each other and share the same zipcode). In the town from where I graduated high school, a college was prestigious if it was a) expensive, b) in the Northeast, and c) ranked highly on the US News list. The regional aspect overshadowed almost anything else, as students would file application after application to a school like Boston U, GWU, or Syracuse. As far as they were concerned, Northwestern and WashU were not on the map, in this imaginary place called the midwest.</p>
<p>The other town values schools that have a) a Catholic/Jesuit affiliation, b) good sports teams. Proximity and low cost are a plus, but not necessary. In this system Georgetown is the ultimate Holy Grail, wielding the power of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton combined, to the fifth power, (to this day my heart flutters a bit when I hear about Georgetown, regardless of where it places in comparison to other elite schools) while schools like Penn State and Fordham also get major props. A school like Columbia, as far as they're concerned, is an expensive dump, and don't get them started on non-Harvard Ivies/ LAC's.</p>
<p>My point is that choosing a school based on how you think everybody in the world is going to perceive you is RIDICULOUS. You probably already realize that, and if you don't, it's about time.</p>
<p>However, there's a reason beyond rank that elite schools are so attractive. They attract top students, top professors, are well-funded to the hilt, and help open doors in any career path. Most students want to be in an environment where they can find all of these things quite easily. I really don't blame students for wanting top schools-- going to a top school allows a student to be flexible with his or her major, his or her academic career, his or her career path, etc.</p>
<p>CGM makes a good point, though-- go with what you want to accomplish in college FIRST-- THEN take a look at US News and Fiske. Perceived prestige should never overshadow your concrete goals for yourself. I mentioned in another thread that given the chance to apply to colleges again, and had I paid more attention to my personal goals, I would have chosen a completely different smattering of schools across a broader US News spectrum.</p>
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That depends heavily on the field/employer; some places look NOT to hire Ivy/elite school grads because said employers believe that those grads will demand a higher salary. Moreover, there are many jobs where an Ivy degree holds little weight over others.
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<p>You are indeed correct, and the rejoinder to that is that those are precisely the types of employers that highly capable people should be looking to avoid. </p>
<p>I've known several employers like that (i.e. shall we say, certain 'vehicle companies' in the state of Michigan). A major problem of these firms is that they are not meritocracies. Promotion schemes are heavily based on seniority and office politics, rather than on merit. Not so coincidentally, these firms are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. </p>
<p>If you're a hard-working and accomplished person, as I think anybody who can seriously consider a top school must be, then you should want to work for an employer who values such people.</p>
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My point is that choosing a school based on how you think everybody in the world is going to perceive you is RIDICULOUS.
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<p>Well, I wouldn't go that far. I would certainly agree that it should not be the only factor to consider. But I would hardly call it 'ridiculous' to consider it. I would say that there are entirely rational reasons for wanting to associate yourself with a brand name, simply as a matter of market signaling. For example, I know quite a few people who have earned engineering degrees at MIT primarily because they intended to enter technical careers in which the credibility of having an MIT pedigree is highly important. Let's face it. Once you have an engineering degree from MIT, nobody is going to ever question your technical acumen. A notable example of this would be defense contracting, in which many of the important players have impressive technical degrees and so if you want to maintain credibility, you often times also need an impressive technical degree. Similarly, I know people who have chosen to get MBA's at Harvard mostly because they intend to enter rarefied fields like hedge funds or private equity where having a Harvard MBA is basically de-rigeur. </p>
<p>Look, whether we like it or not, we live in a world where brand names do matter. People are going to judge you on the the brand names you are associated with - i.e. the school you went to, the car you drive, the clothes you wear, the restaurants you eat at, etc. And some industries are far more brand-conscious than others. For example, if you intend to work in the fashion industry, you have litte choice but to don brand-name fashionwear every day if you want to get ahead. Hence, since this is the world we live in, it is entirely rational for you to be brand-conscious. It's not ridiculous, it's just realistic. </p>
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CGM makes a good point, though-- go with what you want to accomplish in college FIRST-- THEN take a look at US News and Fiske. Perceived prestige should never overshadow your concrete goals for yourself. I mentioned in another thread that given the chance to apply to colleges again, and had I paid more attention to my personal goals, I would have chosen a completely different smattering of schools across a broader US News spectrum.
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<p>Well, the major problem is that most college students don't know exactly what they want to accomplish. That's why most colleges allow you to shop around and switch majors. Of all the people that I know, only a minority of them actually ended up getting degrees in what they intended to get major in when they came in as freshmen. The majority switched majors. </p>
<p>And even if you do complete your intended major, you will probably end up switching careers at some point anyway. For example, Vernon Smith got a BSEE from Caltech, and then eventually become an economist, and won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002. Obviously not everybody is going to become Vernon Smith, but the point is, people change careers all the time. CNN once estimated that the average American changes careers (not just employers or jobs, but entire careers) about 4 times in a lifetime. Hence, it is highly likely that at some point in your career, you will end up doing something that has nothing to do with what you thought you were going to do when you were a high school student. What ultimately matters is that you have both a core education that will allow you to quickly learn whatever happens to be the relevent skill in whatever career you end up in, as well as a marketable credential that will open whatever doors you need opened.</p>