Rating top UK universities vs top US universities

College Search & Selection
41

<p>“Do a door-to-door survey and ask people what the top two schools in the country are. For every person who says Stanford or MIT, at least 10 will say Yale.”</p>

<p>Hippo, that is not true whatsoever. Not even close. Such a survey as the one you suggested was conducted twice by Gallup, once in 1999 and once in 2003. In 1999, MIT, Princeton and Stanford were all found to be equally prestigious as Yale. In 2003, MIT and Stanford were found as prestigious as Yale, though Princeton did lag a little. </p>

<p>Now that’s according to the masses. According to the educated (people with college degrees), Harvard and Stanford are the undisputed top 2, and that is clearly shown in the 2003 Gallup survey. Yale and MIT were the next two. </p>

<p>In both surveys, Yale never comes close to receiving 10 times as many votes as MIT, Princeton or Stanford. </p>

<p>[Harvard</a> Tops Gallup Poll List as Best University](<a href=“Harvard Tops Gallup Poll List as Best University”>Harvard Tops Gallup Poll List as Best University)</p>

<p>[Harvard</a> Number One University in Eyes of Public](<a href=“Harvard Number One University in Eyes of Public”>Harvard Number One University in Eyes of Public)</p>

42

<p>Based only on my personal opinion, the most prestigious UNIVERSITY in America is Harvard. But the next most prestigious university is a toss up amongst the ff:</p>

<p>Stanford
MIT
Yale
Princeton
Berkeley
Caltech</p>

<p>Next group would include the ff:</p>

<p>Columbia
Chicago
Duke
Penn
Cornell
Michigan
Northwestern
Hopkins</p>

<p>then next group.</p>

43

<p>@Alexandre: Wow. Thanks for posting that link. Certainly has been useful. Since 2003 there hasn’t been another poll done? </p>

<p>Also, is there any UK equivalent of such a poll? Or an international poll for that matter?</p>

44

<p>

Those polls have Notre Dame tied with Princeton and Yale. Especially since Catholics make up less than 1/5 of people in the US, that strains credibility beyond belief. Notre Dame performed exceedingly well in the Revealed Preferences ranking, to be sure, but most people would not place it in the same tier as Harvard or any of the elites vying for the second spot. </p>

<p>I find the high success rate of Texas A&M and low success rate of NYU in the polls equally dubious.</p>

<p>Next link, please!</p>

45

<p>Oxford and Cambridge would equal the first group in America, except Harvard.</p>

<p>But LSE, Imperial, UCL and Warwick would equal to the 3rd group of America’s best universities. (That’s NYU’s league, at best. )That means, neither UK’s next best uni is as good/prestigious as any of these universities:
Columbia
Chicago
Duke
Penn
Cornell
Michigan
Northwestern
Hopkins</p>

46

<p>Hippo, regardless of what random survey you conduct, you are likely to have a similar result. What do you expected from the masses? The average American has never heard of Yale and those that have will not think it more prestigious than its peers by a ratio of 10:1. That is not at all palusible. I have never seen any evidence of this and I have been analyzing universities for close to two decades. In fact, my personal experience has shown that MIT and Stanford are marginally more prestigious than Yale, but the margin was completely insignificant.</p>

<p>Schools like Notre Dame, Michigan, Duke and North Carolina are well known on a national level because of their high-profile athletic teams. You don’t have to be Catholic to have heard of Notre Dame.</p>

<p>At any rate,</p>

47

<p>eugeneho, there has been Gallup survey conducted since 2003 and I know of no such survey conducted in the UK.</p>

48

<p>

Agreed, but let’s not conflate recognition with prestige. Many people have heard of the University of Phoenix, but they would not submit it as an example of an extremely distinguished institution of higher learning.</p>

49

<p>Hippo, to me, recognition and prestige are generally linked when a poll asks people to name the best universities. At any rate, I work 80 hours per week, so I don’t have time to debate these nuances. If you truly believe that 10 times as many “lay people” are likely to name Yale above MIT, Stanford or Princeton, that’s fine. I just haven’t seen any evidence of that.</p>

50

<p>

</p>

<p>No there is not.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Why do silly people rank and compare universities they know nothing about? Really, i want to know.</p>

51

<p>Alex,
Re your comment,</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Yale is definitely a known and highly respected name in the USA. LOL-Americans have definitely heard the name. </p>

<p>Less so than Harvard, but among folks in the East, the South, the Southwest, the Midwest, and the West, Yale is known and recognized among professionals and lay folks alike as a top academic brand. Also, outside of folks in the technical fields, MIT is not nearly as broadly known a brand as Yale in the USA.</p>

<p>It amuses me how non-Americans regularly try to promote their views from afar as being in sync with the average American. Or trying to equate how a US university is viewed in Dubai or Milan to how it’s viewed in Chicago or Denver or New Orleans or Miami or Seattle. My suggestion is stick to judging the public’s knowledge in the Middle East or Europe because you are definitely wrong about the USA.</p>

52

<p>I would just like to point out that there are fewer people in Britain, so obviously there will be fewer universities (and thus fewer very good universities) compared to U.S.</p>

53

<p>hawkette, I lived 10 of my 18 adult years (62%) in the US. As such, although I am more familiar with France, Germany and the Middle East, I am not exactly a stranger to the US. </p>

<p>But I admit that I mispoke. Yale, like the other 4 truly national universities, is obviously well known across the nation. What I meant to say is that to the majority of people, those superuniversities, save Harvard, are not nearly as well regarded as they are among the highly educated. To the average person, Yale would not be considered miles better than their regional academic powerhouse. In other words, to the majority of people living in the Southwest, Yale (or Princeton or MIT) would not be considered better than say UCLA or USC. Or to the majority of people living in the South, Yale would not be considered better than Duke, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt or Virginia. </p>

<p>The main difference between the truly national universities, like Yale, is that most people will have at least heard the name and will probably know that it is a good university. What I meant to say is that they don’t know how good they really are.</p>

54

<p>Interesting debate. However, I think people are making a lot of mistakes here. One the british system is significantly inferior to the American educational system- I know at least 10 people in my college who were exchange students at Oxford and they complained about the lackluster academic offerings. </p>

<p>The Brits might of course disagree, but having experienced both systems and having friends and family that attend top british schools- UCL, LSE, Imperial Cambridge and Oxford- I would actually say creating an effective ranking would be impossible. One of my friends was also an exchange student at LSE and he found the academics there harder than my undergrad, so it could also depend on the individual.</p>

55

<p>And also Yale is pretty strong school in the sciences, however its engineering programs can be a bit iffy</p>

56

<p>Here is some interesting rationale on this debate:</p>

<p>[Rough</a> Guide Of The Best & Most Reputable Universities In The UK - Nairaland](<a href=“Rough Guide Of The Best & Most Reputable Universities In The UK - Education (5) - Nigeria”>Rough Guide Of The Best & Most Reputable Universities In The UK - Education (5) - Nigeria)</p>

<p>Personally, I would move Caltech to the Harvard, MIT class. And maybe Durham and St Andrews down to the NYU class.</p>

<p>I must say that if it is prestige people are alluding to, then most of the arguments here are a bit parochial.</p>

<p>If you go to anywhere in European business/government/academia circle and say you went to Oxford/Cambridge, you are more likely to get a “ooh” factor than saying Duke, Dartmouth, Columnia, Williams etc that very few outside the US hardly hears about. And most of us that know about them, see them as very very good schools. The likes of Harvard, MIT, Yale, Stanford are the “ooh” schools.</p>

<p>If you go to Asia, Australasia, Middle East or Africa business/government/academia circles, the reaction would be the same as above.</p>

<p>Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Imperial and increasingly UCL are strong, well known brands across the World bar the US where (lets be frank) most educated people may not be able to point to Egypt on an Atlas.</p>

<p>And the education one gets in Oxbridge is hardly second to none, if it is, it is infinitesimal.</p>

<p>Although it must be admitted that, due to the financial prowess of US unis, they do have the potential for expending on excellent research. But in regards to academic rigourousness or student aptitude, they are in no way superior. LSE or Imperial would break the average Duke, NYU, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouths’ students back.</p>

57

<p>LOL- U are a muppet. I saw ur previous six posts I could not help laughing</p>

<p>This self promotion is becoming a joke.</p>

58

<p>Imperial College is not even good as Georgia Tech or UCSB (In research output) in rigor or student quality lol. And it is definitely not a universal brand. LSE apart from Oxbridge is the only Universal brand anyways</p>

<p>“And the education one gets in Oxbridge is hardly second to none, if it is, it is infinitesimal.”</p>

<p>because you have been to Oxbridge??? And also attended top US schools right??? And conversed with kids from the top high schools around the world about there preferences.</p>

<p>What exactly is the rationale of your debate if you have neither studied in both, had friends who applied to both or direct experience with the hiring practices of both?</p>

59

<p>Sefago,</p>

<p>You can say what you like.</p>

<p>What makes you so sure you are the only one that has conversed with kids that have attended both?</p>

<p>Imperial is not as good as GeorgiaTech/UCSB, are you joking? Typical American myopia (no disrespect, I love you Americans, but it is a well known fact most have the George Bushy ignorance of anything outside the US).</p>

<p>So how come Imperial floors both in all global rankings (Times and ARWU)? I guess you know better than the intelligensia that produce those tables? Even though the tables might not be fact, they are strong indicators.</p>

<p>You can not even compare GeorgiaTech/UCSB to ETH, talkless of Imperial.</p>

<p>You go to a place like the Philipines or Ghana and ask a non-layman which of the 3 unis they know and see whether anyone has ever heard of GeorgiaTech or UCSB.</p>

<p>In regards to Oxbridge, I hope you know there is no, and no need for, grade inflation like you have in the Top US unis? You attend based on your capability and if you do not cut the mustard, you do not get the grades. That is student quality.</p>

<p>I cannot see any Cambridge grad going to Harvard and struggling academically. Financially, maybe. The only thing is that the grad would be amazed with the resources available to him for research in Harvard and MIT. </p>

<p>So, Sir, stop demonstrating this deep American ignorance.</p>

60

<p>You go to a place like the Philipines or Ghana and ask a non-layman which of the 3 unis they know and see whether anyone has ever head of GeorgiaTech or UCSB.</p>

<p>Another ignorant remark again and again. Imperial College would definitely have no prestige in the Philippines- I discussed extensively with Filipinos and have a lot of Filipino friends. Infact it would not raise eyebrows what so ever. However going to flag ship US state school would. It might have in Ghana because of British colonial influence. </p>

<p>See Imperials peers in the US: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/858355-imperial-college-london-vs-university-michigan-where-do-i-go-s.html?highlight=imperial+georgia+tech[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/858355-imperial-college-london-vs-university-michigan-where-do-i-go-s.html?highlight=imperial+georgia+tech&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;