<p>Does anyone have a good estimation of the job placement rates at places like USC and Stanford? I would think that grads from good private schools will be better off, since they would want their grads to get good jobs (so that they would be likely to donate to the school later on). Is that right, or are they no better than the top UC schools?</p>
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<p>What [Stanford](<a href="http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/cdc/jobs/salary]Stanford[/url]'s">http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/cdc/jobs/salary)'s</a> career center shows is limited in terms of this type of information. USC seems to provide even less of this type of information campuswide, although a few departments or schools there appear to conduct their own surveys.</p>
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<p>It may have more to do with the students’ purposes and motivations in going to school. If a school is full of “academic idealists”, “medical school or bust” pre-meds, smart but lazy students, etc., then job placement rates may not be that high. On the other hand, a good school full of career-focused students may have a higher job placement rate.</p>
<p>Choice of majors at each school has a big effect on job placement rate at graduation, and may hint at student purposes and motivations. From the common data sets (section J, Degrees Conferred) at each school:</p>
<p>[Cal</a> Poly SLO](<a href=“!IR Home | Institutional Research”>!IR Home | Institutional Research) 2010-2011:
Engineering 24%
Business/marketing 15%
Agriculture 12%
Architecture 7%
Biological/life sciences 6%
Parks and recreation 5%
Social sciences 4%
Psychology 3%
all others each <3% (including Computer and information sciences 2%)</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley](<a href=“http://cds.berkeley.edu/]UC”>http://cds.berkeley.edu/) 2009-2010:
Social sciences 20.8%
Biological/life sciences 13.8%
Engineering 11.4%
English 5.7%
Interdisciplinary studies 5.0%
Psychology 4.8%
Business/marketing 4.5%
all others each <4% (including Computer and information sciences 1.0%)</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://ucomm.stanford.edu/cds/2010.html#degrees]Stanford[/url”>http://ucomm.stanford.edu/cds/2010.html#degrees]Stanford[/url</a>] 2010-2011:
Social sciences 21.65%
Interdisciplinary studies 15.91%
Engineering 13.50%
Biological/life sciences 7.06%
Physical sciences 5.46%
Computer and information sciences 4.94%
Psychology 4.54%
all other majors each <4%</p>
<p>Oddly, USC’s common data set is nowhere to be found, unless you want the other USC (South Carolina).</p>
<p>ucbalumnus, you’re focusing a lot on students’ choices of majors as the difference maker. For people in the same major in different schools, do you believe there is as much of a difference, if any?</p>
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<p>Upthread, there is a comparison between same or similar majors between CPSLO and UCB, based on career center survey responses. Considering the limitations of the data, it does appear that there are differences (CPSLO typically has a higher job placement rate, but lower average pay), though one can only speculate why such differences exist (for example, does it have to do with student motivation and purpose in school?). The data also shows that major makes a pretty big difference in job prospects fresh out of school with a bachelor’s degree. For pay rates of first jobs, major appears to make a bigger difference than school (at least between CPSLO and UCB).</p>
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I don’t think that is true. The ones that go on further studies are mostly the top graduates of the class with very high GPA. Otherwise, they won’t get into top grad schools such as MIT, Stanford, Berkeley and Caltech.</p>
<p>RML, why are you assuming they’re going to top grad schools? A 3.0 GPA can probably get you into A grad school. I know someone with a sub 3.0 GPA who went on to get a master’s degree.</p>
<p>::incoming sakky post about person that got into MIT for a PhD with a 1.5 GPA::</p>
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<p>I am that person, but that was AFTER I had years of experience. So one could say that you can get into graduate programs with a sub 3.0 GPA BUT it will cost you a delay in when you can be admitted. So you won’t be age 23/24 with an M.S…more likely age 30+.</p>
<p>…and we are not talking Top schools. Columbia University pretty much told me that we don’t care if you get a 4.0 GPA in the graduate certificate program. We STILL will not guarantee you admission to the M.S. program.</p>
<p>The person I am speaking about went for her MS immediately after her bachelor’s.</p>