<p>Thought I would quickly grab the 560th reply; I already have the 560th post.</p>
<p>On topic: I am so excited, can’t wait till tonight :3</p>
<p>^^ Why tonight Tizil??</p>
<p>@Tizil Y U NO REPLY TO MY PM??</p>
<p>hehe…Just wanted to ask about your ICL decision as you said it would be out by the end of feb…</p>
<p>@Tastycles Thanks for the confirmation. However, University of Michigan have requested me to send ‘official’ results from the testing agency.</p>
<p>@Tizil7 Yes, I know about Georgia Tech. Waiting for the clock to strike 1:40 Am tonight.</p>
<p>P.S. - Best of luck to all Georgia Tech hopefuls.</p>
<p>Sometimes, I just hate how easily we comment on the state of the Indian Higher Education system so easily, knowing full well that we will never - or not in the distant future - be experiencing it, barring the the few here who are already in college.</p>
<p>Makes me think of ourselves as hypocrites. I’m not saying we shouldn’t discuss - for discussion instigates action - but lambasting a thing and walking in the other direction just doesn’t feel right.</p>
<p>Here’s a suggestion: If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t, then start making an effort to feel a difference. If you can’t do even that … then you have no right to complain, because that will impede those who want change.</p>
<p>–
In over 840 posts, this is my first (edit: thoughtful) rant.</p>
<p>I’m going to America because I loathe the education system in India and, more importantly, so I can better equip myself to turn it around. I don’t know if others on CC have similar ambitions but frankly I don’t particularly care. You can’t blame them for seizing an opportunity to get, in their mind, a superior education.</p>
<p>Ascaris, without having experienced college education in India, how would you equip yourself to change it? Just copy one of America’s college’s system? I hope that you do know that each college has a different system in the US.</p>
<p>Frankly, you should care about others’ ambitions, because, only in groups can one hope to make a change. When a single person tries to turn around a system, s/he is met with great resistance. Each system has its pros.</p>
<p>Precisely, “their mind”. You could call me a hypocrite but I have never harbored any loathsome feelings towards the higher education system - partly because I am not in a position to judge it (just as others here) and partly because complaining doesn’t solve anything.</p>
<p>Tizil, I don’t live under a rock. I have heard enough anecdotes and experiences from friends and family who have studied or are studying in India to formulate an opinion. And while different colleges may have different atmospheres, the ideals that American universities are founded upon remain largely the same. If anything, something who has been educated at one of the best American universities is better equipped to overhaul the system in India because they have experienced academics at an institution which is universally recognized as being the best in the world. </p>
<p>And by ‘changing the system’, I don’t mean I am literally going to walk up to Sibal’s office and plop a to-do list on his desk. In fact I have no idea how I will, or even if I can, change anything. All I know at this point in time is that being someone with close ties to education in India yet intends to be educated at a world-class institution, it puts me in a better position to have my voice heard than most. And at some point in the future, I do intend to raise my voice.</p>
<p>Ascaris, that wasn’t my implication. What I still maintain is that taking action on “heresy” is wrong. I too have an opinion, not far from yours but I am still don’t think claim myself to be capable enough to pass that opinion on something I don’t know intimately enough.</p>
<p>As far as ideals go, I am not sure that the ideals of the Indian Higher Ed. System can be labelled a failure. Does your statement imply that someone at Stephens or DTU or NITs or IITs is incapable when compared to those at equivalent institutions in the US?</p>
<p>I’m sorry if my previous post had that undertone of “changing the system” but that wasn’t what I meant. Frankly, just studying at a so-called ‘world-class institution’ doesn’t guarantee a person a higher skill set of intellectual prowess. I don’t think I am able to get my point across … exactly what do you intend to raise your voice against? Something you don’t know? If you claim otherwise, I wouldn’t believe you unless you go to college in India.</p>
<p>To be really blunt, such ideals only sound preposterous, if nothing else. To be completely honest as well, I had such ideals earlier.</p>
<p>I have gone to 3 different universities in US. Other than the differences in the way the students are evaluated throughout the semester and better facilities, I really can’t say they are superior to colleges in India.</p>
<p>It might be different attending Harvard or Stanford (same as attending IISc or IIT) but overall the assumption that some school is superior because some publication ranked them number 1 is not necessarily true.</p>
<p>
And wisdom just flows through that line :D</p>
<p>Most recently demonstrated [here](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13962480-post67.html]here[/url]:”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13962480-post67.html):</a></p>
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</p>
<p>I do not think the Indian education system has any fundamental flaws. Holistic admission can’t work in a nation with such a huge population.</p>
<p>We cannot just blindly compare our colleges and education system with the US. India has been independent for just 60 years but yet it has produced many brilliant people and top colleges like IIT ( IITs are just 50 year old but still have world renowned reputation. ) So we need time to grow and develop. </p>
<p>But one questions really troubles me - Is every student equally prepared to tackle the over competitive admission cycle because of the ’ tuition culture’? I think the answer is NO. </p>
<p>@Tizil - I too believe in your idea that a person should only talk about change when he is ready to work to bring that change. Eventhough at a very small level I am trying. My NGO provides free coaching, college counseling etc to hundreds of poor students who cannot afford expensive tuition. </p>
<p>All the very best to everyone waiting for Georgia Tech’s decision.</p>
<p>I went to an engineering school down south for masters (went there after spending 2 quarters at an elite univ in Northwest). I had a classmate who came back to college 8 years after attending Harvard studying anthropology or something like that. He said he was trying to get a Ph.D. in engineering because no one took his subject seriously.</p>
<p>Georgia tech is ranked 4 or 5 in engineering but may have 1500 students in freshman mechanical engineering. How many does IITD admit altogether? It matters how much attention you get in class.</p>
<p>Anirudha, nice post up there :)</p>
<p>Can you rephrase your question? I’m afraid I didn’t understand it.</p>
<p>58 minutes left :3</p>
<p>It is not that Indian colleges are not good, the problem is that a large chunk of the population don’t get to attend those world class colleges because they are not prepared enough to get in. </p>
<p>Seats are too less compared to the population. That is the major problem. </p>
<p>8 IITs and 1 Stephens is not enough for a population of 1 Billion. ( I am not sure how many IITs are there so sorry if my figure of 8 is wrong. ) </p>
<p>One real experience - One of my friends studying in Hansraj college says that every other day the classes get canceled and professors are too lazy to teach. So everything beyond the great IITs are not that rosy.</p>
<p>Going to an indian university does not make you less intelligent or a worse professional, but that was never the implication. I hold the Indian education system in low regard because it stifles creativity, which I value more than expertise. Take the tech industry as an example: the people who revolutionized it probably weren’t all that much more technically proficient than your average IITian but what set them apart was that they were visionaries. The lack of entrepreneurial spirit in India and students’ tendency to follow the herd is not something you need to join a university to appreciate. It logically follows from second hand experience and empirical evidence. Consider for example that India has barely any startups to its name, or that many of India’s preeminent business leaders were educated abroad at some point. </p>
<p>This is not an isolated problem. It’s not solely because of poor facilities or lack of funding or bad teachers. It’s a consequence of several factors: poverty, culture, apathy - all of these play a role, and experiencing university in India only provides a first hand perspective to a small part of an overarching issue. I’d go so far as to say that as an outsider, in my opinion at least, it enables me to view the situation of education in India more objectively than those who have been enrolled in it, especially since, as a prospective student in an American university, I have a benchmark. </p>
<p>What am I going to do or say to change it? I don’t know. All I’m doing currently is gathering knowledge. I know several people going to college in India who I will remain in touch with. I know several people going to colleges across the globe who I will also remain in touch with. I have family and friends going through the primary and secondary school right now who I can call upon to relay their experiences. I’m only seventeen and I have a ways to go before I have an opportunity to ‘make a change’ as you say, but suffice to say I am going to bide my time in an education system I believe to be the best thinking of ways to better not just the education system in my country, but my country as a whole.</p>
<p>… So the education system doesn’t need to be changed but more world class schools and colleges need to be built so that our huge population can be turned into a real human resource. </p>
<p>Our population can become our strength instead of our weakness if it is well educated.</p>
<p>That was directed at Tizil, in case you couldn’t tell.</p>
<p>@ascaris - you are absolutely right. </p>
<p>But sadly you won’t find many visionary people coming out of India till the grinding poverty is not eradicated. </p>
<p>Most Indians have to think of supplementing their family’s income and bringing food to the table. They can’t spend time researching, they have to get a real job. </p>
<p>But I have a gut feeling that the new rich private universities like Amity would put more emphasis on research and grow rapidly in the coming years.</p>
<p>@Tizil I don’t mean to sound rude, but why don’t you tell us about your ICL decision? :(</p>
<p>@texaspg I think you went a little over the top regarding Gatech…
Incoming freshman size is ~ 2700…so mechanical engineering cannot possibly have 1500 students can it? Please correct me if I am wrong…
Source: <a href=“http://www.irp.gatech.edu/sites/www.irp.gatech.edu/files/2011-2012%20Common%20Data%20Set%20for%20Posting%20-%202-29-12.pdf[/url]”>http://www.irp.gatech.edu/sites/www.irp.gatech.edu/files/2011-2012%20Common%20Data%20Set%20for%20Posting%20-%202-29-12.pdf</a></p>