<p>I was invited into the science scholars program at CMU. I could major in economics, math, and computational finance (there are more options but thats what i like). Disregarding fit, location, money, etc. would this honors degree be more prestigious than a Chicago degree?</p>
<p>I hate the prestige question. BUT... my elder daughter is a Chicago grad and the name has opened doors for her in both New York and London where she now works. CMU is a great school but probably does not have the same name recognition.</p>
<p>thankyou. i dont want prestige just so i can go around wearing my shirt that says university of chicago or so that i can hang my diploma behind my desk, but i want it so that i can have a good job and alumni connection.</p>
<p>I also dislike the prestige question, but I'll give my honest opinion.
In high school and around the country you will find many people mistake UChicago for UIC or not even know it's a school. However, in the academic, intellectual, and job worlds the university is well known and will open doors for you. It has simply built up a fantastic reputation for undergraduate education. CMU is also a great school, but the name itself won't have the same effect. Also, UChicago has a unique version of a core that you won't really find anywhere else.
UChicago, from what I have heard, tends to have good unity among students, so you could form sufficient connections.</p>
<p>In terms of prestige in the "after college" world, The University of Chicago I think owns in prestige CMU except in CS....</p>
<p>I think quite highly of CMU. Of course, I'm just one person, but it sounds like their program could be something really special for you.</p>
<p>Two things to consider:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>No one will pay attention to the fact you were in an honors program once you graduate. They will pay scant attention to the fact that you graduate wiht honors.</p></li>
<li><p>CMU makes it difficult to change majors to a major in another academic unit (the various schools and colleges), and makes course registration difficult too. For example, say you find a computer science course interesting. You might have a hard time taking it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Would pick CMU over uchicago if a CS major.</p>
<p>I would pick Chicago over CMU even if a CS major. Chicago's core and undergraduate education is outstanding.</p>
<p>What does CMU stand for? jk lol!</p>
<p>Yeah I think UChicago might help you more. Did CMU give you a merit scholarship?</p>
<p>Carnegie-Mellon</p>
<p>It seems like CMU grads get very good jobs when they graduate, but I always hear the Chicago grads don't get hired because they are too theoretical.</p>
<p>I really don't know who you heard that from, and I'm sorry to use this word, but thats a ******** generalization.</p>
<p>^^ Chicagoboy, very few people end up using what they learn in undergrad in a career anyway.</p>
<p>Chicago will teach you how to learn. It will also teach you how to think, how to read, how to write, and how to defend your ideas. It is these skills that are honed in any major here and are transferable to any career field.</p>
<p>Students sometimes complain that the education here is too theoretical, but this complaint, as far as I know, is more of a pedagogical one than a "what job will I get after graduation?" one. Chicago does not really offer survey courses or prereq courses-- the "Introduction to Art" course I took was not a summary of the great works, but rather a "here's an introduction to how to interpret art." Most art history concentrators haven't taken it, as it's not required for the major.</p>
<p>The course required for the English major, Critical Perspectives, is dense in literary theory, and I discourage prospective English majors from taking it first thing, because it doesn't reflect most of the other English course offerings. CP is not a prereq for anything, though it does come in handy for anybody who reads a lot of lit crit, where terms like "postcolonial" and "queer" come up again and again, it's nice to have read some of the theorists.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I always hear the Chicago grads don't get hired because they are too theoretical.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>haha, neither undergraduate programs are directly applicable to real-world jobs. that's not the point.</p>
<p>My son would say theoretical IS the point. Chicago > CMU as far as he's concerned in that regard. That's not to put down CMU's SCS -- it is an excellent program, but it's not the direction S is looking for.</p>
<p>"Chicago will teach you how to learn. It will also teach you how to think, how to read, how to write, and how to defend your ideas. It is these skills that are honed in any major here and are transferable to any career field."</p>
<p>Unalove, the best argument to support a Chicago education. You made my day.</p>
<p>Here's a story I picked up that I'll relate. It was told by a Chicago alumni who is currently big in Chicago real estate, who was talking to Chicago undergrads about careers in real estate.</p>
<p>Right out of school, he said, Chicago (and Northwestern, and Notre Dame grads) are in competition for the University of Wisconsin grads for jobs in real estate in Chicago. Wisconsin has a top-notch real estate program, and it's a great school, and apparently Wisconsin grads are all over the market in Chicago real estate, and they're happy to hire other Wisconsin grads.</p>
<p>So an employer has two resumes side-by-side of two kids right out of graduation... a Chicago kid who maybe studied econ and a Wisconsin kid who studied real estate. The employer's initial reaction will be to hire the Wisconsin kid-- after all, the Wisconsin kid has a degree in the field, and probably has more relevant experience.</p>
<p>But a resume review isn't the end of the deal-- prospective employees are brought in for interviews, tests, and the like. This Chicago grad says that his company often gives prospective employees a test, in which they give the prospective employees a lot of information about a fictional building and ask them to argue whether or not the company should buy it. It is in the information analysis, writing quality, and argumentation where the Chicago kids really start to shine... if you can write a five page paper on Plato and get an A on it, what's to stop you from looking at a building the same way you looked at Plato, and getting the job you want?</p>
<p>Unalove is really on to something here. My older S ( not a Chicago grad) just finished an interview process on the east coast. He invariably had to meet with 5-7 interviewers and then sit for a "writing sample" He was given a question and had to produce and essay in 30 minutes. This would really be no big deal for a U of C grad.</p>
<p>It's not your major that counts but your ability to process information and express ideas and thought.</p>