<p>Rest assured that these kids train for this exam from elementary school. It's not that hard if you are dedicated, naturally smart, and just plain talented. Furthermore, this exam tests you on math, physics, chemistry, under timed conditions using knowledge you already have. Great for an engineer. Is this the best way to select academics? Also note that IIT takes at most the top, what, 3000? kids from India. If the only good school in the US was Harvard, you can bet your arm that you'd see competition more fierce than anything you'll see around the world now. </p>
<p>The physics is maybe Physics C + Physics B level. Chemistry is a tad harder than AP Chem + Organic Chemistry. The Mathematics just needs a tiny bit of Linear Algebra (nothing too hard) and some basic differential equations knowledge. These requirements are definetely not too hard to meet if you are a good math/science student interested in beasting this exam.</p>
<p>IIT seals the deal as a solid university that will get you respected wherever you go in life. So do most prestigious universities. But graduating means nothing, you have to make your own name as well.</p>
<p>The problems are meant to be hard- with their like 1% acceptance rate, they need something to distinguish people. But my question then is, even with the proper preparation, aren't these problems extremely specific that it would be hard to do them within a time constraint?</p>
<p>Still, I NEVER said IIT was the best university in the world although I may be implying it- there are just so many universities that it would be better to make a list of the top 5 universities in the world. And IIT would be on that list along with maybe harvard, peking university, oxford (maybe), and something else. Anyone else?</p>
I don't believe so...the ones I have seen on/near the top include Kyoto, Tokyo, and sometimes Hong Kong and Seoul National.
That said, I thought that SNU had a reputation for being harder to get in than out.
And yes, I understand national pride can work its way in here. I also understand that lifetime rote memorization can make those exams easy.</p>
At least it's not affected by affirmative action crap that promotes for traits and not achievements
</p>
<p>IIT has a 50% quota for the so called backward castes and classes. So the affirmative action crap is MUCH worse at IIT.</p>
<p>As for IIT itself, the exam may be extremely tough but I don't think the talent is there. Basically, IIT exams measure how many questions (the likes of which you need to have practiced beforehand) you can solve in a given time. They don't measure how brilliant or talented an applicant is.</p>
<p>how would you measure brilliance and talent? one other thing. Colleges here require students not only to be good in academics, but other things as well. kids in india and stuff only need to study. they don't have to spend time in EC's for college and stuff</p>
<p>I think as far as prestige goes, Harvard, Yale, or Princeton are the top in the world. In terms of rigor, either MIT or IIT or Caltech. My impression of IIT is that there is more rote learning, but at least at MIT (I don't know much about Caltech), they teach you how to think creatively and problem solve very well. But I think compared to HYP, all of MIT, IIT, and Caltech are much more rigorous and difficult (in the math/science/engineering fields).</p>
<p>I think Wharton is artificially competitive though. What I mean is that it is hard to get in, sure, because it's good and lots of people want to go there, but I think the admissions criteria are very vague. Very few people display business acumen in high school, so the few that do a lot of stuff and take initiative get a huge advantage in admissions to Wharton, even though some people who didn't take as much initiative might be much better at business stuff. Sure, intiative is important in all applicants, but I think it's too hard for the Wharton adcom to tell how smart you are in their field.</p>
<p>hmm, also, I am not su sure what the graduates of IIT do in India after the graduate and how their smarts have helped their country at all. Don't you think the hardest university is the one right in your head?</p>
<p>what are you taking about, " the one right in your head"???? and for how their smarts have helped their country, how about India will probably be more advanced then the US in 20-30 years and how all the top corporations in the US now have huge offices in India too. </p>
<p>Again I am not saying IIT is the most prestigious but in my opinion it is the hardest.</p>
<p>In India it is not "just" studying. Many people believe that getting into IIT is "the" thing and take the test multiple times to get in. There are comparatively very few opportunities for students in India. There are IIT and Medical for prestige; both have strict acceptance numbers that don't change as the total population grows. And I don't think a lack of ECs makes anything easier in India. Because there are so many people in the nation, and so many people applying, proportionately, it is VERY tough to get into any "good" school.</p>
<p>ECs do come into play during college. Getting in is the hard part. Organizations such as AIESEC, Interact, Rotary, etc. are all very active in campuses throughout India.</p>
<p>IIT definitely isn't prestigious, per say, internationally and in terms of general global population. People usually only recognize Oxford, Yale, Princeton, Harvard. My mom told me yesterday that while in India she had only heard of Oxford and Harvard. My grandfather, a physics professor, however, regarded Cal, Stanford, Harvard, etc. in high regard b/c he read papers that originated from those universities.</p>
<p>Really, I think that a student should work rigorously to make a degree truly meaningful. It shouldn't depend on the school. <strong>shrug</strong></p>
<p>Well, if we are going to determine the relative entrance difficulty of a school, then Tsinghua University in China is no less easier to attend than IIT. China's college admissions system, like those of India and other East Asian countries, are based solely on test scores. I can tell you, from the National Entrance Tests, Tsinghua's exams are no easier than IIT's. Actually, it can be argued in physics and mathematics, they are harder. Reason is China has THE largest Math and Physics Olympiad Training Camps in the world, always placing first in the IMO. Their AMC equivalent is the difficulty of AIMEs in the United States, and thousands of high school students take USAMO (equivalents) for more practice just to get selected in training camps. </p>
<p>But to base a university on prestige (money, influence, international distinction, famous geniuses, etc), I would undoubtly say Harvard University. No joke, it IS the International Standard, and it attracts the world's most talented minds. It is the institution with the second largest endowment in the world of 26.8 billion, only next to the Catholic Church. Schools such as IIT and Tsinghua may produce great minds, but Harvard produces the most innovations because of prestige and funding.</p>
<p>The thing is that foreign countries have smarter people, but then these people come to American universities because of the prestige, giving them even more prestige. It will take an extremely long time to break this cycle.</p>
<p>actually, that cycle ^^ never breaks...hehe, its been like this all throughout history, starting with the ancient greeks. Its human nature for prestige to play a deciding factor in education</p>
<p>At St. John's College every student has to take four years of classical math (from euclidian geometry to relativity), 3 years of lab (up to quantum mechanics), 4 years of language (two of ancient greek and two of french), and 4 years of seminar (philosophy, political science, theology, literature). Nobody graduates without studying something that they struggle with.</p>
<p>Never heard of IIT until last month on this forum. Prestige cannot be determined by local competition contexts. Look at Seoul University in Korea. In terms of percent admitted, it blows away the Ivy schools, but in the international rankings it is outside the top 150.</p>