Comparison of students from Great Universities and Normal Universities

[Kinn Sein]

Hi all,
Is it 100% sure that students graduated from great universities like UC Berkeley or Stanford are much more qualified than those from normal State Universities? Is it 100% sure that alumni of great universities are much more likely to become famous such as inventors or scientists? What do you think?

 

[chroot]

No, of coure it's not 100% sure. Good schools can help people realize their full potential, but it's not like Stanford cranks out nothing but famous people, and state schools crank out nothing but hair dressers. Self-discipline, interest and personal motivation will take you farther than any degree could on its own.

Honestly, this country is awash in excellent schools, many of which are essentially unheard of. You can obtain a very good education, at a very reasonable price, from a very large number of schools. You don't need to attend Stanford to be successful.

- Warren

 

[Brad Barker]

one of the more eminent profs in my school's department got his phd from syracuse, hardly on anyone's radar for a top physics school (or anything except basketball, i think!).

 

[franznietzsche]

Just going down the list of major stellar astrophysicists, and where they got their PhDs (people I actually know):

Joyce Guzik -- Iowa State (just named Laboratory Fellow, my mentor)
Arthur Cox -- Indiana University (anyone in stellar astrophysics should be familiar with at least some of the work he has done in the past 40 years)
William Pesnell -- University of Florida
Dale Ostlie -- Iowa State
Paul Bradley -- University of Texas at Austin

And that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. Not one of them went to a 'top-ten school', and all have had quite successful careers as scientists.

Seriously, this obsession people have with going to a 'brand-name' school is idiotic. You should be picking grad schools based on specific research interests, not the brochure.

 

[Leopold Infeld]

are admission to grad schools hard? i am an ugrad so i would like to know.. specifically for maths and physics. the only things i know heck about.

ugrad was sure tough as i am also an international, MIT, caltech, princeton brushed me off like i was a fly on their noses... maybe a DOA in fact. but can't stop my dreams here haha (so corny)

thanks

 

[leright]

Just going down the list of major stellar astrophysicists, and where they got their PhDs (people I actually know):

Joyce Guzik -- Iowa State (just named Laboratory Fellow, my mentor)
Arthur Cox -- Indiana University (anyone in stellar astrophysics should be familiar with at least some of the work he has done in the past 40 years)
William Pesnell -- University of Florida
Dale Ostlie -- Iowa State
Paul Bradley -- University of Texas at Austin

And that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. Not one of them went to a 'top-ten school', and all have had quite successful careers as scientists.

Seriously, this obsession people have with going to a 'brand-name' school is idiotic. You should be picking grad schools based on specific research interests, not the brochure.

None of the schools you listed there are anything to scoff at though, really.