Is a Prestigious University Essential for Success in Physical Sciences?

[gretun]

I know this is a somewhat immature and disgusting question and will probably provoke many negative responses.

I am still a fresh into the natural sciences and I want to pursue a degree in it. However I have always wondered, is there a point in even pursuing into the physical sciences if you can't a degree from a prestigious worldly-recognized university? Such as MIT, Ivy Leagues, OxBridge etc...

Now I know it kinda is unimportant if it is just your undergrad, but graduate school is life. Especially when there are so many talents out there competing.

I apologize in advance if I offended anyone and for myself as I have degraded myself for asking this question.

Thank you

 

[DrRocket]

I know this is a somewhat immature and disgusting question and will probably provoke many negative responses.

I am still a fresh into the natural sciences and I want to pursue a degree in it. However I have always wondered, is there a point in even pursuing into the physical sciences if you can't a degree from a prestigious worldly-recognized university? Such as MIT, Ivy Leagues, OxBridge etc...

Now I know it kinda is unimportant if it is just your undergrad, but graduate school is life. Especially when there are so many talents out there competing.

I apologize in advance if I offended anyone and for myself as I have degraded myself for asking this question.

Thank you

You can get a good education at lots of institutions. The quality of your education is as much dependent on you and what you put into it as it is the school that you attend.

 

[fasterthanjoao]

is there a point in even pursuing into the physical sciences if you can't a degree from a prestigious worldly-recognized university? Such as MIT, Ivy Leagues, OxBridge etc...

In what way would you think the opposite? Are you imagining that schools outside this group have poor teaching? Or are you imagining that, when looking for a job, you'd be ignored if you don't graduate from one of the above?

Either way, I guess, the point is nonsense. Is there any point in the existence of any professional footballers when you consider someone like Lionel Messi? Of course there is.

In any case, these schools have good reputations - but aren't for everyone. I chose not to go to Cambridge myself, after visiting I quickly found that the school just wouldn't fit for the type of person I am. There's no reason why you can't get a great education from even an unknown school.

 

[gretun]

Or are you imagining that, when looking for a job, you'd be ignored if you don't graduate from one of the above?

That. Too many competitions, yet few opportunities

 

[eri]

That depends on the job you want. But your work will speak for you louder than the school you graduated from - if you're a top researcher, it doesn't matter where you got your degree. Sure, you probably won't become a Harvard professor if you get a degree from an unranked school (over 100 in the rankings) but you probably wouldn't have become one anyway. And there are other jobs out there.

 

[twofish-quant]

I am still a fresh into the natural sciences and I want to pursue a degree in it. However I have always wondered, is there a point in even pursuing into the physical sciences if you can't a degree from a prestigious worldly-recognized university? Such as MIT, Ivy Leagues, OxBridge etc...

Depends on what you want out of life.

You learn something about how the universe works. For some of us, that's important enough to be worth doing even if no one else knows that you figured something out.

Especially when there are so many talents out there competing.

And you'll find that there are lots of people smarter than you. Big deal.

 

[twofish-quant]

That depends on the job you want. But your work will speak for you louder than the school you graduated from - if you're a top researcher, it doesn't matter where you got your degree.

The problem is that most of us don't turn out to be top researchers. Most people turn out to be average, and if you are good, you'll just move to the next level, until you end up being average or below average.

Also, there is a lot more to doing good work than ability. It's hard to do observational astronomy without a telescope, and once you mess up, there does tend to be a downward spiral.