Is It Bad to Earn All Degrees at the Same School?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the implications of earning multiple degrees at the same institution, exploring perspectives on networking, hiring practices, and personal circumstances affecting educational choices. It includes considerations of graduate school applications and the perceived advantages or disadvantages of staying at one school for all degrees.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that earning all degrees at the same school is becoming more common but may still be viewed negatively by employers.
  • One participant expresses a strong preference for hiring candidates who have changed schools, citing the benefits of diverse experiences and networking opportunities.
  • Another participant argues that networking can also be achieved through collaborations, sabbaticals, and conferences, and mentions personal reasons for staying at one institution.
  • A participant questions the ease of gaining admission to graduate programs at the same school where one completed their undergraduate degree, sharing personal experiences that suggest mixed outcomes based on institutional reputation.
  • Some participants highlight that strong recommendations from faculty who know the applicant well can significantly influence graduate school admissions.
  • There is a discussion about the variability of hiring practices depending on the reputation of the institutions involved, with some suggesting that prestigious schools may be treated differently.
  • Concerns are raised about the implications of a participant's professional confidentiality regarding their workplace and how it relates to their opinions on educational paths.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the value of changing schools for degrees, with some advocating for the benefits of diverse educational experiences while others acknowledge personal circumstances that may lead to staying at one institution. The discussion remains unresolved regarding whether it is definitively "bad" to earn all degrees at the same school.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention that perceptions of earning all degrees at the same institution may vary over time and by field, indicating a potential pendulum effect in attitudes toward this educational path. Additionally, the discussion touches on the importance of faculty recommendations in the graduate school application process, which may depend on the reputation of the recommending faculty.

neurocomp2003
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Is it bad to do all 3 degrees at the same school. I heard its frowned upon but
is it that bad?
 
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It is getting more common but not a good idea. Let me say this much, I wouldn't hire anyone who has never changed schools.
 
Why wouldn't you want to change schools?!

You get so much more networking, ideas and experience by changing schools.
 
I'm pretty sure you could also get networking and exchange of ideas through collaborations(which is what I will be doing),student sabbaticals and conferences/colloquia

The main reason I would prefer not changing schools is family. I'm kinda attached to my niece/nephew and would like to help them in academics.
But another reason is the ease of transfering from MSc to Phd at the school.

From Transports post, is it a common thing for people to decline employees who have taken all degrees from the same school. I guess that will be the major disadvantage.
 
Question:

Let's say you are in fourth year and your are ready to apply to graduate school.

I was told that it is MUCH easier to get into the graduate school where you did you undergrauate since you should (hopefully) know most of the faculty.

It this generally true?

How is the application process to other schools?
 
rad0786 said:
Question:

Let's say you are in fourth year and your are ready to apply to graduate school.

I was told that it is MUCH easier to get into the graduate school where you did you undergrauate since you should (hopefully) know most of the faculty.

It this generally true?

I went to two different schools, one was in the habit of accepting their own students. Other schools didn't think too highly of their graduates who earned all of their degrees there. The other (the one where I got my undergrad degree) basically told me that I could stay and get a Masters, but then I was out they were going to make it very diffcult for me to contimue. The school I got my undergraduate degree from has a fairly decent reputation all over the country and world, whereas the school I got my PhD from only had a reasonable reputation in their part of the country and was known for driving their really good faculty away (I got my degreeunder a guy who was an untenured research faculty member not associated with the physics department and one of the best optical properties of semiconductor theorists out there).

If you want to be with your family, go to a school that is not too far away...
 
Dr Transport said:
It is getting more common but not a good idea. Let me say this much, I wouldn't hire anyone who has never changed schools.

Why not? So if I went to say, MIT for all three, you would not hire me? ...

text text text text
 
cyrusabdollahi said:
Why not? So if I went to say, MIT for all three, you would not hire me? ...

text text text text

lol I was thinking the same exact thing!
 
cyrusabdollahi said:
Why not? So if I went to say, MIT for all three, you would not hire me? ...

text text text text

No freaking way I'd hire you! :devil:
 
  • #10
JasonRox said:
No freaking way I'd hire you! :devil:

I love you too Jason...:biggrin:
 
  • #11
rad0786 said:
Question:

Let's say you are in fourth year and your are ready to apply to graduate school.

I was told that it is MUCH easier to get into the graduate school where you did you undergraduate since you should (hopefully) know most of the faculty.

It this generally true?

How is the application process to other schools?

It's always easier to get recommendations and praise from someone you have already impressed in one form or another then it is to impress someone you have never met or worked with.

I've seen this myself at my job, I've had 5 different managers over the last 3 years and I've had to convince each of them of my value. Even with my coworkers vouching for me, I've had to prove myself to each one on an individual bases. But once that was done, I could have gotten away with a lot with no questions asked.

I'm sure employers know about this kind of thing and would be more inclined to hire someone who has proven themselves 2 or 3 times at different levels to different sets of people then someone who may have sneaked through by being impressive in their undergrad classes only.

Just a theory...
 
  • #12
cyrusabdollahi said:
Why not? So if I went to say, MIT for all three, you would not hire me? ...
Even Richard Feynman was kicked out of MIT for graduate school (JC Slater told him that even if he applied he wouldnot get in, it wasn't allowed).

It isn't a hard-fast rule, if you went to Cal Tech, MIT, Princeton etc... you'd get consideration, but many other schools not so much. But other than the super-geniuses, most people are going to go someplace else for different aspects of their education.

As for references for graduate school, get the best ones you can. If you get glowing reccomendations from some assisstant professor who is a no-name and a marginal reference from a big name full professor you are not going to get into any school. Admission committees at decent schools look at the person who is writing the reccomendation almost as much as what is says.
 
  • #13
I have a questioon Doc, where do you work?
 
  • #14
Industry...And I am not allowed to tell who, what or where...
 
  • #15
Dr Transport said:
Industry...And I am not allowed to tell who, what or where...

You're not allowed to tell where you work? That's odd...
 
  • #17
Transportation lol
 
  • #18
NASA or LLNL hehe would be my guesses.
 
  • #19
You can say you work at NASA, NASA and LLNL are not Industry.

I find it to be silly that he cannot say where he works. I know people who work on black projects, and they can say where they work, just not what they work on or where. I think that's stupid policy not to say where you work. (Actually, I find it rather hard to believe)
 
  • #20
In his first post, Dr Transport said, "It is getting more common but not a good idea. Let me say this much, I wouldn't hire anyone who has never changed schools." If he said where he worked, his statement might be misconstrued as his company's policy.
 
  • #21
Dr Transport said:
Industry...And I am not allowed to tell who, what or where...
You are not allowed to say where you work ? Yeah right ...:rolleyes: I think you are just overestimating the importance of your own work.

Jeezzuuuss

marlon
 
  • #22
marlon said:
I think you are just overestimating the importance of your own work.


Not my choice, I do as I am told.
 
  • #23
Not trying to doubt you Dr, but that sounds VERY odd. :smile:
 
  • #24
Dr Transport said:
Not my choice, I do as I am told.

Should've joined the military..
 
  • #25
neurocomp2003 said:
Is it bad to do all 3 degrees at the same school. I heard its frowned upon but is it that bad?
I've seen it done, e.g. at MIT or Caltech. Some students go from BS to PhD.

My university generally hired faculty from outside, but did also hire from those who graduated, but that was a minority.

I asked several of the faculty about getting all three degrees at the same university, and they indicated that it was generally frowned upon, but less so in modern days as in the past. Perhaps there's a pendulum effect, i.e. during some period it's no big deal, and during other periods it's frowned up.

I think it's a good idea to try different schools, but that may depend upon one's specialty and interests. Perhaps one can get a BS at one school, and MS and/or PhD at another school, or get both BS and MS at one school and go elsewhere for PhD.


Edit: With respect to Dr. Transport not be allowed to say where he works or what he does, that is typical of private industry, more so for certain types than others. Many corporations are private, and they prefer to maintain a certain level of privcay. I would ask PF members to respect the privacy of other members. :smile:
 
Last edited:
  • #26
buddyholly9999 said:
Should've joined the military..

I am a vet...and retired from that occupation.

Thanks Astronuc...
 
Last edited:
  • #27
Dr Transport said:
I am a vet...and retired from that occupation.

Thanks Astronuc...
Just a second, i don't get that. You are a vet, so you have that degree. You switched fields so i guess you work in a company where they can benefit from your knowledge as a vet. Like some pharmaceutical company or some company that checks food processing for animals...

I understand that one is not always allowed to talk about the content of one's work (which is a measure that is not necessary since most of us are not doing any revolutionary work that requires that silence, but anyhow...) but what i don't believe is that you cannot say where you work or in what field. You don't even have to mention the name of your boss/company, but you DO can talk about the field you work in. That is why people do not believe your words here.

marlon
 
  • #29
No no marlon, not a Veternarian, a veteran (as in former Military).
 
  • #30
cyrusabdollahi said:
No no marlon, not a Veternarian, a veteran (as in former Military).


That is correct.
 

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