Schools The most prestigious university in the entire world?

[SootAndGrime]

What is the single most prestigious university in the entire world?

Most people say it is Harvard university, while others claim Oxford and Cambridge. It is next to impossible to get accepted into these schools unless you have some of the highest grades and test scores out of anyone else in your state. Every year, only 3-4% of applicants are accepted into the "elite" universities.

 

[Bourbaki1123]

MIT and Princeton as well. Test scores and grades alone won't always hack it. I know a number of people who were a the top of the class and had perfect or near perfect ACT/SAT scores, AP or IB courses etc. and were not admitted to MIT. I'm not sure what MIT looks for, but I think very strong/unusual extracurriculars in the sciences are probably a much bigger deal than high scores and grades. Of course, kids who have done college level mathematics at nearby university do exist, as do kids who compete in mathematics and computer science at the national level in high school, and they do indeed generally go to top schools.

 

[Mépris]

If you would like to read any given subject at Cambridge (or Oxford), things couldn't get any more straightforward.

a) Make sure you can afford the tuition fees

b) If you would like to study, say, Mathematics, then learn as much mathematics as you can during high school and excel at it. If you're doing A-Levels, then you want to be doing Mathematics and Further Mathematics to A2. If you're doing IB, then Mathematics HL is a must. If Further Mathematics SL is offered, do that as well. If your school offers none of these, do as many AP subjects related to maths that you can, such as AP Stats and Calculus. (not very familiar with APs and such)

c) See to it that you get the best grades you can in them. There's no fifty ways around this, everything you need to know is on their respective websites. Cambridge and Oxford could not care any less if one of their applicants to study Mathematics is a fine individual who volunteers at the Hare Krishna temple and milks cows for a living. They're looking for somebody who's just very good at Maths.

d) The interview process is not to "get to know you". It's entirely academic. Google "Cambridge mock interview", then watch the ones for Natural Sciences, Computer Science and Maths.

Edit:

Wait, why the **** would you care about prestige?

 

[SootAndGrime]

If you would like to read any given subject at Cambridge (or Oxford), things couldn't get any more straightforward.

a) Make sure you can afford the tuition fees

b) If you would like to study, say, Mathematics, then learn as much mathematics as you can during high school and excel at it. If you're doing A-Levels, then you want to be doing Mathematics and Further Mathematics to A2. If you're doing IB, then Mathematics HL is a must. If Further Mathematics SL is offered, do that as well. If your school offers none of these, do as many AP subjects related to maths that you can, such as AP Stats and Calculus. (not very familiar with APs and such)

c) See to it that you get the best grades you can in them. There's no fifty ways around this, everything you need to know is on their respective websites. Cambridge and Oxford could not care any less if one of their applicants to study Mathematics is a fine individual who volunteers at the Hare Krishna temple and milks cows for a living. They're looking for somebody who's just very good at Maths.

d) The interview process is not to "get to know you". It's entirely academic. Google "Cambridge mock interview", then watch the ones for Natural Sciences, Computer Science and Maths.

Edit:

Wait, why the **** would you care about prestige?

There are high schoolers who take college-level math courses?

 

[DrummingAtom]

There are high schoolers who take college-level math courses?

Yeah. At my college we had 5 HS'ers in my Calc 2 class. One of them was only a junior in HS and dang good too. Kinda made me wish I took HS more seriously.

 

[Mépris]

There are high schoolers who take college-level math courses?

Apparently there are. So?

As I said, if you want to go to Cambridge or Oxford, it's not that hard. Actually, getting into either of the schools is easier than getting into say, Harvard.

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/requirements/index.html

Five AP tests in relevant disciplines. That, good SAT scores and a good high school transcript.

Or, just do 3 A-Levels and make your life easier.

Yeah. At my college we had 5 HS'ers in my Calc 2 class. One of them was only a junior in HS and dang good too. Kinda made me wish I took HS more seriously.

Hey, it doesn't matter. Maybe when you're going to be taking a grad course one day, you'll find a college freshman in the same class...

If you regret it so much and for some reason feel, that getting ahead is important, nothing stops you from doing so now!

 

[deRham]

It is next to impossible to get accepted into these schools unless you have some of the highest grades and test scores out of anyone else in your state. Every year, only 3-4% of applicants are accepted into the "elite" universities.

I think if you're in the top 10 in your high school, and did a lot of stuff to distinguish yourself, you stand a pretty decent chance.

I would not say that the most impressive people get into these schools necessary, however. It's usually the people who do the right things, which at the high school level, to me at least, don't necessarily correlate great with what I'd say is truly impressive.In the US, I'd vote Harvard for overall, and MIT for things which are 'math-y' ... since it has a terrific balance of pure and applied mathematics.

 

[kalakoi]

What are the top schools in Europe!

Top 5!Anyone?

 

[Ryker]

Go look at the world rankings, if you so desperately want to have an answer. We all know there is no such thing as "top 5 universities in Europe", but go ahead and indulge.

 

[MissSilvy]

Every single one of your posts sounds like some excerpt from a bad 'Surviving College' book. Do you mean to write your posts in an expository style or is this actually a question?

 

[Bourbaki1123]

There are high schoolers who take college-level math courses?

Yeah, however (in my opinion) the most impressive math people (aside from people like Tao who are beyond compare) are the IMO competitors.

A video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tpDqliD6Ss" so give you an idea. All of them are pre-college.

 

[Bourbaki1123]

Every single one of your posts sounds like some excerpt from a bad 'Surviving College' book. Do you mean to write your posts in an expository style or is this actually a question?

Ha! Yeah, nice observation.

 

[chez_butt23]

OP, just remember that "most prestigious" does not equal best. The best college is one that excels in your specific academic field, has lots of opportunity for research and extracurriculars, and most importantly, one that you think you will be happy at.

 

[Anonymous217]

Please don't care about prestige. It really doesn't matter, especially for undergrad.

But to note how hard it is to get into them, I can state some personal evidence. I had a 2400 SAT, 4.7/3.98 W/UW GPA (1 B+ freshman year), 16 AP tests with mostly 5s, and pretty strong ECs. I got into MIT, Princeton, and Yale, but I was still wait-listed (and ultimately rejected) by Harvard. It's pretty much a crap shoot, no matter how good you make yourself to be.

 

[SootAndGrime]

Please don't care about prestige. It really doesn't matter, especially for undergrad.

But to note how hard it is to get into them, I can state some personal evidence. I had a 2400 SAT, 4.7/3.98 W/UW GPA (1 B+ freshman year), 16 AP tests with mostly 5s, and pretty strong ECs. I got into MIT, Princeton, and Yale, but I was still wait-listed (and ultimately rejected) by Harvard. It's pretty much a crap shoot, no matter how good you make yourself to be.

MIT specializes in math and science. While Harvard focuses on things such as law and business. Each college is known for their expertise in different subjects. Although I'm not sure what the best school for medicine is.

 

[Anonymous217]

MIT specializes in math and science. While Harvard focuses on things such as law and business. Each college is known for their expertise in different subjects. Although I'm not sure what the best school for medicine is.

That's quite the misinformed stereotype. I'd advise to consult more resources (i.e. do some googling) before you state such things.

 

[SootAndGrime]

That's quite the misinformed stereotype. I'd advise to consult more resources (i.e. do some googling) before you state such things.

Harvard Business School is arguably the best in the world. Most Harvard MBA's get job placement on wall-street making six figures per year their first year out of college. Also, several US attorney generals went to Harvard law school.

While most of the top-notch nobel prize-winning scientists went to MIT. MIT is world-renowned for their expertise in physics, math, and the sciences.

 

[streeters]

While most of the top-notch nobel prize-winning scientists went to MIT

No, they didn't. Not at all. Some end up there afterwards because hiring them makes MIT look good.

What i did is went through the departments of all these school and looked at where their academics studied. At MIT a lot more studied at UC Berkeley than MIT. An interesting statistic I thought.

EDIT: I was looking at mat sci and physics departments, sorry. not all of them.

 

[SootAndGrime]

No, they didn't. Not at all. Some end up there afterwards because hiring them makes MIT look good.

What i did is went through the departments of all these school and looked at where their academics studied. At MIT a lot more studied at UC Berkeley than MIT. An interesting statistic I thought.

EDIT: I was looking at mat sci and physics departments, sorry. not all of them.

Which university has the world's best med school?

 

[streeters]

Which university has the world's best med school?

University of Winnipeg. Now go to Canada.

Oh, wait, Universiti Brunei Darussalam is the best funded. Would you go there?

There is no way to say "best" in these things. I don't even think you know what you're asking for when you say "best".

 

[Anonymous217]

Harvard Business School is arguably the best in the world. Most Harvard MBA's get job placement on wall-street making six figures per year their first year out of college. Also, several US attorney generals went to Harvard law school.

While most of the top-notch nobel prize-winning scientists went to MIT. MIT is world-renowned for their expertise in physics, math, and the sciences.

Have you look at Harvard's math, med, english, divinity, or any other department/school? Harvard is not good only at business and law. It's consistently recognized (and ranked if that's important to you) as one of the top schools in a lot more departments than the two you stereotyped it in.

And sure, MIT is great in math and sciences, but it too is consistently ranked in other departments as well. What I'm saying is that you're stereotyping the schools into believing they're only good in the subjects you stated. Harvard's math is just as good, if not better, than MIT for example. Heard of the Putnam or Math 55? They're obviously not true factors in determining the "best" school for a particular subject, but it seems you really care about prestige and those two are definitely one of the most prestigious things for Math.

For math, the best undergrads are typically "recognized" as Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Berkeley, UChicago, and UCambridge. I'm clearly missing out on many other great schools that might be on par, but if I were to rank the top 5 in terms of both skill and prestige in Mathematics, I would state these 5. However, there is no clear order among the tops. Rather, I would use tiers instead of an absolute ranking. That is, all schools within a specific tier are relatively the same and impossible to differentiate from. This is true for all subjects and even concentrations within each subject.

There really is no "best" school for any department or concentration. If so, what is your criteria for determining such a thing? Prestige?

 

[EWH]

Stanford is likely the best all-around big university. Harvard is overrated - it has great students but doesn't really educate them as well as most other schools. Oxford has been coasting on its reputation for a long time. Cambridge is better, at least for for maths and sciences. Caltech is harder and has better students than MIT, at least judging by test scores and personal reports. Deep Springs is likely the most exclusive and has the highest verbal scores. St. John's College of Annapolis and Santa Fe offers the best (and perhaps the only) traditional liberal arts education. In biology and medicine, Rockefeller University is the top, but it does not take undergraduates. Rockefeller has about 5 faculty for every 2 students, but it's really a research institution.

 

[SootAndGrime]

Call me dumb, but what exactly is a "faculty?"

 

[thegreenlaser]

Call me dumb, but what exactly is a "faculty?"

In the context of a university, it can refer to the employees of the university (particularly the academic staff) or it can refer to a branch of study at a university (e.g. faculty of science, faculty of nursing, faculty of education)

 

[latitude]

University of Winnipeg. Now go to Canada

That's my university! But I must say, good luck getting into their medical school. No offense, but you have like zero chance. Mostly because it doesn't exist

 

[mathwonk]

define prestigious. i.e. the university most respected by those who have not gone there and could never get in? the one with the most media coverage? etc...

 

[Anonymous217]

^Those two are pretty good definitions.

 

[Mépris]

define prestigious. i.e. the university most respected by those who have not gone there and could never get in? the one with the most media coverage? etc...

This, right here, is signature material. When I buy myself the right to one, it is definitely going to appear under everyone of my posts! (for a while at least :P)

 

[SootAndGrime]

Has anyone here ever been to Harvard?

 

[aspiring_one]

The "best" is all relative. In my opinion, you should work the hardest in whatever situation/institution/field/job you're in. "Hardest", again, is also relative. Working hard in a prestigious university vs. a semi-prestigious vs. community college might entail different things but it is possible, I believe with the right environment and resources, for someone in say a community college to excel just as much as one in a "prestigious" university.

 

[Mépris]

Has anyone here ever been to Harvard?

Somebody who's posted on this page has...

Another two (regular posters) have been to MIT.

 

[twofish-quant]

Another two (regular posters) have been to MIT.

I'm one of them. One of the things that you learn at MIT is to dislike prestige. While you are thinking about how smart and wonderful you are, you get lazy and before you know it someone else will do stuff better than you do.

 

[mege]

define prestigious. i.e. the university most respected by those who have not gone there and could never get in? the one with the most media coverage? etc...

http://www.clc.com/clcweb/publishing.nsf/Content/Second+Quarter+Rankings+2010-2011

According to the Collegiate Licensing Company UT Austin is the most popular (at least in the US). ;)

 

[SootAndGrime]

I'm one of them. One of the things that you learn at MIT is to dislike prestige. While you are thinking about how smart and wonderful you are, you get lazy and before you know it someone else will do stuff better than you do.

It's next to impossible to get into schools like MIT and Harvard.

 

[Vanadium 50]

It's next to impossible to get into schools like MIT and Harvard.

Gee, three or four thousand kids manage to do this every year.

 

[SootAndGrime]

Gee, three or four thousand kids manage to do this every year.

What are the minimum GPA, SAT/ACT scores accepted at MIT?

 

[Vanadium 50]

http://mitadmissions.org/apply/freshman/tests" This took me 30 seconds to find with Google.

Whatever your point is, you probably want to make it some other way.

 

[wukunlin]

While you are thinking about how smart and wonderful you are, you get lazy and before you know it someone else will do stuff better than you do.

been there, done that, still suffering :P
although few people overseas will see my university as prestigious

 

[turbo]

Want a prestigious university? Persuade Warren Buffet to hire Smolin, Weinberg, Hawking, etc to tutor you. Class size=1.

Maybe it's better to go to an OK university and work your tail off.

 

[SootAndGrime]

Want a prestigious university? Persuade Warren Buffet to hire Smolin, Weinberg, Hawking, etc to tutor you. Class size=1.

Maybe it's better to go to an OK university and work your tail off.

ASU or Northern Arizona University aren't too hard to get into. I'm sure you can get in with at least average test scores.

I live in Arizona.

 

[Bourbaki1123]

What are the minimum GPA, SAT/ACT scores accepted at MIT?

Test scores and GPAs are not sufficient for admission to MIT, and I'm not sure they're necessary either. As I understand it, what is more important is doing actual work/research in the sciences and showing that your interest and abilities in the sciences go above and beyond the normal high school curriculum. Competitions, summer programs, being involved in the sciences, all seem to be important factors.

Having a perfect GPA or test scores will not guarantee admissions. Our valedictorian had scored a ~1300 on his SAT in 7th grade and had a perfect score entering high school, took plenty of AP courses, did not get in.

 

[Bourbaki1123]

ASU or Northern Arizona University aren't too hard to get into. I'm sure you can get in with at least average test scores.

I live in Arizona.

ASU looks like it has a reasonably solid physics dept. so if that's your ultimate goal it might be a good place to shoot for after (unless you're going to transfer) community college.

 

[SootAndGrime]

ASU looks like it has a reasonably solid physics dept. so if that's your ultimate goal it might be a good place to shoot for after (unless you're going to transfer) community college.

I'm not interested in math/physics because it was the only subject I did poorly on in high school.

I was thinking about studying psychology, and criminology/criminal justice.

 

[Bourbaki1123]

I'm not interested in math/physics because it was the only subject I did poorly on in high school.

I was thinking about studying psychology, and criminology/criminal justice.

Fair enough, but now I'm a little surprised you're posting in the academic guidance section of a website clearly marked "Physics Forums", if you were interested in some sort of science that would at least make some sense, but if you don't mind my asking: why are you here?

Also, have you heard of the Khan Academy? You might benefit from it, they do great video lectures on the sciences and math, it's miles ahead of other resources for self learning. It might shake away apprehensions you have about math and the sciences so you can better evaluate if you would like to look into them more.

 

[SootAndGrime]

Fair enough, but now I'm a little surprised you're posting in the academic guidance section of a website clearly marked "Physics Forums", if you were interested in some sort of science that would at least make some sense, but if you don't mind my asking: why are you here?

Also, have you heard of the Khan Academy? You might benefit from it, they do great video lectures on the sciences and math, it's miles ahead of other resources for self learning. It might shake away apprehensions you have about math and the sciences so you can better evaluate if you would like to look into them more.

Can it even teach me calculus?

 

[Leveret]

Yes, as a 30-second Google search could have told you.

 

[twofish-quant]

Want a prestigious university? Persuade Warren Buffet to hire Smolin, Weinberg, Hawking, etc to tutor you. Class size=1.

1) Weinberg has taught undergraduate courses at the University of Texas at Austin.

2) Brilliant researchers can make horrible teachers.

 

[Bourbaki1123]

1) Weinberg has taught undergraduate courses at the University of Texas at Austin.

I'm not sure about their physics program, but the mathematics program at UT Austin is pretty damn strong, so that doesn't totally surprise me. I see that at least according to the US News& World report their physics program is 14th in the country, probably not the best metric but I'm not really a physicist so I can't actually evaluate the program firsthand.

 

[turbo]

2) Brilliant researchers can make horrible teachers.

Probably a defensible statement, but then again, a brilliant researcher who is working with you closely may have more to offer you (if you are a perceptive student) than someone who is a fantastic lecturer with his/her course materials bolstered by a terabyte of Power Point graphics. I think Ivan's sig sums this up nicely.

Some of the very best teachers are the ones that take the time and make the effort to challenge you as a student, even if their approach to the (collective) class doesn't reflect that.

My favorite prof in English Lit attempted suicide a few years after I had left school, which I only found out about when trying to look him up. He left academia and started up a used-book store, which was more his style, anyway. At least the people who came to his store were motivated - more than you could say for many of the students in his classes.