Top Physics Grad Program Rankings- according to students

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around rankings of top physics graduate programs based on student reviews, focusing on the implications of these rankings for prospective students and the factors influencing student satisfaction within these programs.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants find the rankings interesting and potentially useful, while others question their relevance.
  • One participant emphasizes that the rankings reflect student happiness rather than pre-admission statistics, suggesting that happiness is an important consideration.
  • Another participant proposes that direct conversations with current graduate students during visits may yield more honest insights about programs.
  • Concerns are raised about the rankings being biased towards larger physics departments, with questions about the representation of smaller departments.
  • One participant notes the absence of MIT in the rankings and speculates that its focus may affect survey participation.
  • Another participant discusses the suitability of certain programs for specific personality types, suggesting that independent and self-motivated students may thrive in competitive environments like MIT and Harvard, while others may feel isolated.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of opinions regarding the usefulness of the rankings, with some valuing them and others questioning their significance. There is no consensus on the implications of the rankings or the factors influencing student satisfaction.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include potential biases in the rankings based on department size and the subjective nature of student happiness. The discussion does not resolve these concerns.

jgrossman
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I came across these rankings for Top Physics Schools according to student reviews. Interesting!

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1 University of California-Santa Barbara 9.467
2 Brandeis University 9.133
3 University of Pennsylvania 9.100
4 Syracuse University 9.056
5 University of California-Los Angeles 9.050
6 Yale University 8.917
7 Cornell University 8.733
8 University of California, Davis 8.683
9 Columbia University, NY 8.667
10 Carnegie Mellon University 8.610
11 The University of Chicago 8.570
12 Boston University 8.422
13 Vanderbilt University 8.400
14 University of California-Berkeley 8.155
15 University of Virginia 8.133
16 University of Minnesota Twin Cities 8.000
17 Baylor University 7.978
18 Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) 7.767
19 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 7.733
20 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 7.727
21 Washington University in St. Louis 7.700
22 University of Kansas 7.600
23 Stony Brook University, SUNY 7.578
24 Purdue University-West Lafayette 7.567
25 University of Arizona 7.533
 
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Kinda useful I guess, but I don't really understand why anybody should care.
 
Arsenic&Lace said:
Kinda useful I guess, but I don't really understand why anybody should care.

Because the ranking is based on the level of happiness of the students in the program not the stats of the students before they step foot on campus. How happy you will be at a place is a useful consideration
 
Good to see I'm headed to one of the good ones. :)
 
jesse73 said:
Because the ranking is based on the level of happiness of the students in the program not the stats of the students before they step foot on campus. How happy you will be at a place is a useful consideration

I think a better way to find out about this is to talk to their grad students during the visit behind closed doors. That's when the honesty really kicks in, IME (after visiting 3 schools).

The rankings seem heavily biased in favor of very large physics departments, are the number of students responding to these queries taken into account? Where are the smaller departments? The ones I visited were mostly very happy with their experience, the only "bad" things I heard were due to personal reasons and not the school/faculty's shortcomings.
 
no mit?
 
462chevelle said:
no mit?

They're too focused to respond to an indirectly solicited survey. ;)
 
I think there are certain places that are best for a certain type of personality. MIT might be an example, and I heard Harvard is too among others. If you are very independent, self motivated, and assertive you will do very well. However if you need more guidance these are probably not the best places which is why some of the students feel isolated or unhappy.