Your Schooling

[CalBoy]

I learnt everything I know from dodgy Belgian donkey porn sites.

Belgian eh? Well oooh la la

I'm sorry CalBoy, but I don't think you understand what it's like to be at the only private school in the Big Ten.

Perhaps not exactly the same, but this comes close enough I think.

And that's all we're going to say on this topic.

 

[zap2]

I'm sorry CalBoy, but I don't think you understand what it's like to be at the only private school in the Big Ten.

Wait, so its about bragging rights?

Sounds lovely

 

[Agathon]

I have a BA, and an MA. I have a PhD in Classical Greek Philosophy.

One of the reasons I use Macs is that the Mac has historically done a better job of dealing with polytonic Greek than the Windows OS (Spotlight even searches in Greek).

e.g. this: πάντες ἄνθρωποι τοῦ εἰδέναι ὀρέγονται φύσει

You can work out for yourself what it means.

Things might be different on Windows now, but as Red said, "I'm institutionalized now".

 

[ctt1wbw]

How come there's no choice for "I'm 38 and still trying to get my GED?"

 

[pivo6]

BS in Finance from the Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

[iMpathetic]

Still at teh middle school of shiznit, but will be headed to HS come august.

I'm going to die.

 

[wordmunger]

That's quite good! What's your job at the moment? Are you an instructor/teacher?

No, I'm a professional blogger (see below). I tried teaching twice -- both high school and college, and realized it really wasn't for me.

 

[d_and_n5000]

Still at teh middle school of shiznit, but will be headed to HS come august.

I'm going to die.

May I ask why?

 

[Teh Don Ditty]

BBA in Management from Adelphi University.

I took a few grad classes and I was contemplating going back for my Masters in accounting or finance, but I dunno if I want to do that anymore.

I wish I didn't f** around in college and take a BS program like Management. Totally took the easy way out.

 

[Glen Quagmire]

LLB (Hons) Law from the University of Northumbria, UK.

 

[rockthecasbah]

I'm a senior in high school but will be attending Drexel University in the fall. I'll my bachelors there, then likely take a job and get my MBA part time.

 

[thechidz]

Best School in the Midwest? Hehe, that's cute.

umm are you serious? you really think NW is better than UMICH???

that is quite delusional..

For big 10 schools its 1. Mich (Harvard of the midwest) 2 . Wisc (Berkley of the Midwest) 3. Northwestern (Stanford of the Midwest)

 

[bananaquit]

Vaquero to Aggie to Grizzly...

 

[iMpathetic]

May I ask why?

Indeed you may.

I have deduced that I shall have the **** beaten out of me on a regular basis.

 

[it5five]

I'm sorry CalBoy, but I don't think you understand what it's like to be at the only private school in the Big Ten.

Oh boy.

Thanks for reminding me why I'll never step foot in a private university for any of my education.

Tell me, why does your attendance at a private university make you better than those of us who go to a public university?

 

[thechidz]

Oh boy.

Thanks for reminding me why I'll never step foot in a private university for any of my education.

Tell me, why does your attendance at a private university make you better than those of us who go to a public university?

This just shows exactly why nobody in academia really respects NW anymore. If you can pay for your degree, you can go there, minus a very few selective programs...

 

[Agathon]

Oh boy.

Thanks for reminding me why I'll never step foot in a private university for any of my education.

Tell me, why does your attendance at a private university make you better than those of us who go to a public university?

I wouldn't worry too much about that sort of thing.

The evidence suggests that undergraduate education at a big name university is no better than that offered at most regular universities. In fact, attending a big name university like Harvard will do absolutely zip for your career prospects. Undergraduate education is usually just teaching you the basics of the discipline, and so is pretty easy to do for any minimally competent college.

So why are Ivy grads more successful on average?

It turns out that makes the difference is not attending an Ivy League institution, but being accepted at one. Those schools are very good at picking out the sort of people who are going to "succeed" in the socially accepted sense of that term. We know this because studies have demonstrated that people who are accepted to Ivies but attend a non-Ivy school end up being just as successful on average as those who don't. In other words, the quality of education offered at Ivies makes no difference.

You are better off applying to an Ivy and then turning it down in favour of a cheaper state school. Or, if you aren't interested in predicting your future success, just not applying to the Ivy League at all. If you are that sort of person, you will probably succeed wherever you go.

Hilarious isn't it? Think of all the money people waste trying to get into an Ivy League college.

 

[Naimfan]

Hmmm....

JD and PhD in American constitutional law and politics.

MS in telecommunications.

All I can say is "no mo' school!"

umm are you serious? you really think NW is better than UMICH???

that is quite delusional..

For big 10 schools its 1. Mich (Harvard of the midwest) 2 . Wisc (Berkley of the Midwest) 3. Northwestern (Stanford of the Midwest)

Just as it is delusional to think Mich is better than Chicago......

 

[it5five]

I wouldn't worry too much about that sort of thing.

The evidence suggests that undergraduate education at a big name university is no better than that offered at most regular universities. In fact, attending a big name university like Harvard will do absolutely zip for your career prospects. Undergraduate education is usually just teaching you the basics of the discipline, and so is pretty easy to do for any minimally competent college.

So why are Ivy grads more successful on average?

It turns out that makes the difference is not attending an Ivy League institution, but being accepted at one. Those schools are very good at picking out the sort of people who are going to "succeed" in the socially accepted sense of that term. We know this because studies have demonstrated that people who are accepted to Ivies but attend a non-Ivy school end up being just as successful on average as those who don't. In other words, the quality of education offered at Ivies makes no difference.

You are better off applying to an Ivy and then turning it down in favour of a cheaper state school. Or, if you aren't interested in predicting your future success, just not applying to the Ivy League at all. If you are that sort of person, you will probably succeed wherever you go.

Hilarious isn't it? Think of all the money people waste trying to get into an Ivy League college.

Yep, I've read something very similar to everything you said in your post. It was something along the lines of; if you even apply to an Ivy League school, it shows your dedication to your studies, and you will do fine no matter what school you go to.

And it is hilarious. I'm spending $700 a semester at my state school (my dad is an employee, so I get 75% off my already cheap tuition), and some people are spending $15,000 a year for nothing more than a "fancier" name on their degree.

 

[thechidz]

Yep, I've read something very similar to everything you said in your post. It was something along the lines of; if you even apply to an Ivy League school, it shows your dedication to your studies, and you will do fine no matter what school you go to.

And it is hilarious. I'm spending $700 a semester at my state school (my dad is an employee, so I get 75% off my already cheap tuition), and some people are spending $15,000 a year for nothing more than a "fancier" name on their degree.

the name on your degree may open more doors for you, but it is still up to you to walk through them...

 

[rhsgolfer33]

And it is hilarious. I'm spending $700 a semester at my state school (my dad is an employee, so I get 75% off my already cheap tuition), and some people are spending $15,000 a year for nothing more than a "fancier" name on their degree.

There are other reasons for going to private schools. I chose a small (3000 students) private undergraduate program so that I could have classes that average under 20 students for general education and have about 9 students per class in my major. I enjoy not having graduate student instructors or lecture halls and having actual face time with my professors and academic advisor. When I applied to schools I also applied to the huge (about 30,000 students) state school nearby; it would have cost me about $5000 per year to attend there, I currently pay about $13,000 per year on a half scholarship (I would have received no financial aid at the state school). While I'm sure I would have received a good education there as well, I fell that the extra $8000 a year was well spent on the small classes (nothing beats a French course with 12 students), the one on one attention I receive with my advisor, and the intimacy of knowing a major portion of the student body. Then again, I'm not attending a top private school (although it is quite respected in the area), which also tend to have some large classes, and tuition is no where near the $40,000 a year some top privates charge. Overall I'm very happy with my school, even if I have to deal with some snobs.

Also, top schools (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc) aren't just charging for a fancier name on the degree. If you really take full advantage of the institution and manage to get in with some of your professors, you'll be doing work and research with some truly amazing minds. I've had the pleasure of listening to a few Harvard professors speak on some amazing topics, and while my professors are pretty intelligent, the Harvard professors definitely have a few more accomplishments and research thats just amazing (although I'm sure the research funding they receive from Harvard might have a little bit to do with this).

I'm really hoping to go to Harvard for my Accounting DBA, mainly for the professors and the research opportunities. But at that level school is free and they pay you a stipend to teach anyway.

 

[Agathon]

There are other reasons for going to private schools. I chose a small (3000 students) private undergraduate program so that I could have classes that average under 20 students for general education and have about 9 students per class in my major. I enjoy not having graduate student instructors or lecture halls and having actual face time with my professors and academic advisor. When I applied to schools I also applied to the huge (about 30,000 students) state school nearby; it would have cost me about $5000 per year to attend there, I currently pay about $13,000 per year on a half scholarship (I would have received no financial aid at the state school). While I'm sure I would have received a good education there as well, I fell that the extra $8000 a year was well spent on the small classes (nothing beats a French course with 12 students), the one on one attention I receive with my advisor, and the intimacy of knowing a major portion of the student body. Then again, I'm not attending a top private school (although it is quite respected in the area), which also tend to have some large classes, and tuition is no where near the $40,000 a year some top privates charge. Overall I'm very happy with my school, even if I have to deal with some snobs.

Class size isn't all it is made out to be. The Oxbridge tutorial system makes more of a difference, but that is mostly due to the style of learning.

Also, top schools (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc) aren't just charging for a fancier name on the degree. If you really take full advantage of the institution and manage to get in with some of your professors, you'll be doing work and research with some truly amazing minds. I've had the pleasure of listening to a few Harvard professors speak on some amazing topics, and while my professors are pretty intelligent, the Harvard professors definitely have a few more accomplishments and research thats just amazing (although I'm sure the research funding they receive from Harvard might have a little bit to do with this).

An undergraduate degree is not really about that. It is a qualification that demonstrates that you have mastered the basics of the subject. Real research begins at the graduate level. Most people would be better off doing their undergrad work at a decent school, and then applying to a top program for grad school.

I'm really hoping to go to Harvard for my Accounting DBA, mainly for the professors and the research opportunities. But at that level school is free and they pay you a stipend to teach anyway.

Grad school is different. Even then, an Ivy League school may not be the best option. When you are doing a research degree you really need to go somewhere where the professors are working on the same kind of stuff as you.

 

[grouper]

i have my GED (it only took 4 years after i should have graduated high school for me to get around to care enough to take the test)

i'm part time at university of missouri, kansas city, trying to decide if i want to keep it up (read: pay for it) next year

 

[benmrii]

I'm on something of a sabbatical from finishing my masters at Duke. Headed back up next fall.

 

[rhsgolfer33]

Class size isn't all it is made out to be. The Oxbridge tutorial system makes more of a difference, but that is mostly due to the style of learning.

For most people it might not be, but I know that for me I learn much more easily when I'm in a small class as opposed to a lecture hall. I have a harder time paying attention in lecture halls and it is much harder to engage in a discussion (which I find helps me learn material faster as well) when you're in a class with 60-300 students.

An undergraduate degree is not really about that. It is a qualification that demonstrates that you have mastered the basics of the subject. Real research begins at the graduate level. Most people would be better off doing their undergrad work at a decent school, and then applying to a top program for grad school.

While I agree that most people would be better off doing their undergrad work at a decent school then applying to a top program for grad school (that is exactly what I'm doing), I still feel that for students looking to enter academia, research is important at the undergrad level. It is extremely hard for a student with just a bachelors to be admitted directly to Ph.D programs without some prior research and defined research goals. I know a few Psychology professors who went straight to Ph.D programs, all of them had outstanding research as an undergrad and were published before obtaining a bachelors. Unfortunately for me, undergraduate accounting is taught similarly to how you described, mastering the basics so that they can be applied in the business world, which allows me very few research opportunities as an undergrad (and I'd prefer to head straight to a Ph.D program to avoid paying for a one year MS in Accountancy program).

Grad school is different. Even then, an Ivy League school may not be the best option. When you are doing a research degree you really need to go somewhere where the professors are working on the same kind of stuff as you.

I agree, and I will head to which ever school accepts me and has the best professors with similar research interests to mine. So long as I am able to get in, it will probably be Harvard (or possibly Emory, though the research areas are a little different than Harvard).