School Advice-Do school rankings really matter?

[scientific]

"rankings" do not matter so much as the reputation of the school, which is everything. ie if podunk u gets ranked #1 some year by fluke, harvard basket weaving grads will still have better job opps

 

[Lord-Barrington]

Originally Posted by scientific

"rankings" do not matter so much as the reputation of the school, which is everything. ie if podunk u gets ranked #1 some year by fluke, harvard basket weaving grads will still have better job opps

This place is a terrible mix of faux-elitism and an incredible ignorance of the real world.

 

[cjl2g]

don't forget you may change your major along the way, so maybe best overall might not be such a bad idea

 

[EMY]

Originally Posted by cjl2g

don't forget you may change your major along the way, so maybe best overall might not be such a bad idea

That may be true for undergrad, but I'm going for my PhD so switching fields is not really an option.

 

[leftover_salmon]

Originally Posted by Lord-Barrington

This place is a terrible mix of faux-elitism and an incredible ignorance of the real world.

No, he's right to a certain extent. For example, BusinessWeek ranked Notre Dame and UVA's undergraduate business schools ahead of Wharton, but I don't think anyone would argue that Wharton is more prestigious and more heavily recruited, which is really all that matters for business school.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by EMY

That may be true for undergrad, but I'm going for my PhD so switching fields is not really an option.
Assuming engineering is like the sciences and you build a reputation by publishing research results, if you know the type of research you want to do, you should pick a PhD advisor rather than a school. Your name will be more closely associated with your advisor's reputation than the school's reputation. If you are unsure what type of research you wish to do, pick a large school with several professors doing research that interests you. Choose the school with the best reputation where you think you can excel. You'd rather be a star from the number 5 or even the number 15 program in the country than a 'C' student from the best program. If necessary, ask a current or former professors to give you an honest assessment of your abilities. When choosing an advisor, be sure to talk with his or her grad students. Make sure the professor has former students in positions similar to where you want to end up. Regardless, choose an advisor whose research interests you and who values you as a professional and as a person. Life is too short to deal with dickheads.

 

[pebblegrain]

Originally Posted by scientific

"rankings" do not matter so much as the reputation of the school, which is everything. ie if podunk u gets ranked #1 some year by fluke, harvard basket weaving grads will still have better job opps

let us count the errors in this response, oh **** ran out of fingers (I have 43 fingers btw)

 

[kungapa]

Originally Posted by pebblegrain

let us count the errors in this response, oh **** ran out of fingers (I have 43 fingers btw)

Assuming he is talking about undergrad, what is actually wrong with that response?

 

[pebblegrain]

Originally Posted by kungapa

Assuming he is talking about undergrad, what is actually wrong with that response?

because this thread is not asking about undergrad

 

[medtech_expat]

Originally Posted by kungapa

Assuming he is talking about undergrad, what is actually wrong with that response?

Reading comprehension.

 

[joelmthw]

Originally Posted by ramuman

I second (third) this. Incidentally, I was also accepted into Columbia for engineering grad school and I seriously considered it because I had thoughts at the time of also pursuing an MBA or JD in parallel with my Ph.D. I ended up choosing Georgia Tech because it was ranked higher overall in engineering and my focus (ECE/BME). I took it seriously for 4 years and ended up with a job in line with what I could have expected with a dual Ph.D/MBA and a much better technical background because of the resources here. Tech was the highest ranked engineering school that did spring admissions at the time and it ended up being one of the best decisions I've made.

Short answer: Go with the better engineering school - but in grad school make sure you also have a great fit with your advisor, especially if you're doing a Ph.D. That alone could make or break your experience. I was fortunate enough to have one of the classiest people as mine.


when did u attend gatech? im there currently

 

[kungapa]

Originally Posted by pebblegrain

because this thread is not asking about undergrad

Op wasn't, but scientific clearly was.