MadAtom said:Will I be in disadvantage while applying to american top universities (MIT, Harvard... you know...) if I had an undergraduate degree from an South African, Portuguese or Chinese university? please, answer about each case.
chill_factor said:Yes. You will be severely disadvantaged when applying to a top US university if you did not attend a top US university or a top UK university. That's simply because of their admissions process and has little reflection on the skill level of other universities. Hell, you'll be disadvantaged graduating from 90% of universities in the US, even top 30 universities. The admissions process is very inc*****.
However the good news is that most schools that are very strong in science and engineering are not "top tier" schools.
chill_factor said:Yes. You will be severely disadvantaged when applying to a top US university if you did not attend a top US university or a top UK university.
MadAtom said:Even if I get outstanding results in the admission tests?
ZapperZ said:Please do not pay attention to the advise that you are citing.
The fact that students from China makes up the LARGEST population of international students means that US Universities are well-aware of standards of universities in China. This also holds true to many other universities throughout the world. Also note that you do NOT need to JUST go to Harvard, MIT, Princeton, etc.. to get a great education in the US. There are hundreds of universities, and a large number of outstanding and respected programs beyond just those "brand names".
Zz.
chill_factor said:If you read the articles by Philip Guo (PHD Computer Science, Stanford) http://www.pgbovine.net/advantages-of-name-brand-school.htm
then you'll find that in both industry and in academia, everything is heavily slanted towards elite top tier universities. Even at the undergrad level, just by graduating from a more prestigious university you increase your chances of graduate admission substantially.
Also, most of the foreign grad students attended a tier 1 (top 10) institution in their home countries. I'm talking Tsinghua, Moscow State, Tokyo U, Seoul or IIT Mumbai, which are considered highly selective in their home countries, and these schools are just as hard to get into as MIT and Harvard are. That is why they have reputation overseas as well.
In most countries, there's little undergrad participation in research except maybe a UG thesis. It is simply harder to compete with undergrads that have access to publications, and the top top tier elites have their pick.
The second part is what I agree on. You don't need to go to a top tier elite school to get a great education in science and engineering. There's great programs at top state schools like Rutgers, UT Austin, UIUC, Michigan, Maryland, etc.
micromass said:Again, have you ever been part of an admissions committee?? If you haven't, then perhaps you shouldn't be giving advice here.
chill_factor said:Even at the undergrad level, just by graduating from a more prestigious university you increase your chances of graduate admission substantially.
WannabeNewton said:And how exactly did you come to this strong conclusion? I have a fair number of older friends who rather recently graduated from cornell CAS and columbia physics who will tell you otherwise.
chill_factor said:applicant profiles on PhysicsGRE.com, statistics on GradCafe and actually looking through top tier apartments (at student profiles in faculty pages).
The prestige of the previous university can have some impact on graduate program admissions, but it is not the only factor considered. Admissions committees also look at the applicant's academic performance, relevant experience, and personal qualities.
Attending a highly ranked university may give an applicant an advantage, but it is not a requirement for acceptance into a graduate program. Admissions committees consider a variety of factors when evaluating applicants, and attending a lower ranked university does not automatically disqualify someone from being accepted.
The size or reputation of a university does not necessarily determine an applicant's chances of acceptance. Admissions committees look at the quality of education and academic performance of an applicant, regardless of the size or prestige of their previous university.
Graduate programs do not have a preference for applicants from a specific university or educational background. Admissions committees consider a wide range of factors when evaluating applicants, and there is no bias towards a particular university or educational background.
In some cases, attending a prestigious undergraduate university may help offset lower GPA or test scores. However, it is not a guarantee of acceptance into a graduate program. Admissions committees still consider the overall strength of an applicant's application, including their academic performance, relevant experience, and personal qualities.