/sci/ - Science & Math

Cambridge or Hull.

If you can't get into MIT but have the money and grades for it, you can probably get into JHU, which I would recommend for neuroscience, premed, and engineering.

ITT Tech
UTI
ECPI

In that order.

>MIT
>Caltech
>Georgia Tech
>Stanford

These are your best options

>>7179419
>acceptance rates of or above 75%

no thank you

Honestly any top 50 research university, or a top state school if you work nonstop. If you're international either go to your countries best or go to a uni in the US that is highly ranked.

>>7179421
I would agree with this if you meant engineering. For most else, I'd remove GT from that list. Not that it isn't a great school but it isn't top 4

MIT is literally shit. Go to Europe if you can. ETH Zurich, Oxford, Cambridge. All of these have better undergrad than MIT.

>>7179430
Hey they are high quality, compared to being shot in the head, and give you a good deal, compared to buying a megayacht.

>>7179430
I was making a joke. Also, I would have figured that they wouldn't turn anyone down.


Also people who recommend MIT for undergrad clearly didn't go to MIT for undergrad.

For US/Canada some of the following schools in no particular order:

MIT
CalTech
Harvard
Berkeley
Princeton
Stanford
Penn
Carnegie Mellon
UIUC
Waterloo
Toronto
McGill
Chicago
Michigan
Georgia Tech
Cornell
Columbia
University of Washington
Duke
UNC Chapel Hill
UVA
Brown
Wisconsin
Maryland
UCSD
UT Austin
JHU
Rutgers
NC State
Purdue
Penn State
Ohio State
Minnesota
Tulane
UCLA


I'm sure I missed a few but those are the only ones that come to mind that are highly ranked in at least one field of STEM

>>7179440
how come? what is so bad about MIT as an undergrad?

It really depends on what you want to study. There's a lot of schools with shit rankings overall but incredible individual departments.

If I want to study mathematics, where should I apply?

>>7179549
In Canada:
McGill (number theory and analysis are amazig here), U of T (best international reputation), McMaster (largest faculty of logicians and a bustling applied math community)

>>7179510
MIT undergrad is just autist central and professors don't give a fuck about you unless you're Jacob Barnett

>>7179440
Why do you say that? Did you go to MIT for undergrad? If so, what can you tell me about it?

>>7179478
Why all the hate on Dartmouth?

>>7179555
and Waterloo

Is Cambridge good for maths? How hard is it to qualify for the Tripos III (fourth year)?

I reccomend Tufts, UMich, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Caltech, or Cornell. Except for maybe Berkeley and LA there isn't an attitude of were superior composed of pure Autism with good research opportunities

The best rated schools aren't the best for undergrad, they're the best for research, but good researchers aren't always good teachers.

My professor got his PhD from MIT, he always recommends to people to attend European universities for undergrad even if you get into MIT. The US's universities are just too expensive, you could do your undergrad for free. I'm sure you can get a stipend at the top schools for grad school though.

>>7179377
I would say it doesn't matter what school, a real life /sci/entist sikts at home on his/her computer all day pretending.

It doesn't matter if you want to be a scientist either, go to a school that has a program you like, be the best student there, obtain phd, convince people your research is bomb.

People who say you have to go to a specific school are living in the 16th century. Almost religious to worship a business. Jesus take the wheel

While we're on the topic of universities, has anyone gone to Florida Institute of Tech?

Are any SUNY/CUNY schools actually good? I don't think I can afford anything else or moving out of state.

>>7179708
no we aren't retards

>>7179555
>canada

>France

>>7179430
It appears you have taken the bait

>>7179754
My nigger
I go there.

>>7179816
Heard this was pretty cool too.

>>7179377
Dunno, but I'm starting my PhD there in the fall. The school is nice enough but Boston/Cambridge is a little gross and expensive.

Caltech
/thread

>>7179639
waterloo isn't particularly good PHD-wise

>>7179816
>>7179820
Je ne suis qu'en terminale... Mais c'est vrai que l'ENS/X/Centrale font rêver...
Enfin bon, quoi qu'il en soit, je ne sais même pas si je tiendrai la prépa...

I am currently at Cambridge, AMA

>>7179853
c'est centralesupélec maintenant!

Qu'est-ce que tu fous sur /sci/

>>7179849
for math/cs it is very good. would be a top 10-15 school in the us. 18th in the world for cs much higher than most us schools.

>>7179853
Sorry I forgot to mention I'm not from French, I am there for my grad studies.

>>7179876
>French
from France*
With that being said I understand you are aiming for these schools? Keep working hard, I didn't perform too well in UG until I found what I wanted to study, once that happened I didn't even know what held me back before :)

>>7179875
It wouldn't even be top 100. Waterloo only focuses on getting its undergrads jobs.

Research wise, it's extremely mediocre. It gets the least funding out of all the U15 schools (less than Manitoba, Saskatchewan and fucking Dalhousie).

Good math and science students have come out of Waterloo's undergrad and headed for top programs in the states. However, its graduate programs are just tickets for Chinese and Indians to get Canadian citizenship.

It's the Harvey Mudd of Canada, not the MIT.

>>7179922
Not sure why you hate Waterloo so much, but you're absolutely wrong.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/computer-science?page=2

#18 in the world for CS. Better than over 95% of the universities in the US. US News & Report is a more reputable source than some butthurt anon's opinion, one who wasn't good enough to get anywhere good like Waterloo.

>>7179377
For undergrad it doesn't matter much. The quality of instruction and difficulty doesn't change from normal State/country universities to big universities that we all heard about. For grad school it matters. You pick a university that is good at research in your field,

If you're talking about undergrad, the top ~10 ranked liberal arts colleges also offer great hard science degrees in general. They just don't have engineering, apart from HMC I think.

>>7179964
>ahead of Cambridge, EPFL, Oxford and Caltech
Sure thing bud.

That same ranking puts King Abdulaziz University 7th internationally in mathematics, so you know it's legit.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/search?region=&subject=mathematics&name=

I didn't make up the part about them having less research income than Dalhousie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U15_Group_of_Canadian_Research_Universities#Membership

And in case you're wondering. I got in. Me and every other high schooler with a 90 average. No school in Canada is hard to get into. I didn't go because I didn't want to spend my university years in New Shanghai.

>>7180007
I dunno. It is pretty regarded that if McGill, U of T, or Waterloo were in the US all three would be ranked top 10-15 for CS.

>>7180047
Yeah, no. You clearly know jack shit about research in CS.

>It is pretty regarded that if
What a surprise, you're Chinese.

>>7180076
Turns out you don't know much about CS research period.

>>7180076
Seriously?

Anybody here know of UT austin for computer science?

>>7179478
>UNC Chapel Hill

If you're pre med sure, otherwise their pretty weak on the sciences (from NC, went out of state for college).

>>7179725
Stony Brook and Buffalo are supposed to be good. I'm transferring to Buffalo next year.

For CUNY, I City College is supposed to be the best (and cheapest). I've also heard that the labs and equipment are outdated at other CUNYs. Whether or not that applies to City as well, I'm not sure.

>>7179989
>For undergrad it doesn't matter much

this is the correct answer. How well you do in school, what course work you take, and if you've been able to participate in any research matter most in undergrad. Go anywhere that affords you that opportunity, which is a lot of schools.

Is there grad student studying abroad in this thread?
My grade in the undergrad school is fucking shit (About 7/10, which is B- or C?, <5 is considered failed here). I'm doing grad school in my country and try to write as many papers as I could, I also need to work on my grade stat in grad school so it would look better than the undergrad report.
So, what is the prerequisites that I need to achieve if I want to do PhD at schools such as MIT/Caltech/Stanford/etc?
Or do I have no chance at all?
I heard a guy told me that he published 15 papers throughout both of his undergrad school and grad school but he's still fail.
Also, my undergrad and grad schools are both noname school.
Maybe I should just stop dreaming.

>>7179922
>Harvey Mudd of Canada, not the MIT

Harvey Mudd is a superb school that I doubt that you'd get into, or all but one or two on this board

>>7180550

>their

woops

>>7179377
You should check out Rose-Hulman. It has the resources of a large school, but is pretty much all undergrads, so it is very easy to get an early start in research experience.

usually people say that "it doesn't matter where you go for undergrad as long as there's research and grad school is what really matters," but doesn't your undergrad school really have a significant affect on how grad schools consider you right off the bat?

>>7179868
Je lurk.
Et exceptionnellement, comme ici, je rêve un peu...

>>7180568
Yep you have no chance at all.

What are good STEM schools in Germany ? I'm gonna study bioc in pic related. Any good ?

>>7179478
Solid list.

In all honesty many state universities have impressive professors, as well as a lot of funding. If you get involved in undergraduate research at any of these schools you can have a promising future if you put your mind to it.

>>7180658
;_;

How good is the Grenoble INP? I'm trying to weasel myself in there for my last year.

How fucked is a UKfag if they don't get into oxbridge?
Failed to get into physics at Oxford, I'm at Durham now

>>7180753
You won't get the very sweetest jobs and, if you're up against someone from Oxbridge, even if you have a first and they have a 2:2 you're liable to get stepped on but it's not the end of the world as 3+ years of relevant experience will trump a degree from anywhere.

>>7179989

Disagree, did undergrad at top school, and during PhD felt sorry for friends who had gone to a state school and clearly missed a lot of Good course and research opportunities. (Though in the end of course things turned it fine for them)

I also disagree with the mit autism comments; undergrad was tons of fun for me

>>7180753
>>7180763

Similarly what about somewhere like Nottingham for physics undergrad?

>>7180753
>durham
le laughing angry black guy maymay

>>7180750
not the best in France but still good ; which school specifically ?

Is somebody else going to study in Italy?

>>7180856
The Engineering one, I'm deciding between Grenoble and the Parisian ESIEE, I heard Grenoble is better than ESIEE.

>>7180550
>>7180574
UNC is ranked #2 in Analytical Chemistry, #8 Inorganic Chemistry, #25 for Computer Science (tied with Duke), #28 in math, #2 Public Health, #12 Statistics, #6 for Aids research, #2 for Primary Care, #8 Finance. -- I'd say they are pretty solid in STEM. Since you're from NC you'd also know Duke and NCSU are highly ranked in STEM. Not sure why you'd go out of state when those three schools are better than most in the country.

>>7180952
Most italians probably.

Anywhere in the top 20 or so in these lists should serve as a good first step:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014-15/world-ranking

http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2014#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=

>>7180991
Depends on what your sub-speciality is. Some of these schools are ranked the same in certain areas but doesn't appear that way in your list.

>>7180952
>here
I am! I was offered a place in the UK but not where I wanted to go, so I'll be in Italy.

>>7181009
Are you italian, right? You're also going to try entering Normale?

>>7180991
Better: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings

Anything in the top 100 on this list is pretty good.

>>7179708

No, but I grew up in Melbourne and knew a lot of people that went there. It seems like you can do a lot of pretty cool research projects with all the defense contractors in the area and NASA. One guy I knew who did physics is now like head software engineer at DASH in Chicago and another who did bio designs life support systems for the ISS...but the vast majority of the people I met there just smoked weed and did fuck all.

Like any decent undergrad program, the resources to succeed are there if you actually want them. I also don't necessarily recommend Melbourne, all the girls are overweight and have neck tattoos

>>7180753
Not particularly fucked as long as you didn't get in on grades as there is leeway for you to get into good research facilities. If you didn't get in because you were demonstrative of an insufficient degree of potential you probably are doomed.

>>7180568
I really need help in this one. Please give me some advices guys

>>7179478
He said scientist, not engineer.

>>7181199
>implying engineers arent scientists today, and scientists aren't as useless as mathematicians
le naive NEET with no life experience

>>7180550
Not true, their Chemistry program (especially inorganic and photocatalysis) is very strong.
TJ Meyer is a living legend.

>>7180955
it is.
There are several engineering schools in INP though. ENSIMAG, PHELMA, GI, Pagora,...

>>7181203
this
all the research in my school is done by engineers.

>>7181245
What a shit school.

>>7181251
not taking the obvious bait

>>7180794
not that guy but i think undergrad courses/content will be similar across all schools
It's the research opportunities and connections that you can get at a top school that sets it apart

>>7181257
not totally true imo. For example if there is any selection during the undergrad years, you'll notice how fast and efficient people get while people who have it "easy" (relatively speaking) tend to struggle more on meanial tasks.
Anyone else had this experience ? Been in 3 different schools up until now.

>>7179585
Because Dartmouth is a primarily undergraduate liberal arts institution. It's got some great faculty, but honestly if you want to do scientific research with your life, your better off going to a major research institution.

>>7181255
He's right though.

>>7181302
unless you give a valid argument that can't be countered, your answer is bs.

>>7180794
I've seen your undergrad curriculum, I don't know why you think your coursework is any different than some run of the mill state school. Getting good undergrad research opportunities is the only reason to attend expensive school.s

>>7180794
Is it hard for somebody graduted at a noname foreign university to be admitted for a PhD at top american universities? Is there something I have to do while I graduate to be able to distinguish myself?

>>7181394
The exact same thing you need to do to get into a top graduate program from a no-name American university (which I luckily did): Undergraduate research experience, good recommendation letters from good people, an intelligent statement, and the performance to back it all up, of course. If you're a motivated undergraduate at a research university, these things are probably within your reach.

>>7181407
Are interships also worth something or it's only research the one that matters? Are/did you enjoy your PhD?

>>7179430
>being this elitist

>>7179647
No one? Any similarly good unis in Europe?

>>7180583

I go there! It's a good school for undergrad and has very nice opportunities for them, but it lacks for graduate school resources. It's got some of the top-ranked undergrad programs for engineering. If you're talking grad school, Rose isn't a very good choice compared to larger universities that have more funding for research.

>>7181462

I forgot to add: It's a great school, but it's located in Terre Haute, IN. So if anyone decides to go there, be prepared for an unfortunate city to live in for four years.

If I feel like the coursework at my current college is shit due to a complete transition to an online format, should I look into transferring? I'm in geology if that makes any difference. All labs have been diluted so you can complete them from home. They have "leveled the playing field" in a way that makes a distance learning degree in geology equal to an on campus one. I could transfer to a mining school easily, but I keep reassuring myself that where I'm at is "good enough"

>>7181474

>complete transition to an online format

why even pay them.

Try to go to Colorado School of Mines, would be my best guess on what to do.

>>7181480
I'm a relatively short distance from both sdsmt and Colorado Mines at the moment. Leaning towards sdsmt because of their involvement in paleo and affordability.

Want to go to uni in 'murica for physics, currently have the following options:

MIT, Duke, Princeton, Harvard, Northwestern and Rice.

Any recommendations?

>>7181491
harvard or mit
then go to (harvard if u chose mit for undergrad, or mit if u chose harvard for undergrad) for grad school

>be me
>just want a job and don't care about research
>live in California
>Thinking of CSU Long Beach or Cal Poly Pomona since those two are an hour away from my house
>computer o electrical engineer

Will I be fucked if I don't go to a UC?

>>7181503

I was thinking of Princeton too, they have more undergrads so seem to give them a bit more attention than the bigger schools like MIT or Harvard.

>>7181491
Go to the school that gives you

1. The most scholarship money
2. The most undergraduate research opportunities
3. The best chance of getting a good GPA

They're all great schools, so you can get into a top grad school from any one of those. Grad school matters a lot more than where you did your undergrad.

Assuming your goal is academia, and not say, finance, the name of the school matters less than you think. (Within reason, don't go comparing Caltech to ASU, but the schools you listed are all top tier)

>>7181520
Does this help?

>>7181538
>>7181520

Go to a UC. Nobody wants to work for Yahoo since they are almost dead.

>>7179647
It is the best facility in the UK for study and 2nd best for research . It is also internationally renowned. Just go to a departmental open day if you're applying at undergraduate level and merely thinking ahead. If you are intending to study there just for masters then just accept the course's global recognition. I don't know much regarding the ease of admission besides it requiring a 1st.

Are there any schools with good undergrad astrophysics programs?

>>7181422

I had only 6 months of research but a full year of internships. I got into a top 5 school for my field (and several other schools in the top 10).

>>7181491
if it's undergrad, princeton
grad school, probably mit

>>7180612
Along with excellent GRE and subject GREs, research, recommendations, and GPA, the brand name of your undergrad would most likely only serve as a sort of tie-breaker.

>>7181333
At the very least your physics department must be awful

>>7179849
The IQC is a world centre for quantum computing experimentation, and with students being allowed to enroll in courses at PI and GWPI, as well as UW just having a good physics department, it's really not bad at all.

>>7179864
Which college?

>>7181236
He is butthurt he didn't get into UNC as a NC resident.

>>7181491
well if you want to do theoretical physics, go to princeton. if you play your cards right, you can work with one of the professors there as an undergrad, and they are all top-tier. mit is apparently good but depressing, harvard is super neat, but i dont know much about their undergrad life

>>7182535
What's depressing about MIT? It doesn't look as swanky as Harvard, having a lot of relatively boring buildings (though the stata center is mildly interesting) but in any case the appearance of the place/area is not going to matter that much if you're occupied by your studies/research as you should be.

Ah of course, just as I expected. Everyone here are just naming schools that you would find being listed in just about every top X universities list.

Color me completely unsurprised.

Why does no one ever pay attention to their state schools? Sometimes you'd be surprised. Many people I've met who have done pretty spectacularly and went to "shittier school".

>>7181520
Don't listen to this fag (>>7181549), anon. There's absolutely nothing wrong with going to CSU. If you do, I'd only recommend the following though: SLO, Pomona, SJSU and SDSU. CSULB is pushing it.


>>7181538
Interesting. Davis graduates a lot of people that go for Twatter yet SJSU, the "shittier school" sends more to Apple.

>>7179864
How do you have time to write on /sci/?
Could it be because you are not in the natural sciences/maths program?

>>7182589
But some top X universities are state schools.

>>7182607
He's not a student, he's one of their janitors.

University of Florida EE? Also how hard is it to get into Georgia Tech as an undergrad transfer student? What do they look for?

>3.9+ GPA
> 300+ hours Community Service (not in EE but with a hospital and tutoring)
>Clubs (Very minimal)
>Shit SAT's (only took once/didnt study)
>No research/interships, one shitty college IT job

Should I retake my SAT's? Again, what are my chances? (No name community college)

>>7179478
>waterloo
cmon son

>>7183075
I was about to apply for Georgia Tech for transfer. Didn't seem appealing once I found out it's hard to maintain a competitive GPA there (since I want to go to a top physics grad school). Also fuck Georgia, coming from a Floridian.

I'd say you have a shot. Might as well apply, I mean. From what I recall their transfer admissions rate wasn't one of the super impossible ones. I'm assuming you're transferring as an incoming junior?

I would say work on your essays and why you want to go to GT specifically. How shit exactly are your SATs?

>>7182607
Not this guy but (at least in math) classes are over right now and it's about writing a master's thesis. Exams will be in may.

>>7180707
German here.
It doesn't matter, since they are all the same. There are no good or bad universities because they are all mediocre state universities.

>>7183126
Not entirely shit tier, 1190 in Math and reading, 1700 overall do they look at SAT at all?

>>7183124
Waterloo is #18 in the world CS and is absolutely one of the best in Combinatorics, so fuck off gay ass engineer :^)

>>7183167
SAT matters less the longer you been in school. Also, enjoy your shit GPA at Georgia Tech & no people won't account for your shitty GPA over the guy that went to shit state U and got a 4.0

>>7182076
St John's

>>7182607
It's easter holidays, and even then it's not like we study 24/7. I did natsci undergrad here, now doing a PhD in sysbio

>>7181012
Yeah I am, but I don't think I have a chance ahaha. I'm pretty much just a bright guy, not autistic.

>>7179725
If you're good enough to get to grad classes early, then SUNY stony brook is held in high regard if you want to stay in academia for pure math or physics. I went their for undergrad, and all the years I've been here the handful of top students every year have gotten into Harvard/Princeton/Stanford/MIT/Berkeley. but being a top student in the undergrad prgram is quite a feat. The average undergrad student their is dumb a fuck, but you get international students who were IMO medalists and stuff.

>>7183167
Idk man, you'd have to check their website. I didn't research that sort of thing for GT since I didn't apply there.

SAT stuff generally has a lot less weight if you're entering junior year rather than soph, though. As a transfer I got into a school where my SAT is below average comparing to the accepted freshies for that school. Was considering retaking but it really ended up not mattering.

The SAT is essentially a high school exam taken to test if you're ready for college. I'm a current math major with junior standing at my school; if I couldn't do math or think critically (or write well) then I wouldn't have been able to do the other shit I stressed in my apps anyway. Studying and setting time aside to do the SAT in college is a huge waste of time.

That being said, I felt it was kind of retarded that MIT required the math SAT II, which I never took in HS so I'd have to take as an undergrad. Not that I would've gotten in anyway, but I didn't feel like bothering setting aside time to get perfect scores on some precalc exam when I was already taking complex analysis, so that prevented me from applying. I applied to Caltech and took their transfer exam though, which content-wise wasn't as much of a waste of time.

>>7183182
Basically yeah, this is what made me not apply. Go somewhere esteemed where you can also achieve a 3.8+ GPA or feasibly be top of the class.

So what's the verdict on Virginia Tech? Shittier or what?

>>7180568
Please help.

>>7183202
For anything it depends on which dept. If you want to do compsci, then Yale is a pretty mediocre school.

Also, undergrad is basically all the same. Go somewhere cheap. If you're in-state and can get a full ride at Virginia Tech then it seems like a good option.

>>7183213
>If you want to do compsci, then Yale is a pretty mediocre school.
For example, I meant.

>>7183205
>So, what is the prerequisites that I need to achieve if I want to do PhD at schools such as MIT/Caltech/Stanford/etc?
I'm sorry... You really gotta stand out for those schools.

>>7179853
Tu vas en quelle prépa ? (Où?) je suis en Terminale aussi, et je suis dans le même cas que toi : prépa en espérant pouvoir aller vers une bonne école après

>>7183186
Same applies for me. You're going to try other Superior Graduate Studies too? I'm unable to do any problem at all but I think I'd have a shot if I studied all the summer.

Any opinions on Memorial University of Newfoundland?

>>7181503
Yeah, harvard strongly discourages undergrads from coming back to harvard for graduate work

>>7183444
Never heard of it.

>>7182551
It's an awful place for undergrad. The amount o competition is extremely high and unhealthy (Berkley tier). Students actively attempt to one up and fuck each other over all the time. Plus professors don't really focus on teaching undergrads, and focus on the graduate students. They don't really care about you and afaik, some don't even have office hours.

>>7181525
Princeton is great for undergrads. They have consistently been ranked as the best schools for undergrad education. They have all the resources of big schools, but love their undergrads too. I'd take princeton in a heart beat

>>7183754
>Students actively attempt to one up and fuck each other over all the time
Tried to avoid places like these when I was choosing transfer schools. What top schools aren't like that though?

>>7183075
I'm a transfer to Georgia Tech. With that resume you're a shoe-in, my former pothead roommate ( we transfered from the same nearby school) got in as well, and his GPA coming in couldn't have been higher than a 3.4. That said, it really depends on your major: Mechanical and Aeronautics are disproportionately competitive fields, if you are in fact EE then I'd be damned surprised if you didn't make it.

What about medical school?

>>7183829
Johns Hopkins.

>>7183806
Liberal arts institutions and smaller schools with smaller, less research based programs tend to be better in these respects.

>>7183836
I was looking at places like Reed and HMC, but I think I would prefer a larger research uni experience.
Do you know if there's nasty student competition at non-Berkeley public schools like UMich or UF?
I'm assuming all the Ivy schools have some level of high competition among students also.

>>7183175
>Waterloo is #18 in the world CS
kek

Is Imperial College any good?

>>7183844
Ivy competition is not bad in comparison to many schools. U Michigan is a pretty friendly place from what I heard, but it's also huge so a less motivated student can get lost there.

>>7183844
If you are interested in math and qualified enough, I'd suggest columbia. I had a pretty long chat with the head of math there and she said it was one of the most friendly departments she'd seen in terms of student inteeaction. Plus columbia is big and has ample research and graduate opportunities.

>>7183754
Oh, well, glad I came for the graduate program then, I don't even know what the undergraduates are doing.

>>7180550
if you can shoot a baskeball, they have an excellent african studies program

>>7183866
Seems to come right after Cambridge and Oxford rankings-wise from what I've seen.

>>7183867
Michigan has like 25 physics kids a year from what I've heard. That, and access to ~60 physics profs that all also teach the grad school. That's a pretty awesome ratio for such a huge school.

>>7179421

No Harvey Mudd or Mellon?

>>7179555
>someone in math at mcgill in upper year (presumably) goes on 4chan. oh no. now im going to be testing power levels everywhere i go

How much does undergrad matter? I won't specify where, but I'm at a pretty average undergrad because I dicked around too much in high school, muh ACT/SAT couldn't carry dat 3.0 GPA.

>all this hate for waterloo
>mfw paying for my entire tuition through co-op

>>7180076
he's right though. i find myself reading papers from u of t and waterloo pretty often

>>7184273
Depends on what you're doing, if you want to continue to grad school, etc. If you're just getting your bachelor's, it matters more.
IMO, good is in the top 100 or top 200 with a free ride.
School generally stops mattering so much anyway after 3+ years at a solid job.

>>7184275
>too stupid to go to a better university like UofT and get your own internships during the off terms

>>7184290
>implying I didn't get accepted to UofT
>implying I want to work and not get paid

>>7184275
Waterloo is a good school for people who care more about career and money than research. It's not a research university and certainly not a school where someone should do their PhD.

Read the fucking OP. This thread is about becoming scientists and academics, not SV fags.

>>7184287
That's helpful.

On may way to real research physicist, hopefully.

>>7184312
Good luck. Wherever you are, make sure you get outstanding recommendations and top of the class grades by graduation. High GRE/PGREs and high amounts of research done should be a given.

Is attending a weird/"gimmicky" school like Northeastern (great co-ops and decent enough research) for undergrad worth a bit of debt to get into a great grad school or does that not happen.

>>7184434
To get the most out of undergrad it's up to you, really. Just would be "easier" to attend a more prestigious school (as in, won't have to work your ass off at some no-name school to stand out against impossible odds). Up to you if it's worth the debt. I'd say no unless it won't be much.

>>7184307
>Not a research school
Explain IQC/GWPI/PI, not to meantion the shit-ton of maths coming out of that school...

>>7184471
How does owing 80k after graduating sound?

>>7184484
I wouldn't do it. Maybe only if it was a top 5 school.

>>7183429
Are there any other ones for Mathematics? Illuminate me! I know there's Sant'Anna for engineering and stuff like economy or Medicine (I think?), but my knowledge ends here.
Btw, I am in the same situation as you: if I study the right way I might manage to make it - I'm also already familiar with that kind of problems because I participate to Maths' Olympiads. However, as you probably know, those problems are much harder...
I'll just try.

>have 2 friends and know several almost-friends who transferred to uc berkeley
>we all went to the same garbage community college
>different majors, from engineering to chemistry to biology
>my friends are always talking about the dirty tricks that they play there
>its competitive as fuck
>people actually sabotage shit
>going thru that much shit for an undergrad degree

Why is going to a top university good again?

Oh right, cause retards on /sci/ fully believe in MUH PRESTIGE.

>>7184501
>Implying Berkeley is a top university

>>7184501
Glad I didn't apply there.

>>7184503
It is though. According to the Chinese.

>>7184503
>recognized everywhere by just about everything and everyone as a top university, regardless of its public status

>some faggot on an anonymous image board says otherwise

Thanks for your input.

>>7184503
>Only a masters in shitposting
>King

>>7184503

it is, especially given how the Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratory recruits from there

then again, you can also get into LLNL via the travesty that is Hayward State University if you suck enough dicks

>>7184548
They recruit from there because Berkeley at some point held a stake in it. Now they just have a partnership after the lab broke away.

Interesting, how so? That school literally has no STEM options and it's primarily a business and teaching university. At some point I'd like to get my credential so I might go there.

>>7184558

>Interesting, how so?

it's close to the labs and it's possible to get hired in as a contractor, especially if you got trade skills (ala machnist, electrical engineer etc). It's what I did at a small fabrication shop near it that made customized instruments for them. However, my point is a bit moot because you still require a degree and experience for the labs to actually hire you. But working for a contractor can get you in the door (literally) in ways that being a grad student can't.

>>7179377

Academia is EXTREMELY biased towards hiring from one of about 25 "top schools" in nearly every single subject. Keep in mind this mostly matters for PHD. They are, mostly:

www.wired.com/2015/02/academic-hiring-uphill-battle/

MIT
Yale
UC Berkeley
Princeton
Stanford
University of Chicago
Columbia
Brandeis
John Hopkins
UPenn
University of Wisconsin, Madison
University of Michigan
UCLA
Northwestern
Cornell
Brown
UC Davis
Rochester
NYU
UC San Diego
Duke
University of Minnesota
Rutgers
University of North Carolina
Virginia

And the first 10 or so are the lion's share.

>>7184601
>no Harvard
you're list just went into the trash

>>7184601
>>7184637

It isn't "my list" but I did forget Harvard.

>>7180569
I go there, it's alright

>>7184637
>you're list
your opinion just went into to trash too

>>7182054
still no argument.

>public schools
>schools with acceptance rates over 20%
>schools with over 25k students
>schools with over 30% chinese and indians
If your "top school" satisfies any of the above criteria, it's shit.

>>7184290
According to US News and Report Waterloo is ranked higher than UofT in CS. Waterloo combinatorics department is top notch. You are dumbass undergrads that don't even do research commenting on areas you know nothing about. Fuck off children.

>>7184821
>>7184290
>>7184307

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings?page=2

Waterloo is #18
UofT is #24

AAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY LMAOOOOOOOO

>>7184932
>Oxford above Cambridge

>>7185091
For computer science wouldn't doubt it.

>>7185150
I noticed they had different areas of research in their departments too... Of course Oxford compsci is stronger but if you wanna do research in a specific field then it would be dumb to pick it solely based on that ranking.

Same goes for every university/field.

>>7185185
generally you pick the university due to PI and research fit

>>7184601
>John Hopkins
>Rochester
>Rutgers

>>7179754
>>7179816
>>7179876
>>7179879
>>7181458
Going here next year. Getting paid for a masters. Let's have a Euro-party.

I had offers from UCL, Imperial, Bath and Machester for physics. Guess which I picked? hint, it'll make your blood boil

>>7184932
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/search?region=&country=canada&subject=&name=

Toronto is 14th
Waterloo is 244th

Ayy stop posting

>>7184821
According to US News and keks, King Abdulaziz University is 7th internationally in mathematics, ahead of MIT and Cambridge.

Now would you dumbfucks stop referencing a ranking with a clearly flawed methodology.

Not to mention overall >>7185510
>244th
>worth bragging

QS is pretty nice to Waterloo for CS:
Toronto 19
Waterloo 24

ARWU didn't even bother giving Waterloo a number CS:
Toronto 10
Waterloo 76-100

>>7179404
Aren't the grades and money all you need to get into MIT (I'm not American sorry if I misunderstood)

>>7184601
>And the first 10 or so are the lion's share
>Brandeis
lmao

>>7185529
You need other things, like extracurricular activities. Shit that makes you look like an interesting person, etc

>>7185529
I would say recognition is what you need, but a lot of times money makes it easier. Grades can be achieved by anyone.

>>7185521
Waterloo is better than UoT in Combinatorics.
Waterloo is highly ranked in CS & Math as well. You have a Waterloo math savant teaching at MIT

University of Phoenix. DUH

>>7185529
What.

The money, no, they have finaid. The grades/scores are typically a given.

Nowadays they have so many applicants for so few spots they look for things like "diversity," like if you spent your entire life learning to play only oboes made of carrots, or whatever other "interesting" BS. I know some people with 800 SATs + 4.0 GPAs at top high schools who didn't get in because they weren't "interesting" enough.

MIT also said something like 80% of people who apply are qualified to attend, they just don't have to room for them all. It's a luck/diversity thing now, basically, on top of having the stats.

They also avoid accepting many kids who were getting straight A's since childhood, apparently, because they might break down after their first B or C at MIT and feel suicidal. So they instead actually try to take kids who have made more mistakes in life but shown that they could successfully turn things around. Basically, that they would do well at MIT in the way that matters.

tl;dr There are many factors involved, including a good amount of luck nowadays. Also undergrad at a "top school" is pretty overrated. Those top stats HPYSMC rejects all still go somewhere (and somewhere free, if they're smart about it).

>>7185529
Money and position, yes. For instnace, those were the only reasons Bush Jr. got to go to Yale, also the reasons he managed to pass with a C average. All because of daddy.

>>7185634
*instance

>>7185627
From an American:

Both schools are "good."

Both schools are also shit because they're Canadian, so you've lost anyway.

End of debate.

Thoughts on this place?

>>7185649
A good school in the midwest, but a significant step down from UChicago, a bit worse than Michigan, about equal with Wisconsin. Heard they're alright for engineering.
Just my opinion.

>>7179820
I go to Polytechnique and it's great for education but there are no grills. Be warned.

>going to a top school for undergrad
Is shit honestly worth it? I am not really that smart (1800 SAT, 3.65 GPA). I am planning on doing comp sci (I know it's not really a science).

>>7185758
no, go somewhere cheap for undergrad and kick ass there. Then go to a top school for a phd (for free).

anecdotal: went to state uni for free, graduating this semester and going to stanford in the fall.

>>7185767
Right thanks. Any word on if doing a masters/phd in comp sci is worth it at all? That's still far off for me, but was wondering.

>>7185767
This. Really gotta get your shit into gear, it's all on you.
(Grats on Stanford btw, I'm dreaming of grad school there myself.)

>>7184667
> your opinion just went into to trash too
>y
>into to
>to trash
>no period

>>7185633
Do you think I'd be "interesting" enough for them as someone who originally dropped out of high school, but went on to become a top student at a community college, looking to transfer? Do I have to add on more interesting shit to that?

>>7186031
No, not if you're white. Community college will only hurt you, and any idiot can do well there. Downplay it. Source: I'm a "top" community college grad.

>>7186031
Yes, you would need something that actually stands out. That story is literally a dime a dozen. Just look at the UC system.
Still never hurts to apply I guess.

>>7181016
What's wrong with neck tattoos?

>>7185779
no clue, I'm chemE.
>>7185922
good luck, maybe i'll see you there in a couple years.

>>7179430
This elitism shit happens in the States as well? Does it really matter where you go to learn how to build a bridge? At the end of the course at whichever university you chose you will know how to build a bridge.

>>7186126
I agree, for the sciences it doesn't really matter.
For business, pre-law, pre-med, etc might actually matter more, dunno.

>>7183183
Do you know a guy called Engin? He did medicine

>>7183754
This is exactly why I dropped out of a top school. Call me a loser all you want I'm happy not having to deal with hostile autistic students and uninterested professors anymore

>>7184503
Eurofag here
Even we know about Berkeley. I think I'll go on that rather than the words of some neckbeard who thinks he's too smart for Berkeley.

>>7185091
Is there even a difference between Oxford and Cambridge?

>>7183806
If you're already looking at MIT and are intending on being in the Boston area, I'm at UMass Boston for my undergrad and am extremely happy there. It's a small school that has a good number of research opportunities (being a research-oriented campus), without being overly competitive, while still having a reasonably challenging curriculum for science majors. Honestly, since I've transferred there, I haven't felt like anybody was doing anything to undermine any of my efforts. Hell, if you do well there and keep your plate full, plenty of options will probably open up for you - at least they have for me.
tl;dr: I sound like a shill, but UMB is a decent place to go study science if you're in Boston for undergrad.

>>7186126
I wouldn't listen to what some dumbass on the internet says

I mean without shilling, look at a school like Purdue. they let everyone in, yet their engineering programs are tight as fuck and known everywhere by anyone with an iota of knowledge about engineering or research in engineering.

>>7186126
admission rates matter less than research contribution

>>7186131
>For business, pre-law, pre-med, etc might actually matter more, dunno.

It does not. Second entry professional programs don't care where you got your degree or what you studied, just as long as your gpa is tight

>>7186146
>Forbes ranks it #531 in the country
Erm, sorry m8, but only if I were a local. And if I were paid to go.

>>7186146

There are many other good schools in the Boston area as well, of course: Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern to name a few.

I just won a NSF graduate research fellowship (senior) and I'm choosing to go to Boston University for graduate school even though I could go to just about any school in the US I want because there is someone who is extremely good there that I want to work with and it's still a very, very good school that is dwarfed only by neighbouring MIT and Harvard.

>>7186183
Agreed, there's a lot of schools in the area for natural sciences, which is great, considering the industry is here as well. I honestly like the fact that as an out-of-state student, I don't necessarily have to deal with their prices and have a good stepping stone for any of the prestigious grad schools in the area.
All things told though, if you're super concerned with ranking, don't be for undergrad - nobody really cares, as long as you did something with your time during those first four years to make yourself competitive (i.e. good grades, extra-curricular activites, RESEARCH, etc.).
>>7186167
>implying Forbes is the only ranking system
>implying U.S. News doesn't put them in the top 150 for Biological Sciences and Chemistry
>implying rankings for undergrad actually matter
>It's what you make of your time getting your Bachelor's that matters for grad schools.

>>7183205
Abandon your desire for school names and go for deeds and people. Choose your subfield and look at former postdocs/PhD students of the MIT/Caltech/etc top brass who got tenure positions at less prestigious, preferably growing institutions. Look at their research and if you think it's cool, go for it.

Do not stop publishing. Try to get something into your resume that proves that you're capable of learning stuff quickly, like a publication in a somewhat different field. Ace them tests, so that you have a proof that you have qualification despite your grades.

Source - four years of trying to get into a decent grad school with bad transcripts, all while changing major. I'm now working with the first author of my favorite paper, in a university you probably never heard of.

This only reflects my opinion, but this is the way I view things. These schools are listed in no particular order within their respective groups.

Top tier:
Harvard
MIT
Stanford
Carnegie Mellon University
Yale
Princeton
Berkeley
University of Chicago
Duke
Penn
Brown
Cornell
Dartmouth College
Columbia University
Caltech
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia
Michigan
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of California—Los Angeles


Mid tier:
Johns Hopkins University
Northwestern University
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Notre Dame
Rice University
Vanderbilt University
Emory University
University of Southern California
Wake Forest
Boston College
New York University
Boston University
NC State
Penn State
Purdue University—West Lafayette
University of Maryland—College Park
University of California—San Diego
Virginia Tech
Clemson University
Michigan State University
Indiana University—Bloomington
Florida State University


Lower tier:
University of Pittsburgh
University of California—Santa Cruz
Iowa State University
Syracuse University
Colorado State University
University of Delaware
University of Nebraska—Lincoln
University of Maryland—Baltimore County
University of New Mexico
Kansas State University
University of South Florida
Wayne State University

Bottom tier:
Florida Institute of Technology
DePaul University
Indiana State University
North Dakota State University
Towson University
University of Arkansas—Little Rock
University of Idaho
University of Texas—El Paso
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wright State University

Why does Wash U in St. Louis always get undersold in these types of rankings? It's in the 50s in some of the ones posted earlier but 14 in USA Today rankings.

>>7186220
Because they aren't elite.

>>7184601

>Brandeis
>NYU
>Rutgers
>Rochester
>UNC
>Virginia
>no Georgetown

>>7186220

It's reputation is a bit weaker in the areas that matter most for these rankings, NE and west coast, It's for this same reason the Claremonts (Pomona, Mckenna, Mudd) and schools like Case Western haven't really burst onto the national stage yet.

>>7179430
>worried about acceptance rate
>not worried about anything else

I love the fact that my school is known as a gauntlet. My school accepts almost everyone with an average math ability, but very few graduate. Our graduation rate is phenomenally low. But almost everyone who graduates goes to grad school. Our physics/chemistry/math departments have never had an undergraduate turned down for grad school. And you're worried about fucking acceptance rate. Good luck.

>>7186251
Is it Reed? Sounds like Reed.

>>7186231
So youre saying its location hurts it? I could see that.

>>7186256
No East Carolina University

So.. ITT: Everyone beating off and being superior about how their school is better than yours.

Am I right or am I right?

>>7186277
But barely anyone even mentioned their school. And for those that did, there wasn't much to gloat about.

>>7186284
Yeah, you're pretty right. It's kind of shocking how much supposedly logical people will turn to mostly arbitrary numbers from magazines to try and quantify their education when pretty much every school is teaching the same material for undergrads.

>>7186284
Pardon me, >>7186289
was directed at >>7186277

>tfw figured OoS tuition would be too expensive at GA tech (2.5 hours from home)
>didn't even apply
>now just going to University of Alabama for engineering
ended up with 33 act (35 en, 32 math)
how bad did I fuck up??
still got a 50k scholarship to UA
should I transfer if I get good grades?

>>7186284
"Their" school isn't necessarily the ones they are attending genius, but one(s) they have an affinity for. You still deliberately skipped the rest of the post to point out a grammar flaw.

It's a competitive circlejerking thread, end of story.

>>7186289
Logical people, on /sci/? ayy

Anyway yeah, it's not really shocking as much as it is pathetic. Remember, some people feel the need to be absolutely superior at everything at any given moment. It's pretty sad really. I never really understood school rankings other than the need to justify things honestly.

>>7186328
Someone's bitter.

>>7186335
>get offended someone invades his safe space
>circlejerking thread for universities he wont get in to
>"y-you m-mad!"

ayy

>>7186328
While it's dumb to circle jerk the reality is that, for better or for worse institutional prestige counts for a lot.

>>7186371
>>7186356
instead of arguing about shitposting give me advice
>>7186323
>>7186323

>>7186371
How so? The only time I've ever seen it come into play is to feed the never-ending cycle of nepotism. That's really only the benefit I've see versus less prestige aka shitty schools.

They are too obsessed to stop obsessing. It's like a sickness. More and more desire to control things they don't like.

They don't even realize they are the ones who become un-free and obsessed along the way.

>>7186371
Counts a lot for who? It's not like the people with money in this world don't make sure to know who can do shit with or without a fancy degree.

Prestige is not much more than a psychological driver to perform well. For some it works wonders and some are de-motivated or even sickened by it. There are extremely skilled people in both of those categories.

>>7186323

are you fucking kidding me? you have a 50k scholarship! go there! no one gives a shit where you got your undergrad!

>>7183183
>easter holiday's

I think you mean vacation. Get back to work.

>>7186142
Cambridge for maths. Oxford for politics.

>>7185639
But that's wrong

>>7179377
University of Liverpool in the UK for physics. They have good contacts with CERN.

>>7185704
no one cares about grills

>>7186323
No, you have your shit basically paid for already with that scholarship and where you go for undergrad engineering does not matter

this generation of retards going into school has no idea what taking on tons of debt means, you can completely fucking ruin yourself.

>>7186146
UMB, commuter school, ugly as fck, very little support for students. I live in Boston, and would not recommend it.
>>7186183
BU's alright, especially for CS, but would not recommend BC for science (friends at both). Also BU and Northeastern are not top tier schools, are private, will give shit fin aid. A friend of mine was forced to drop out of BU after 3 years there cause they changed his package. No fucks were given.

>>7187288

>Also BU and Northeastern are not top tier schools, are private, will give shit fin aid. A friend of mine was forced to drop out of BU after 3 years there cause they changed his package. No fucks were given.

Oh yeah I'd never have gone to any private school for undergrad if I weren't given something close to a full scholarship. That's fucking stupid.

>>7179478
>going to a school on this list for Engineering Physics
Feels gud man

>>7185649
UIUC
going there soon for undergrad
Top school in the country for Engineering Physics

>>7179555
how's pure math at mcmaster? I applied to their health science program and was thinking about doing a minor or dual major in math

>>7179922
my cousin from pakistan is doing his masters at waterloo and he's hoping to get a canadian citizenship
lmao

>>7185633
>They also avoid accepting many kids who were getting straight A's since childhood, apparently, because they might break down after their first B or C at MIT and feel suicidal

top kek.

>>7179478
Is Stevens Insitute of Technology any good?

Purdue university is a reasonable college where it is not expensive. It has one of the top eng. Schools in the world

>>7179377
Planning on going to the University of Florida. Heard it was a good school. Anybody got another suggestion for a Foridabro?

>>7188068
UF is the best in the state. Try to get a full ride with Bright Futures or something.

DECISION TIME
which is best for undecided math+comp sci or engineering

I've narrowed it down to

Harvey Mudd
Yale
Olin
CMU
UNC (full ride, honors)

>>7188072
I'll try, thanks bud!

>>7188100
I'd go to CMU because they have a top tier CS program, and it's not entirely filled with legacy admits (Yale)

>>7188100
Do you want to go to grad school for a Master's or PhD?
If not, CMU all the way. Best in compsci. Grats on getting accepted.

If you want to continue, then UNC for free becomes a good option. Also HMC and CMU. Which one of those do you like better?

Yale is mediocre in compsci. I've heard Olin is good in engineering, but HMC is the better choice. I'd kick these two off your list.

Does UofT really deflate grades?

>>7188113
>>7188115
oh I should have mentioned I only applied to CIT, cmu's engineering school. In hindsight I probably should have applied to their computer science school as well.

>>7188119

Jet fuel can't melt steel beams

>>7188100

Yale is actually booty in eng and compsci.

>>7188145
This. My materials instructor at the community college I went to got his M.S. at Yale.

Yale isn't a good engineering school that's for sure. Only reason he was good was because the decades of experience in actual industry.

>>7188357
they have been investing a lot in their engineering though these past few years, crazy good faculty ratio and just dumping money into it

>went to San Jose State for their admitted student
>always hear blah blah Berkeley blah blah San Luis Obispo for engineering
>state actually has pretty good hands on projects
>fuck UCs and their research work
>want actual usable hands on skills
>great location
>way more affordable than UCs
>lots of high tech and engineering companies around

Why is San Jose State bad again? Why am I supposed to go to a UC again? I feel like the school has more than enough potential to be fucking great but it's being held back by its public neighbor, Berkeley and private, Stanford.

>>7188368
>Why is San Jose State bad again?
Lack of marketing, perhaps.
That's all that top schools really do, just brainwash you into thinking you can only succeed if you use their "brand." At the undergrad level, anyway.

>>7188368

I'm so fucking tired of hearing people blow the cock of the various famous US institutions. Even people who know better do it. You can get away with so much and be rewarded so handsomely just for being well-known with a good reputation.

I intentionally took my graduate fellowship to a school that isn't in this particular class of institution that gets away with almost anything due to its reputation and I don't regret it.

>>7180568
You have a .01% chance. Your only real hope is if you cure cancer or something like that.

>>7188368
Be honest. If you had a choice between a full ride to Stanford, Berkeley, or SJS, which would you choose?

>>7188368
pre-professional orientated schools are always going to leave you worse than a school which provides an actual education, with research. There is a reason the 20 year ROI of berkely and stanford is higher than san jose state.

>>7188378
>>7188382
le sour grapes faec

>>7188388

>le sour grapes faec

Eat my shit. The biggest science foundation says I'm better than you and most students at top ranked schools so I don't need a school to say it for me.

>>7188388
I'm >>7188378, and I even go to a top school, lel. I know it's all marketing. But why do people drive fancy cars? It's dumb and I "know better," but I enjoy it anyway.

>>7188386
San Jose. Berkeley is fucking crazy competitive from what I've heard (and I don't doubt it) and I'd rather not breakdown because of academics. I can't speak much for Stanford and their engineering because I've only heard good things about their health fields.

>>7188388
And then there's this guy. Are you implying SJSU doesn't have real education because it's more learning-by-doing? SLO, which by the way gives Berkeley a run for its money in terms of engineering, is the same way.

>>7188391
>>7188393
Honestly I think it's really what you do with your undergrad that matters the most.

I have several friends who are going to UCLA and UCB who aren't doing jack shit there other than school and of course the required research experience. I mean sure just having the degree gives them a bigger chance to get hired but other than that if you aren't taking advantage of it what's the point? I know for sure if I go to state I'll be sure to make use of my time and money.

>>7188405
Yeah, fit's important. And I agree, there's literally no point of going to Harvard if you're not gonna be in the top 30% of the class, or if you just keep shut in a dorm/library for four years. Zero point.

>>7188391
>I go to a worse school not because I have to but because I like the challenge
>>7188393
So you think the only different between stanford and SJS is marketing? Some schools do seem to rely on reputation (some of the ivies) but for others, they really are just better schools
>>7188396
> Are you implying SJSU doesn't have real education because it's more learning-by-doing?
as you admitted,
>Berkeley is fucking crazy competitive from what I've heard (and I don't doubt it) and I'd rather not breakdown because of academics
it is a matter of rigor. Berkeley has to be selective because many students are capable of getting a real education in education. There are schools with heavy emphasis on hands on knowledge like olin college, but olin still emphasizes research and sends many to grad school. Olin's acceptance rate is like 10% or something and doesn't have a massive reputation, but its graduates do significantly better than SJS graduates.

>>7188411
*because not many

>>7188411
>they really are just better schools
Yeah, I agree that some schools are better. More resources, more rigor, more student-faculty interaction. But like >>7188405 said, if you don't find Stanford's resources useful, but you would benefit more from SJS, then Stanford is worthless to you and you should go to SJS. It becomes a matter of fit. Like not going to Dartmouth if you want to do science. Unless you would actually benefit by doing well in a crappy department surrounded by humanities majors. Then again, matter of fit.

>>7188411
That's actually not what I meant. I meant the competitive nature of the students there. As in sabotage. I've heard from friends to never put it past someone to actually sabotage you just so they can keep grades or whatever. That's what I mean about breakdown, not because I can't handle it.

>>7188424
not what I hear
http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/SJSU.html
http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/UCB.html
http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/STFU.html

>>7188427
Then this is going to turn into a game of back and forth with anecdotes. I've heard it first hand from a few friends whom I trust versus online reviews.

>>7188427
>Harvard's rating is a B, MIT's is a B+
I have never heard of this site before, but I can already tell it's practically worthless.

>>7188429
my evidence is more empirical
your friends couldn't handle the bants
>>7188430
the actual text of reviews is what you should care about. The statistics for each school are meaningless.

>>7188427
>the most reviews for all three was 218
>for schools that have been around for more than 100 years
>he thinks this is actually useful

Bruh.

>>7188434
why does the age matter

>>7188432
>my friends
>thinks they can't handle banter

Great assumptions about people you've never met.

And it's empirical because it's published on a basically unknown website vs word of mouth? Okay I guess.

Either way I'm not changing my mind. I got to better ranked schools than SJSU but I'm still going because I'll get out of more than I would anywhere else, aside from academics.

>>7188440
hundreds of people vs. 3 people

>>7188441
And I'm sure they're factually correct and honest like the ones people left UCI over the whole flag fiasco on just about every other popular review site.

Have fun with your thread your anon. I'm sure someone else would be willing to argue with you.

>>7188368
fwiw, i interviewed at google recently and a plurality of the people i met went to san jose state

>>7188447
Honestly, not sure if this is good or bad. Did you mean as in.. they were applying for jobs too or worked there?

>>7188450
the ones who worked there (as software engineers)

for undergrad go to uni which is least expensive, if you plan on going to grad school then do lots of research and get good letters. this is demonstrably enough to get into top schools, plus you'll have little to possibly even zero debt if you do it correctly. this is a big deal, as accumulating more debt than you can handle will fucking bury you and for some reason people just do not comprehend that.

big name schools have more $$$ available for funding and sexy equipment, but it's not like you will touch any of that as an undergrad. that is for the big boys and girls, profs and their research assistants. this is a large reason as to why it is it matters where you end up going for grad school, as you will have more funding and better facilities for your projects in addition to the prestige.

on the other hand, who exactly you study under is a huge deal as well. if a specific PI at a Buffuck Flyover has tight connections in industry and is well known in their field, then guess what. anyone who did well in his group is going places, regardless of the fact that Buttfuck University is on their CV. I go to a buttfuck school, yet everyone who leaves our group goes off to NASA and military research labs for this exact reason.

best case is that you can go to a rocking school with a rocking PI in a field that you want to go into, then shadoopity boop hit that shit up nigga. it's all about the fit, go somewhere where you can do what you need to do to reach your goals in the end.

>>7188472
so this goes back to what a few other anons were saying then minus that one nigga shitposting. I guess it really is all about the fit and resources and shit

>>7179853
>prépa
>pas se la couler douce en licence
Littérallement trois ans de vacances. J’ai du aller à un tiers des cours, gros max.
Je suis maintenant en M1. Je vacances toujours. Ça marche toujours.

>>7188115
Different OP. What about UNC vs Duke? I could go to UNC for free, pay at Duke.

If I am undecided about committing to engineering, is Georgia Tech still a viable option? I am basically interested in anything that involves math or science

>>7188909
If by "science" you mean physics and are interested in STEM in general then sure. If you are possibly more into life sciences (I take it you probably aren't), Georgia Tech might not be for you (depending on what other options you have).

>>7188686
I would go to UNC for free. Those schools are both highly ranked. Duke is higher, yeah, but not worth paying for.
It's good that NC has its own public ivy. I feel bad for motivated kids in states without any good "full-ride" option.

>>7189776
Okay, thanks a lot! Yeah, NC is special with three very good STEM schools.

Do /sci. feel inferior when you didnt get accepted to the university you wanted?
did you transfer? does the fact that you get to go to your school later bother you?

>>7190309
If you feel inferior because some university didn't accept you, then you're a loser anyway. Good thing they didn't take you.