/sci/ - Science & Math

>>9782812
I went to an elite university and I didn't deserve to

Now my CV looks sweet and I'm set up for life

Swings and roundabouts OP

>>9782812
>tfw I'm enjoying my life as a graduate student in one of the most elite schools
QQ moar OP

>>9782812


The only thing that matters is having an accredited course

>>9782870
wrong, unless you are a medicine student, which in that case you need get off my board.

>>9782870
Why do you type like this

>>9782879
I would argue that if you're doing STEM or a professional degree accreditation is the main thing you need to look for

Elite universities tend to be accredited though

>>9782880
like what?

Im just happy to graduate at this moment

>>9782812
Yeah I wish I was smart enough to get into a better school

>>9782812
Stops mattering as soon as you get your second job

>>9782812
you obviously didn't have any exchange students or go to any other university for undergrad. the oxford students who exchange programmed here said the courses were pretty much the same and one dude here who was getting 95%+ in every course got admitted to mit for grad school among other places

>>9782812
I went to an elite university and regret not going to a UC. Grass is always greener.

>>9782812
Your fixation on coursework is a clear sign you're enough of a brainlet to deserve your podunk university.
Coursework means jack shit. You can get all that from a dozen different books.
The more prestigious universities become important when you reach the point of needing specialized viewpoints or ideas that aren't regurgitated from 50 years ago, and then it makes a big difference if you're working underneath the leader of his field or some nobody who reads his papers.

>>9783010
This is true. Coursework is basically useless drivel. It can be entertaining if you have a good prof, at least.

>>9782812
dude. i went to what is considered an elite uni in the uk. not ivy league. but still elite. and the courses are shit and terrible and... its just fucking social signalling. Uni doesnt help. Smart people dont need uni. teaches nothing.

>>9783114
what do you mean by courses being shit?

the individual modules? did you do stem?

>>9782812
No

1. Go to a school in your country that's somewhere around rank 15-40 in your subject. If you're in the US and it's your state school, you're saving a huge amount of money.

2. Get good grades. If you didn't before, make sure your grade trend is really positive and you end on 3.7-4.0 semesters.

3. Acquire research and build good relationships with your professors.

4. If you don't feel like you have enough research, do a masters at the best school that fits your budget and location. Earlier relationships with professors helps a lot here

5. Apply for top 15 or top 10 schools in your subject. At this point, ranking isn't as important as the specialty you want to investigate.


Why is this so hard for pretentious /sci/ undergrads to understand? You save a huge amount of money in undergrad (read: the basic shit you're expected to pick up, and if you go to a decent uni, something that's fairly standardized across universities). I had no debt coming out of my first 4 years and was sufficiently prepared for grad work. Furthermore, I've seen this work for many of my peers across the years.

That's the key word: sufficient. Like with intelligence, hard work, resume credit, etc., it's all about being sufficiently able and sufficiently experienced that allows you to go to a really good university and ultimately lead a great career.

>>9783219
in the UK it's different

Every undergrad course is the same price effectively since the government put a cap on the fees

so the opposite way round is true in the UK

Go to the best university possible for undergrad, then if you're not interested in research, go to a cheap postgrad course

>>9783219
I'm doing bad in my first semester as undergrad. The subject I'm in ranks 6 in the subject I'm pursuing (econ). Should I just give up or try harder? Math is not the problem, I should say.

>>9783246
>the uni ranks 6
Fixed.

>>9783237
That's pretty dumb imo. I feel like working towards a goal and pushing yourself to new heights (especially in university, when you're crossing the border from teenager to adult) feels like a more natural way to judge someone than toploading it on undergraduate education of all things.

>>9783246
Keep trying. Until you have a bitter semester where you either

1. Did poorly and have a bitterness for the subject you do not feel you can cross

2. Did well but feel so disenfranchised and bored to tears after studying for exams that you don't want to touch the material for years

you should not stop. Just keep good study habits, study often, and make sure to utilize office hours.

>>9782812
unless you have a PhD, you still got a chance.

>>9783256
Alright, I just needed confirmation. Thank you, anon.

>>9782812
does graduating from an unknown state uni but transferred from one of the best universities count?

>>9783538
>>9783219

>>9782923
>got into MemeIT
Yawn.

I went to an elite university. It was fucking horrible, soul crushing nonsense. Never again.

>>9782812
Not at all. Went to a NCAAII school, about 7-8,000 students. Still had a good time, still got a job, and my student loans total was $15k.

>>9782812
>Go to european no-name university
>Tuition is affordable, so professors are free to fail students left and right
>TFW only three people made it to the QFT exam, and out of them I'm the only one who got an A

>>9782812
I'm transferring to my state's public research university.
I chose to go to a liberal arts university in my state because I didn't give a shit, I was a junkie, it was about $10000 cheaper in tuition per year, and I just wanted to clear my general education credits.
I toured the research university and there is a noticeable difference in what I saw for the biochemistry programs, but that's obviously just because a liberal arts university probably isn't the best place to be studying biochemistry. I was being a silly doodoo head, but at least I got my general education creds out of the way for $10000 less. That's the only distinction I've ever noticed in coursework and curriculum, but like I said, it's comparing liberal arts and research universities both at the state level.
Kind of excited that I'm actually taking life seriously now. With any luck, I actually will be on the fast track to attending graduate school at an elite university.

>>9783260
Now that I've been out of undergrad for nearly a decade, it's easy to look back and see how problems really weren't unsolvable when it came to how well I was doing in Uni. It almost always boiled down to:
1) Not studying correctly (more or less wasting time doing what I thought was "studying", but not actually doing much to retain information/learn the material
2) Not actually devoting enough time to the classes.

Step back and actually figure out why you are doing bad. University level classes aren't "hard" in the sense that you can't learn them, they're hard in the sense that you have to engage in the subject and put in the effort to best understand them.

Also, one semester does not make or break a person.

Also also, fucking actually keep a dialogue open with professors. This got repeatedly beat into my head until my eyes were rolling every time someone said "go to office hours", but honestly the people who are most successful actually keep open communication with the professors. Not all professors are great, some suck and are useless, but there are always good ones that are easier to talk to than others. Unless you're in a class of like 400 people, that shit can be difficult, but that'll change when you're not in general ed classes.

>>9783836
And that's why you subsidize education. Like space program and nuclear research programs they need to be thought and financed by the State not the market.
That's why the only thing working in soviet Russia where its magnificent school system.

>inb4 retarded hardcore liberals

Being an extremists is retarded and unscientific.

>>9783861
Aye, we even have an american professor here who occasionally mentions how nice it is to actually be able to fail students without screwing them over for life

>>9782812
>tfw fucked up and went to shitty undergrad
>but getting my lucrative grad degree at top tier institution while I teach myself everything my shitty undergrad courses failed to on the side

University prestige is irrelevant for undergraduate students, if anything higher ranked institutions have significantly worse teaching quality because professors only care about their research and couldnt care less about students.

If you want to become a post-graduate looking to advance the state of the art in your field then you'll need to attend a top end institution because that's where all the money is so they attract the best researchers and have the most interesting projects.

>>9782812
I've been to both UCL and London South Bank University. Both courses had more or less the same content, both were accredited, both were highly regarded by the engineering firm I was involved with. The differences in the courses was that LSBU started the course from a lower point to help people catch up whereas UCL liked to skip a lot and make everything a challenge. Great if you're some maths autist, not so great if you just want the paper to do a job. The LSBU teachers were far better, they actually spoke clear English unlike the Grigori Perelman-tier neckbeards that UCL hired purely because they had top-tier research. This is the core of it all, undergrads are so fucking retarded obsessing over university prestige, all it means is that the research is better which actually sometimes causes the teaching quality to be worse than a lower ranked university. And finally UCL was full of rich assholes and antisocial Asian nerds, enjoy trying to have a social life there.

>>9782870
t.Engineering student who referred to himself as an engineer during undergrad

>>9783256
This.

>>9783246
It's common for people to mess up during their first semester. College was the first time I had to study and I learned that the hard way and ended up with B's and B+'s that semester.

>>9783219
This guy know what's up. Also try to get REUs/internships every summer.

Nope. Currently doing my PhD at one of the lesser known UC schools. Pedigree doesn’t matter unless you want to be a professor (enjoy your 6 extra years of grad school, 2-3 post docs, being someone’s bitch into your 30s, endless stress, and gray hair by 35). MIT labs publish in the same journals as we do. Their work isn’t any more special than mine.

>>9784230
In what circumstance would an engineer not refer to themself as an engineer?

>>9783246
first year uni is easy

i flunked everything my first year because i didn't try and didn't study. 2nd time round i actually put in a smidgen of effort and aced every course.

just dont be a lazy faggot.

>>9782812
No not really, I don't think the university is the goal, I think learning and being happy with what I have are more important.

>>9785300
This is why I learned a trade. I just personally disagree with the thievery universities perform on kids lives and bank accounts. I live comfortably and just study things I'm interested in in my free time

>>9782812
If you are american, then even if you went to the top 10 american universities the content would be pretty dumbed down (at least in stem) compared to european or south american classes. So you shouldnt be worried

>>9785306
What trade?

I think the only reason I'm in university is because of daddy's money, went to study finance and instead I do more math because finance was uninteresting, don't think its worth the money unless you do something like CS or engineering.

>>9785322
Welding/fabrication. Thinking about trying to get an electrician apprenticeship though. Pays a little better and is more useful outside of work

>>9785326
you should look into getting a neodymium magnet implant. After a year of use you can hover your hand over wires and tell which ones are live.

>>9785337
I'm good

>>9785201
it is obviously easier on your 2nd attempt

>>9783219
For some reason Americans generally think where you do your undergrad matters at all within reason.

>>9785563
>For some reason Americans generally think where you do your undergrad matters at all within reason.
It's a lot easier to get into top grad schools when your references are Fields medalists

>>9785337

>>9785565
Getting into the top 5-10 grad schools of whatever you are interested in is 99% your grades.

>>9785570
>Getting into the top 5-10 grad schools of whatever you are interested in is 99% your grades.
Based on conversations I've had with people who have served on admissions committees, it doesn't seem that way, there's too many applicants with essentially perfect transcripts so you have to defer to other metrics

>>9785570
Also it's difficult to compare grades from different universities because of varying ranges of grade inflation, i.e. you'll find many more straight A students in America than in France

>>9783563
Is MIT that bad?

>>9785575
This is only a problem for people who expect to get into a certain school and dont cast their net wide enough, you only need to be more attractive than the vast majority of undergrads not the top 0.000001% robot asians. When I applied to grad schools I had a list of over 10 that would all be acceptable.

>>9785611
>This is only a problem for people who expect to get into a certain school and dont cast their net wide enough
Yes, the "top 5-10 grad schools of whatever you are interested in"

>>9783836
I had a friend in HS who took courses at a local community college and he said the same thing; that his classes were easy but the average was always like a 40%.
But can you not fail students if the tuition is high?

>>9784877
you're not an engineer until you have the degree

>>9785611
My referees wouldn't send their references to me directly or I would've done that

My advisor made me apply to a select few

>>9785650
>you're not an engineer until you have the degree
you actually aren't an engineer till you get your PE tbqh

>>9785650

If you're the same guy you sound like an autist

>>9785656

Exactly

>>9782845
>>9782830
why are you people so fucking snobbish when it comes to shit stuff?

>>9782830
>>9782845
>>9782845#
>>9782830#
why are you people so fucking snobbish when it comes to credentials?

>>9785896
Because they feel like they earned them by using their resources (time being a big one) to earn them.

The truth is credentials are ego badges which serve the extra purpose of creating exclusivity as a barrier to entry.

If you spent a lot of time learning some bullshit, you'd probably think it was super important too.

>>9785896

I don't think they said anything that comes off as snobbish

Going to an elite uni is good for your CV, that's just the way it is

>>9782812

Don't worry OP, I've got nothing on my CV except shitty GCSEs and a few useless college diplomas and I'm still on equal footing with the majority of my old friends who went through ivy hell when it comes to prospects. In very few circumstances would it have suited you, but those paths are pre-determined to a certain type of person already.

>>9782812
Bro we're on the same boat

The biggest meme after go to college is, it doesn't matter what college you go to

>>9782812
>
This is one of those issues that is simply never mentioned in the media. In the UK there is constant complaining about Oxbridge not admitting enough minorities or poor people. Nobody ever asks why the other universities don't just copy the curriculum. I don't care about old buildings or tutorials. I wish I had gone to an Imperial College style pressure cooker.

This. I don't give a shit about some number but I do want my education to be up there.

>>9787503
What does cv mean

>>9790764
>What does cv mean
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curriculum_vitae

>>9782812
I was a QuestBridge Finalist and turned it down because I was a dumb teen and didn't want to have to move away from my high school gf. For some reason my father didn't beat some sense into me.

>tfw got into phd program at much better school than my undergrad/masters but i can't retake the classes that i know were really low quality

>>9785337
Can't you just glue a magnet onto a rubber finger tip instead of volunteering for an anal cavity search every time you travel?

Can someone tell me how non-American universities are funded, because their endowments are typically in the realm of sub-$10 million, which is an absolute pittance. Especially with the negligible tuition fees, do they just balance their books with tax revenue every year?

>>9790819

In the UK it's the same as the USA. The only difference is that the tuition fees are capped at £9k per student per year. And students don't pay them back unless they earn certain amounts but of course that makes no difference to universities because they get the money straight away from the government, like the USA, I think.

>>9790834
But then how do they afford things like TEMs, which cost upwards of five million bucks? Let alone new buildings, or adding salaried professors, or other large expenses. Oxford and Cambridge have endowments that are on the level of like Emory and Cornell and Notre Dame, but past that you get to somewhat respectable schools like York and Durham with endowments in the realm of like $10 million, but with budgets that are an order and a half magnitude higher. Is that just all tax revenue?

>>9785654
Your advisor is a fucking twat then

>>9785615
10 grad schools worth of positions is a lot of open slots, and desu 10 is conservative especially if you look at foreign schools.

>>9790849
You realise that before the baby boomers, who were raised by television sets, Americans considered it normal and right to fund science and infrastructure with tax revenue?

Led to a big government tax n' spend project known as the fucking moon landing, which the average voter would have traded for a lifetime supply of poptarts only twenty years later?

>>9790910
I'm not trying to cast aspersions on tax revenue funding universities. I'm merely trying to ask how ostensibly respectable universities can operate with incredibly tiny endowments (and concomitant small budgets).