'State' v. 'Private' Universities

[Bloodshot Scott]

I am wondering what the differences are. I have read certain accounts about how state universities don't hold weight, and how the workload is light - almost too light.

I am hoping to get a few legitimate answers about some of your experiences, and/or information on the subject. What I do know is that certain doctoral programs will not admit applicants if they have degrees from state universities, and I am curious as to how they come to these decisions.

• Is a 'C' average at an Ivy League University much better than a flawless 'A' average at a State University?
  
  
• Is the State University a weaker load for political reasons (political correctness?), to perhaps meet quotas, etc.?
  
  
• Does the price tag on the private university have to reap benefits for these trust fund babies because they've "invested" in this education?
  
  
• Etc....

Any answers would be obliged. :hatsoff:

 

[KingdomCum]

depends
UCLA, Cal, UT, UVA, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, UW are all public and all fine schools

 

[FOACCOUNT!@#$%]

I am wondering what the differences are. I have read certain accounts about how state universities don't hold weight, and how the workload is light - almost too light.

You have heard absolute crap. In fact it is REVERSE. At Ivies the workload is easier because they want to keep students. Professors extend deadlines for students, more and more counseling is available and a lot of professors grade on curves so that no one really fails. In fact it is tougher to get a high GPA at a state university because they don't care about you as much. The ivies (top ones like Yale especially) have a reputation to worry about, they don't want people flunking out so they try to make it in which you have to actually try to flunk out.

• Is a 'C' average at an Ivy League University much better than a flawless 'A' average at a State University?
  
  Everything is taken into context, for grad schools they would take a top student from an Ivy over a top student from a state university but TOP is the key word. A top student at UNC Chapel Hill will still have more and more opportunities than an average student at Harvard or Yale.
  
  Think of it like this. You have different types of high schools, you have top notch private school, top notch public schools and you have egregious public schools. A top student at a no name public school will BASICALLY have a chance at a top university since his school is so under represented while at top prep schools only the top notch cream of the crop will get to go to Yale or Harvard. A C at an Ivy is nothing.
  
  
  
• Is the State University a weaker load for political reasons (political correctness?), to perhaps meet quotas, etc.?
  
  Again, state university is not weaker
  
  
• Does the price tag on the private university have to reap benefits for these trust fund babies because they've "invested" in this education?
  
• Etc....

Any answers would be obliged. :hatsoff:

I go to a top 30 university (don't want to reveal the name yet), top 20 ranked by US World News and Report. Most people who hold top positions at my school went to colleges you have not heard of at all and received their masters and doctorates from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford. They are highly respected in their fields and they came from no name universities. In fact Warren Buffet went to a no name university for his undergrad.

If you are truly passionate about this subject and want to know more about it I highly recommend a site called "College Confidential", you will get more help there. I also hope you drop by and vote on my Indian interracial thread, even post on it. I want at least 50 votes on the polls.

 

[FOACCOUNT!@#$%]

depends
UCLA, Cal, UT, UVA, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, UW are all public and all fine schools

True and even depends on major. Georgia Tech would be far better for an engineering major than Princeton or Harvard. In fact Harvard and Yale kick in when it comes to masters and grad school, now that is where those schools really shine (Harvard Law, Harvard Business0. After talking to over 20 admissions counselors, they say it is better to go to a public university for undergrad if that is the only education you are getting and go to an Ivy for your masters or for grad school.

 

[Bloodshot Scott]

depends
UCLA, Cal, UT, UVA, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, UW are all public and all fine schools

So are you better off at looking at the professors records?



I understand it's subjective to subject, but I was just trying to get a general opinion, but within the first couple posts here, I pretty much think I understand. Mind you, I have several sibs' who have graduated too, but I haven't got into it with them.

 

[izabelplayer]

You have to determine what you what to major in. Then decide. Personally GPA means nothing. Its how you perform on the job.

 

[FOACCOUNT!@#$%]

You have to determine what you what to major in. Then decide. Personally GPA means nothing. Its how you perform on the job.

GPA means a lot in getting you recruited for a job.

 

[vodkazvictim]

american universities are generally not considered to be universties anywhere else in the world...

 

[FOACCOUNT!@#$%]

american universities are generally not considered to be universties anywhere else in the world...

load of crap, people from all over fight to come to the top universities here in the US, especially India and China

 

[vodkazvictim]

load of crap, people from all over fight to come to the top universities here in the US, especially India and China

Only the top ones, like the ivory league ones.
Foreigners may study at the others, but they're not really considered any good.

 

[xfire]

Ahem... Ivy League, ******* *****. Ivy.

 

[xfire]

And, FWIW, MIT, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, Purdue, Georgetown, and all State flagship universities aren't in the Ivy League and they're all excellent schools.

 

[~~whimsy~~]

Private colleges don't have to answer to the government.

 

[FOACCOUNT!@#$%]

Only the top ones, like the ivory league ones.
Foreigners may study at the others, but they're not really considered any good.

If they are spending money studying at others, they must be good. I have seen a large Asian population (foreign students) at Tulane. The US has the absolute best higher education system in the world (best universities, though our primary and secondary education system isn't as good).

 

[xfire]

Private colleges don't have to answer to the government.

They still have to be accredited so yeah, actually, they do.

 

[Rey C.]

depends
UCLA, Cal, UT, UVA, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, UW are all public and all fine schools

^^^This, obviously. :clap:

While there are rankings which separate universities into the (broad) categories of public and private, one certainly cannot make the assumption that all private unis are seen one way and all public unis are seen another way. Assuming equal GPA's, if you have an MBA from UVA's Darden School of Business (public), that holds MUCH more weight than holding the same degree from say, Liberty University (private). UVA and Liberty aren't even in the same league... outside of fundamentalist church circles. There are more than a few private universities that have joke-like reputations. And some public schools are overly easy. But you can't glean anything from just knowing whether a school is public or private. As far as business schools, once you get away from the elite of the elite (Harvard, Wharton and the Columbia Business School), you'll see the upper level public schools in the mix with upper level private schools.

And even though I'm a Wahoo through & through, I will admit that VA Tech (our mortal enemies and also a public uni) has a better undergrad engineering program than UVA does. Tech also has a fine veterinarian school. But in the areas of law, business, economics and more classical studies, Mr. Jefferson's university comes out on top. At least in the 80's/90's, the rankings for UVA's Darden School of Business and the UVA School of Law were in the top 10 of all universities in the U.S. - whether they were public or private. I have no idea where they rank now, though I doubt that they've slipped very much.

What a person should do is have some idea of the area of study he wants to pursue, use various information and ranking sites to narrow down the field and then establish contact with those schools and see what the programs really entail. I chose UVA over Brown, Princeton and UCLA (although I did take some classes at UCLA for a couple of quarters). The available programs were similar enough that the scholarships and cost difference of UVA made much more sense for me.

 

[LukeEl]

I base it on which fraternity plays the most pranks, and how the nerds on each of the designated school win their dignity through a set of more outrageous pranks.

 

[vodkazvictim]

Ahem... Ivy League, ******* *****. Ivy.

How many brothers do you see there tho? Boo-YAH!

If they are spending money studying at others, they must be good. I have seen a large Asian population (foreign students) at Tulane. The US has the absolute best higher education system in the world (best universities, though our primary and secondary education system isn't as good).

Ifind your claim as laughable as this:

I find that whenever my girlfriend calls me currytard or says "get yo cow worshippin ass over here" I just get turned on a lot more and feel the need to impose my will on her.

Is it odd to get turned on if your girlfriend calls you racial slurs?

I don't think you're beingserious, I think you're just out for laughs, but I shall retort nonetheless.

Oh wow, asians, they have a small population; obviously they only go to the most elite unis
Seriously, I went to the university of Leeds and Moscow state university (both better than most american unis) and guess what: tons of asians.
America has the best higher education system in the world? This is bullshit. For example, doesn't george W "bushisms" Bush have a degree from an IVY league uni?

I mean ****** hell, European universities alone have given us:
Marx
Hagel
Tupolev
Tsiolevsky
Mikoyan
Guerrevich
Nietsche
Kant
And so many more.

 

[Bearded_Menace]

How many brothers do you see there tho? Boo-YAH!

Quite a lot actually. Harvard aka "The Best College in the World" has a very sizable yield of black students. This isn't a new trend either for all of you affirmative action junkies who would throw that out there. Harvard was accepting black students before slavery was over.:2 cents:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2005/11/21/harvard-tops-black-student-yield-for/

 

[CunningStunts]

Private = more money to attend. That's one of the only differences I see these days... No matter how "good" the school, it really all comes down to the student wanting to learn (motivation), and having the cognitive ability to do so along with the money (means).