<p>Are more selective schools and ivy leagues actually harder (as in more homework each night, require a deeper understanding of the material, ECT) or is going to a selective school more about prestige? Do you graduate from a selective school with a better education than a state school and with better job opportunities?</p>
<p>The most important part of going to a selective school is probably the networking, so in a sense, you have better job opportunities.</p>
<p>The education is probably going to be better because the overall student body is brighter, but the difficulty between schools also depend on majors.</p>
<p>Not necessarily. E.G. Harvard is more selective than UChicago, but Uchicago, as I have heard, has very difficult science and math classes-probably becuase it is known as a scientific school.</p>
<p>It does depend on major, but I’d say yes, they are a bit harder. There’s a very strong correlation between selectivity and grade inflation (the reason, I hope, is obvious). So to make up for that, they make the courses harder–move more quickly, require deep understanding along the way, lots of reading, assignments, etc. Then there’s the expectation of producing something that’s put to high standards, either through a project or an exam, and often presenting. They tend to have higher standards of originality–producing something that’s “innovative” or hasn’t been said before. On top of that, you have world-renowned faculty teaching you + very bright grad students/postdocs in your classes (as TA or peer). Since Stanford’s on the quarter system, it moves even faster (like 15-week semester squashed into 10 weeks). It’s an intense environment. I think that Stanford’s grade inflation (which does vary by major) belies its difficulty–sure in the end, grades are often nicer than we expect, but they push us hard enough throughout the quarter that it’s not like anyone “skates by.”</p>
<p>I would say that many state schools can provide this as well.</p>
<p>^ What is grade inflation like in CS?</p>
<p>I agree with phantasmajoric’s description. </p>
<p>I visited my friend at a top-10 state school once, and it was a Sunday night in midterms season. Yet though the people I were with were all serious about academics and were in difficult majors, none of them did any work for the entire day+night. Though just an anecdotal experience, I gathered from my friend that this was normal for them. That would almost never happen at Stanford. </p>
<p>So although I’m sure there are people at that state school who work just as hard, if not harder, than Stanford students, I’d say the average student has to work harder at Stanford. To give you a sense of Stanford’s high end, some students do almost nothing but eating, working, and going to classes. It’s insane. And the low end is probably 6-8 hours of work per week or so (so even our slackers work from what I gather). Most students I feel are around 16-28 (?).</p>
<p>Thanks guys for the input!</p>
<p>A selective school may be “harder” because the student body is coming in at an overall higher level, so they can teach at a higher level. At a state school, for example, there is probably a greater range of student–certainly some just as smart as the more selective schools–and the professors generally have to teach to reach the lower quotient.</p>