Best in Sciences?

[wisteria]

<p>mini:

There is, from what I can tell, no other college or university in the U.S. - including all the Ivies and Johns Hopkins - that can say the same.

</p>

<p>bjm8:

Big time research for a first-year anywhere, and she will be published by the end of her second year. No other college or university can brag about that, if I’m not mistaken.

</p>

<p>Smith sounds absolutely terrific, but let’s not go overboard in saying that nobody else can match it.</p>

<p>I’m sure molliebatmit and ben from Caltech would say that there are at least a few colleges that can claim more than that. </p>

<p>80% of MIT students do UROPs before they graduate and students are eligible for MIT paid UROPs starting in fall of their freshman year, with a wide variety of research labs advertising opportunities. At Caltech, “paid research opportunities outnumber the undergrads,” according to their website and freshmen are eligible even the summer BEFORE their freshman year!</p>

<p>Wellesley students are eligible to take advantage of MIT’s UROP program if they are cross-registered there, though distance obviously creates some logistical problems.</p>

<p>It’s not uncommon for students at Caltech, MIT, and elsewhere to get their names on publications in peer-reviewed journals, sometimes within their first two years of college.</p>

<p>Williams runs a very impressive math research program that attracts very strong students from other colleges all over the country, but about half the slots go to Williams students. Some are freshman or sophomores. Their publication record just in that one discipline alone is very extensive:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.williams.edu/Mathematics/published.html[/url]”>http://www.williams.edu/Mathematics/published.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>So, singing the praises of Smith is surely justified, but there’s no need to making sweeping assumptions that no place else offers anything comparable.</p>