<p>But not all public universities are perceived as highly ranked as some private universities. It’s my belief that most private universities, generally, are ranked higher than public ones. If you want to go to a top school, you are going to have to pay top dollar. And if money were not an option, I doubt many people would prefer to go to a public school over a Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, or NYU. Since money is usually a concern though, how is it fair that only the wealthy can afford some of these schools? Even middle class families will have a very hard time paying for a 50k+ a year school because of how little amount of financial aid they will receive compared to a low class family. Some students are then forced, for financial reasons, to go to a much lower ranked school, which will probably effect the quality of the job they obtain out of college or the type of graduate school they get into.</p>
<p>I’m not positive, but I think that if a student is good enough to get into the prestigious private institutions that you mentioned, they would likely graduate at the top of their class at a state university, thereby increasing their ability to get a decent job out of college. Also, some of the top state schools are fairly well respected by employers (i.e. Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc.) so going to one of those schools and doing well is not necessarily a bad thing.</p>
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<p>I may be wrong, but it appears to me that, due to the increasing selectivity of elite universities in the US, most newly admitted students at HYPSM and similar top schools tend to have taken up to 9 or 10 AP classes in High School with a good spread of 4s and 5s in select AP exams. That is in practice equivalent to beginning freshman year with one year worth of college credit and not much different from doing British A-levels for example. </p>
<p>I guess an important difference though between the UK and the US is not so much that entry standards at UK universities are higher, but rather that UK bachelor’s degrees are highly specialized, normally focusing either on a single subject only, or on a combination of two or, much more rarely, no more than three related subjects. Because there are no “general education” or “core/distribution” requirements, it is possible to study an arts/humanities subject in great depth in 3 years only, or, in the case of engineering and natural sciences, graduate in 4 years with a joint bachelor’s/master’s degree. </p>
<p>As for other European countries, situation tends to vary. In Germany for example, many "L</p>
<p>Thanks! open this field for student apply college!</p>
<p>Interesting study from the Lumina Foundation on college costs - <a href=“http://www.deltacostproject.org/resources/pdf/johnson3-09_WP.pdf[/url]”>http://www.deltacostproject.org/resources/pdf/johnson3-09_WP.pdf</a>
What does a college degree cost? Comparing approaches to measuring “cost per degree”</p>
<p>“Here’s the thing: If you have the same load of work in 3 years, students have less time for extracurriculars, leadership activities which often are essential for grad school applications or post-bachelor jobs. I agree that 3 years might be an option for very gifted students with majors they can finish in 3 years, but some will not be hired because they not only did not go to grad school, but also lack valuable EC’s.”</p>
<p>Who said about having a 4 year load in 3 years? My post mentioned too much fluff in 4 year programs, especially in anything outside the engineering and hard science world. EC’s are not valuable and no one gives a crap about them just to let you know. You activity with saving Uganda program or help a tree society doesn;t mean squat.</p>
<p>“People who, besides classes, like to network for future business relations, while in college ? People who join Greek Life ? It can be worth it…”</p>
<p>So, if someone has been too socially inept to develop this in the first three years, the fourth year will all of a sudden be a magical moment? If someone wants to stay, let them do what people do now, take less credits than required to graduate in the time. Sort of like people who take 12 credits per semester now.</p>
<p>“You are misinterpreting my point. I have not said that people should be forced to learn how to make friends or forced to learn weird subjects, I have said that a 4 years curriculum is more beneficial, because it provides more time and opportunity for extracurriculars, and taking classes that might be very useful in a later career.”</p>
<p>Most EC’s are pointless in the real world. If you want more EC’s then volunteer your time after you graduate, but you are advocating a program to force people to stay. If someone wants to stay for an extra year, they have all the freedom to just as people take 6 years now to graduate.</p>
<p>“In the Netherlands, where a bachelor takes 3 years, record numbers of people drop out or flunk out of college. 35 % of undergrad students drop out. I know it’s hard to compare European and American higher education, but the fact is that many students can’t handle the pressure.”</p>
<p>Two different systems (yes, I have lived in Europe for several years), the great social net system sort of alleviates a lot of need for playing the game. Here in the US, we do not have state offered benefits like over in the EU, so college is almost a do or die, litterally. The chancs of finding a decent job in the states that gives benefits like health care is much more slim without a college degree. In the EU, the safety net does away with the tension of being thrown out in the street because of something simple like a broken leg or pregnancy.</p>
<p>"Oh, and please quit the ad hominem. "</p>
<p>None intended</p>
<p>Also, your logic then implies that anyone who takes online course or does their whole degree online are someone less able to handle the “real world” because they will not be invvolved with the things you stated. Your logic also states that if someone does finish a degree in three years, they somehow are less able to comprehend the real world as well. I can lead your logic to people who did not complete college at all, I guess they are socially inept and need those EC’s and greek life to succeed.</p>
<p>The quality and the now universal nature of the AP and IB programs should make the 3 year college degree the norm for our best students. By best, I am talking about the upper 2-3% of the graduating class capable of obtaining five or more grades of 4 or above on the AP exams. These students have demonstrated extraordinary ability since generally only 10% or so of AP test takers obtain 5 grades and maybe a slighly larger percentage obtain grades of 4. They are the future of our nation and should be moving on to five year masters programs, law school, medical school and PhD programs without delay. This cohort should not be held hostage to either the bursar’s need for more quid or the academic cumudgeon’s need to assuage his resentment at not having had this opportunity in his day. Our top students have had their first year of college already. They should not be made to repeat it, and we as a nation need their talent sooner rather than later.</p>