Criticism from The Crimson

marite
Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:54:58 +0000

SteveUK:

Your detailed explanation of the Oxbridge undergraduate system will be extremely helpful to students considering whether to apply to American or British universities. There is no doubt in my mind that in the fields where British universities maintain their strengths, the British system produces students who are better prepared in these fields than American students (save for the very top ones). Since, however, Rhodes scholars are supposed to take either upper-level undergraduate courses or post-graduate courses, I’ve concentrated on discussing graduate education. In the fields they studied, the British students I’ve encountered display great erudition. They also tend to be somewhat more narrow than their American counterparts. It eventually comes out even in the end, as the Brits acquire more breadth and the Americans acquire more depth.

I should mention that while I lived in the UK, I was writing my Ph.D. dissertation. So I got to know some of the universities and had friends who’d graduated from others. This was a long time ago, before the Thatcher cuts wreaked havoc on the universities.