<p>It’s pretty common on this website for posters to seek to discover large-scale causational factors in admissions when in fact, admission is a highly individualized phenomenon. Probably the most accurate thing we could say is that the undergraduate location that best enhances a student’s grad-school prospects is the one that best addresses that student’s own goals for growth and achievement. For some students, that may be an Ivy; for many, many more, it’s elsewhere.</p>
<p>coolbrezze, just a couple of examples: One close friend has an undergraduate degree from U. Mich and a PhD from Harvard, a top field at Harvard. Another has an undergrad. degree from an east coast public university that is held in poor esteem here on CC and a PhD from Princeton; is a tenured full prof. at another Ivy. Again, not an obscure field.</p>
<p>Much depends on rising above the crowd–in class and with research if at all possible–and making sure to get to know professors who will use their professional connections to help you get placed in a graduate program.</p>
<p>Momwaitingfornew, it is not difficult for outstanding students to stand out at a big state school. Even middle-of-the-pack state universities have faculty members with great connections and active research programs and they are on very much on the look-out for top students. However, a “shy individual in a large major” will likely not be noticed. Quiet confidence is okay, shyness is not.</p>
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<p>I think that most, if not all, of us would agree with this. That’s why fit is so important. What’s the use of going to a more prestigious university if you aren’t going to be happy? And why worry that you didn’t get into your top choice? </p>
<p>I’ve seen undergraduates who are still bitter after their first semester of college that they didn’t get in “somewhere better” (meaning, higher in USNWR rankings). Are they the ones who are headed for the best grad schools? Probably not. The best students seize the opportunities they have and then create more.</p>
<p>Thanks for that, Midmo. I have zero experience with the large publics, even though I know many of them offer fantastic educations.</p>
<p>A friend of ours (a truly exceptional student) applied from Pitt to a top Ivy for work in a physical science field. They rejected him, but apparently because his niche interest did not dovetail with anyone’s in the department there. He got accepted to other good schools; the one he’ll attend is among the most prestigious universities in the world.</p>
<p>^^^ I wonder how many applicants are denied every year simply because they didn’t do the necessary research into specific departments.</p>
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It’s highly field dependent. For example, a person wanting to be truly competitive in my field almost always comes from one of ten universities – Berkeley, Boston U, Brown, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Michigan, Penn, Penn State, UCLA, or Yale. Even other very good universities (e.g. Stanford or Princeton) wouldn’t be an advantage over “lesser” universities because those ten universities provide the best background for graduate school in terms of course offerings and language preparation. </p>
<p>A student planning to go into marine biology, on the other hand, would look at an entirely different set of schools for the best possible preparation – Duke, UCSD, UCSB, URI, Eckerd, UNC, and Miami.</p>
<p>I will be attending Rose-Hulman next fall and as everyone would notice it, I will less likely to be exposed to research. So reading those post, I am getting that I will have slim chances to get into my top grad school MIT, Princeton,Stanford or Yale? </p>
<p>If so, then what is the advantage of going to a school that is known for a good undergrad education? Also my major is going to be Electrical. Are my chances still jeopardized?</p>
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This. Just as some students will be miserable in an LAC’s social environment, others will drown at a large university.</p>
<p>dko, professors at Rose-Hulman still do research and since a small school like Rose-Hulman has close student-faculty relationships you will have research opportunities if you interact with the faculty</p>
<p>DKO, you’ll be fine. You’ll want to seek out opportunities over the summer to beef up your c.v.</p>
<p>Plus, I think you’ll be surprised at the research opportunities at Rose-Hulman. For engineers, projects are the same as research. </p>
<p>My daughter attends a LAC. She has had opportunities to do research during the school year as well as over the summer (at different universities.)</p>
<p>@DKO, also notice that Mini’s D is attending an Ivy graduate school after attending an LAC undergrad.</p>
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<p>Right, good point. If a really shy person is in a huge major at a school with 20,000-50,000 students, they are likely going to just become a number. The students that need to be coddled are much better off going to an LAC or any other small private. For the students that do not need to be coddled, there are many ways to stand out at a huge state school and get recognition. </p>
<p>Remember these schools have everything from tons of research opportunities, campus radio stations, TV stations, and daily newspapers all 3 ran by students, huge student councils with $50 million annual operating budgets, other large student-ran organizations and events that are unique to that school, and so on. For instance at OSU the largest student-ran concert in the world is Orange Peel, and it’s a big deal if you’re on the executive board of Orange Peel…it’s great for real-world experience.</p>
<p>Yes, but I am very concerned about that. What I understand is that getting into top grad school is “heavily” based on the researches you have done. However when it comes to research, Rose is not as involved as some of the top engineering schools out there.</p>
<p>In addition, only 20% of the graduating class goes to grad school,so I guess I will have to be pushy and struggle to have access to opportunities and refine my cv for grad.</p>
<p>are you saying that 20% of Rose-Hulman students go on to grad school?</p>
<p>not surprising since the majority of Rose-Hulman students are career driven and enter the workforce after college instead of bothering with graduate school. In fact, the majority of engineers go directly to work after undergrad and very few go on to grad school immediately after undergrad.</p>
<p>dko–don’t start worrying about this! Sometimes when I hear your generation talk, I think we are going to be very lucky you guys are going to be in charge when we are old and aging. You are all such driven kids and so hard working…but, you overstress. When you get to campus, find out which profs are involved with research and find out what classes they teach. Develop a relationship with said profs…alternatively, find out thier office hours and simply go in and see them and ask to get involved. Don’t overestimate how difficult this will be. They teach and research and they WANT you to come and get involved. I promise if you want to research and if you are bold and open and unafraid to be the one who goes to speak to them, they will involve you. Otherwise they’d be working in the private sector. They want to work with students who want to work with them! I promise.</p>
<p>At Pierre
That is correct. But my perspective is different from the common path undertaken by engineers. I want to attend grad school and it seems like I picked the “wrong school” while reading this. I will just have to manage myself to get the same opportunities as I would have gotten in a research university. Hopefully, that is possible at Rose.</p>
<p>Your point is correct poetgrl. I will definitely do that!</p>
<p>Reading post 27 it almost seems as if not only does the school needs to be known for research, but also well respected all over… and only ten are a few? Ten schools listed are also the common schools I see students talk about ( I think).</p>
<p>dko, don’t worry about it, if you look for research opportunities as hard as you can, they will come to you, however if you sit back and relax, research opportunies will not magically appear even at a research university. Believe me, professors wouldn’t be at universities if they at didn’t do at least “some” research and from what I’ve looked at for the faculty webpages at Rose-Hulman, professors are involved in research but at the same time take more time to help students learn. You WILL find opportunities at Rose-Hulman.</p>