<ol>
<li>Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT</li>
<li>Stanford, Penn, Columbia, Chicago</li>
<li>Duke, Berkeley, Brown, Dartmouth</li>
<li>Caltech, Cornell, Georgetown, JHU</li>
</ol>
<p>**1. Princeton</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Harvard / Yale</p></li>
<li><p>Stanford</p></li>
<li><p>MIT / Caltech</p></li>
<li><p>UPenn</p></li>
<li><p>Columbia</p></li>
<li><p>Duke</p></li>
<li><p>Washington University in St. Louis</p></li>
<li><p>Brown/ Dartmouth/ Cornell</p></li>
<li><p>University of Chicago**</p></li>
</ol>
<p>@Lilbluewhale</p>
<p>hmm…you’re probably correct! I’ve only ever lived in the United States, so I can’t really be sure exactly what the international status of each school is and certainly don’t claim to be an expert! Berkeley does seem to have pretty instant recognition everywhere I’ve travelled, though…maybe JHU is higher in the medical world only?</p>
<p>lol you washu ■■■■■■ should seriously stop trying. the bold face still doesn’t add a shred of legitimacy to a faulty list that lists washu ahead of brown, dartmouth, northwestern, jhu (the legitimate best med/pre-med school) AND berkeley. Also penn ahead of columbia</p>
<p>washu’s the only one on that list with the lowest PA of 4.0 which is equal to vanderbilt, emory, and the like…definitely not above the schools ranked in post 1961</p>
<p>Washu ■■■■■■? Why the animosity? It is their personal opinion on what their top schools are. No need to insult anyone and be an *******. The fact that we all care so much is ridiculous to begin with.</p>
<p>WashU… hahha</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>How do you know that? Where’s the evidence that WUSTL is that much better?</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal “feeder school” study ranked Chicago 14th, WUSTL 47th, among LACs and universities for per capita placements into a set of selective law, business, and medical schools. That study has been criticized on CC for several reasons (such as the choice of target schools) … but has something better become available? </p>
<p>There exists, as far as I know, no credible, up-to-date academic department-by-department ranking of undergraduate programs. We have numerous graduate department rankings. USNWR does them for example. Across most departments in those rankings, Chicago out-performs WUSTL (as it does in other rankings I’ve seen). In Physics, for example, it’s 8th (Chicago) v. 48th (WUSTL). In Chemistry, it’s 12th (C) v. 43rd (W). In Math, it’s 6th (C) v. 40 (W.)</p>
<p>Biological Science is one exception. WUSTL comes out at 7th, Chicago at 18th. If those comparative strengths transfer to undergraduate divisions, yes, that might suggest that WUSTL is academically stronger than Chicago for Life Sciences majors. Although, one can major in virtually anything as a pre-med. A stronger graduate program in Biology does not necessarily translate to more success in med school placements. It does not necessarily translate at all to a better-prepared med school student.</p>
<p>That said, if there is something about WUSTL that turns you on, go for it. These are all fine schools being discussed here. Between WUSTL and Chicago, personal “fit” issues, and how they translate to contentment and motivation, surely outweigh any perceived differences in prestige (which is a very slippery concept to apply in choosing a college).</p>
<p>Oh… for Pete’s sake. Between WUSTL and Chicago there is probably no difference in terms of getting into med school. It’s all fit and performance after you get in. </p>
<p>Seriously guys, I know it may be hard to believe, but what will get you into med school/law school/clown school is not your undergrad program’s name. It’s your performance at the undergrad program you attend. You can go to Super Number One Best University, and if you perform badly then don’t expect to get into med school over the dumb sap at Average University.</p>
<p>That said, the edge helps if we’re talking “top” versus “middling” schools, but between Chicago and WUSTL? Throw a coin and see where it lands. Or, better yet, choose the one you like better. Being happy for four years rather than planning out a career that may not come to fruition? MADNESS!</p>
<p>I have to say "anyone who considers Vanderbilt over the prestigious University of Chicago is either an idiot or a southern hick</p>
<p>I have asked many people in Hongkong, beijing, shanghai, they all consider:
most prestigious:
Ivy league</p>
<p>very prestigious:
MIT
Stanford
Oxford/Cambridge</p>
<p>more prestigious:
other top 50 universities</p>
<p>LAC like williams, swarthmore are not prestigious at all.</p>
<p>The people I talked to includes: university students(50%) parents(5%) people in finance(20%) people in industry(25%)</p>
<p>British schools are considered less prestigious than us schools.</p>
<p>
I bet most of these people, except for the university students, can’t name the eight Ivy League schools or have any clue where they are located.</p>
<p>
Which industries? I bet you didn’t ask too many people in manufacturing or IT.</p>
<p>
That might be true in China, but certainly not true in Hong Kong.</p>
<p>Generally, most people I know have this image of the prestige of institutions of higher education:</p>
<ol>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>Yale</li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Princeton</li>
<li>Oxbridge</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Most people don’t have anything to put here - their knowledge is rather limited. :(</li>
</ol>
<p>However, if one mentions that their school is in the Ivy League, the institution automatically enters the top 4. At least that’s what I have observed.</p>
<p>Admission to law school has more to do with the applicant’s LSAT score than the applicant’s GPA.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Wustl is actually is seen as very strong for biomedical research- its very intuitive- I dont know why, but when I think of biomedical research I will think first of Wustl b4 Chicago. I think its because Wustl has more top ranked biology department and a “better” medical school than chicago. So, I would assume their premedical program would be better. Also because they have famous graduate programs, other professors would be aware of the quality of that program, and automatically assume that it affects Wustl students. But yeah the perception is that Wustl and Hopkins are slightly better than chicago for med school/biomed research</p>
<p>top 15 most prestigious universities (world):
- Oxford
- Cambridge
- Harvard
- Yale
- Princeton
- MIT
- Stanford
- Columbia
- Georgetown
- Dartmouth
- Duke
- Brown
- Caltech
- Cornell
- Penn</p>
<p>Don’t even try to knock off Georgetown and Duke. If you want a ranking based on pure laymen prestige, there ya go.</p>
<p>According to my parents, my grandparents in China only know Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and Yale. Not even Princeton or Stanford!</p>
<p>According to my parents, my grandparents in Germany only know Oxford, Harvard, Princeton! Not even Yale or Cambridge!</p>
<p>According to my friend’s parents, his grandparents in Guatemala only know Harvard. Not even Yale, Princeton or Stanford!</p>
<p>top 15 most prestigious universities (world):
- Harvard
- Cambridge
- Oxford
- Yale
- Princeton
- MIT
- Stanford
- Columbia
- University College London
- LSE
- Duke
- University of Tokyo
- University of Chicago
- Imperial College
- Brown</p>
<p>Don’t even try to knock off Georgetown and Duke. If you want a ranking based on pure laymen prestige, there ya go. </p>
<p>Neither one is top 15. IMO Berkeley is WAY more prestigious than either one internationally.</p>