Top Economics & Applied Math Schools

Alexandre
Thu, 16 Feb 2006 23:09:41 +0000

Like I said Stud, most top universities have taken effective steps in weeding out TAs that have heavily accented English. You still have a few scattered around, but it isn’t that common. Back when I was at Michigan, from 1992-1996, I took over 40 classes. Of those, 100% were taught by professors and only 9 or 10 were large enough (over 40 students) to warrant a TA. The TAs were usually 3rd or 4th year PhD students, although in two cases, they were adjunct or associate professors. Three of my TAs were international, but only one had an accent that was difficult to understand. But that was in the early to mid 90’s. Due to some complaints in the mid 90s, Michigan has taken effective steps to ensure that TAs meet a certain communication standard. Most major research universities have taken similar measures in recent years. I know Cornell and Penn have.

At any rate, I repeat my orginal statement, there are benefits to research universities that cannot be denied. Yes, intro classes are large and do not allow for close, in-class interaction with the professor. But like I said, if a student needs close interaction with a professor for intro to Micro or Calculus II, then chances are, that student doesn’t belong at a top university. Most intro classes are very straight forward. The material is essential as it lays the ground work for intermediate and advanced level classes, but it is usually not open for much intepretation.

I would definitely agree that students at LACs, on average, receive better instruction than students at research universities, but only at intro level classes. At the intermediate and higher levels, I don’t think LAC students receive better instruction and they certainly do not have the course selection or the access to top professors and research that students at research universities have.