Why go to a top school?

homarus
Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:03:04 +0000

So everyone posting seems to be aiming high for schools, top 10, top 20, top whatever. Is it really that big deal?

I mean, why are y’all (seemingly) placing so much emphasis on big name schools? Is it that you get a better education there? Are you more likely to get a faculty position coming out of a top tier place? Is it for the ego boost (“I went to Harvard!”)? Networking opportunities? Better funding there? Some of the above?

I’m in the process of deciding where to apply, and don’t get me wrong, I’ll probably apply to a few bigwigs. I’m looking at either genomics or proteomics, so MIT and Hopkins are on my list, but so are schools like Virginia Tech and U. Miami. What’s the rationale for picking MIT over VT? Is reputation a proxy for something more important, or is it mostly bragging rights?