American Colleges are Overrated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think places like Harvard are overrated. But others? yeah. I can never comprehend why non-independently wealthy people pay $75K/year for Tulane or wherever.

Harvard is both overrated and not overrated.

Education is no better than at many other schools. Quality of teaching is better at the LACs. But it's still Harvard and the name carries a lot of weight. You're really going there for the name, not the experience or education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think places like Harvard are overrated. But others? yeah. I can never comprehend why non-independently wealthy people pay $75K/year for Tulane or wherever.

Harvard has literally the easiest grading system. Way overrated. Great if kids can get in and use the name, but it isn’t hard

[Anonymous]

There are definitely some American colleges I could never understand paying 60k a year for. That said, I spent a year in Europe, and in one class my group of Americans was the only group to use footnotes, and the professor was so thrilled he held our report up as an example for all the other European students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My Europeans friends went to GT, AU, GW and UMD. None of them were admitted to state universities back at home. My high school was harder and more work than my business degree here.

That's because it was a business degree.

[Anonymous]

Anyone can make dumb statements. Support them by some facts I can check out.

Seems MIT, Cal Tech, Harvard, Princeton, U,Chicago, Cal Berkeley all highly rated in the world rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone can make dumb statements. Support them by some facts I can check out.

Seems MIT, Cal Tech, Harvard, Princeton, U,Chicago, Cal Berkeley all highly rated in the world rankings.

oops. I forgot Stanford

[Anonymous]

? The American colleges are, by and large, the best in the world. Oxford and Cambridge might be better but try getting in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:? The American colleges are, by and large, the best in the world. Oxford and Cambridge might be better but try getting in there.

Oxbridge may be harder once you get there, but US universities have a lot of subjectivity in admissions.

Two very strong classmates at my son's small school (60 in the graduating class) were deferred at Harvard and Columbia respectively in the SCEA round. They were accepted at Oxford and Cambridge and withdrew all other US apps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There. I said it.

I wish someone would tell all the foreigners flooding the colleges that.

They come to America because it’s simultaneously more prestigious and easier. To get a degree from American university carries a great deal of social cache back in their home countries.

It’s more prestigious. As for “easier,” it really depends. There are plenty of bad, or outright fraudulent, schools in other countries. Regulation and standards vary considerably. Ask anyone who has hired people from India or China.

[Anonymous]

You sound really stupid OP. Where did you go to college? Or, did you even go?

[Anonymous]

I think instate flagships aren’t overrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There. I said it.

What? You mean I and most people here went to one of those overrated universities? I tried to go to one of those "underrated" colleges like Oxford or Cambridge, but they didn't let me in.

OP, did you go to any college at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The entire admission process must be overhauled.

And the curriculum.

And the social life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering about American colleges too, and feeling very cynical since yesterday. My kid speaks French, so wondering whether to look at McGill or European universities when the time comes (many years away).

McGill's English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering about American colleges too, and feeling very cynical since yesterday. My kid speaks French, so wondering whether to look at McGill or European universities when the time comes (many years away).

McGill's English.

PP here. Sure, but students have to be able to understand written and spoken French at McGill, since both English and French can be used in any course.