Reply to Why is it so hard to accept that the students at better colleges are simply better students?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Selective grad schools, law schools and med schools all disagree with you.  They admit from elite undergrads, but most admits aren't and there are many admits from even very low ranked schools.  You have a second chance to shine in undergrad and professional programs are happy to snatch up those who didn't attend an elite school, but who proved themselves as in undergrad.

Seriously, go look at the list of admits at Harvard Law or Yale Law and you'll be surprised.  It's not at all dominated by T20 grads.[/quote]

Most grad schools are not selective. And at selective grad programs, those random no-name colleges you see on their class lists are generally hooked applicants.[/quote]
So you think the kid that went to Appalachian State or Florida International University just saved their hook so they could use it to get into Harvard for grad school?  They were just saving it for later?  Or did their parents become billionaire donors while they were in college?  Nope.

I was one of those kids.  Got into a T20, but turned it down for a tier 4 because I needed a full ride.  I also got into a top grad school, fully funded, and ultimately got my PhD from a Nobel Laureate.  How?  I applied and got funding to do research with very respected professors during each summer of undergrad so I had several top tier publications and amazing recommendation letters.  No hooks.  Just hard work. [/quote]

Exactly. Many many stories like this every year. I know a guy who recently graduated from a university ranked in the 125-150 range after turning down Penn and Carnegie Mellon. He finished in 4 years with both a bachelor's and a master's, and like you he did research every year. He had a job as a researcher at one of the most desirable places for people in his field locked down before graduation.

[b]Another recent grad chose a not-elite state university over Princeton, published two papers as an undergrad, graduated in 3 years, and is now at an Ivy pursuing his PhD.
[/b]
No hooks for either. Just worked hard like you did.[/quote]

That kind of proves my point. He probably graduated in 3 years for the same reason he got accepted into Princeton. But most people belong at the universities they're attending. I deserved fair-and-square to go to a bad college, but I clearly overcame whatever intelligence barrier I had had in high school by graduating before all of my classmates, many of whom never graduated at all.[/quote]

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