Reply to If most careers require grad school does where you get your 4 year degree really matter?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "If most careers require grad school does where you get your 4 year degree really matter?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've done grad admissions at several competitive graduate programs in the humanities (two PhD, one terminal MA), and I can tell you that acceptance to such a program (I'm not talking about law or med school! -- but this does probably generalize to graduate programs in the sciences) does not directly depend on an applicant's undergraduate school at all. Undergrad mentoring does matter in two respects: Has the applicant been put in touch with current knowledge in the field? And do the applicant's recommenders know how to write an effective letter of recommendation? Each respect concerns competence, not prestige: faculty at low-tier universities often do but sometimes do not know how prepare and present their students for graduate applications. Any school with research-active faculty can do this; the exceptions tend to be places that haven't made a new hire in 20 years or that serve a niche, only quasi-academic mission. In any case, what matters for the final cut in my field is the quality of the writing sample, which is entirely in the applicant's hands.[/quote]

One of mine is in the process of phD applications, in a common humanities field, ivy: the professors give one on one feedback for the undergraduate thesis (typically used for writing sample), and different professors are the ones who work one on one with the personal statement. The work started months ago and the feedback is detailed and helpful. The track record of top PhD placement out of the department is impressive. DC’s roommate is applying to med school and has the same level of support and feedback. They applied for and got an undergraduate fellowship and their lab professor was the one who helped edit that application. These students are great, 3.8-3.9, but not top of the ivy types. The level of professor involvement and mentoring has been surprising. The hardest part may have been getting into the school in the first place. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics