Someone once told me that the education at those U's wasn't any better than at other colleges.
I went to a small private college (you haven't heard of it!), and then grad school at the top ranked (for that year anyway, these things dither a bit) university in the USA for my field (electrical engineering). FWIW, my undergrad education was of higher quality than my graduate education, because more was expected of us, and the grades reflected that. Despite the fact that none of my teachers there ever came close to a Nobel, and our labs were furnished quite sparsely. In grad school, my peers were definitely all from the top of their undergrad classes, the teachers were renowned experts in their fields, and the lab equipment was excellent, but there was a pervasive attitude that since we were all so smart, we all deserved A's. It appeared to me that this same general grade inflation was equally well entrenched in the undergrad program at the snob university. In America you can get an excellent education by combining good study habits with the dedicated "no-name" teachers you find at many "no-name" colleges across this land.
Having said that, the snob-university degree landed me an excellent job, with a company that largely recruited from the top snob-universities of the land. Further, I attended the snob-university courtesy of a full scholarship from GE. So I definitely owe them a debt for the impact they had on my life, and I donate every year to both the no-name undergrad college, and the snob-university. I just feel better about the money going to the no-name college. I know it is wisely used there. |
