College rankings and grad schools

[Panther]

I was wondering if anyone had any insight about how severely graduate schools (or even employers, for that matter) look at the the name of the university on ones degree. As it stands now I'm doing fairly well (3.6 CGPA) with a very intensive curriculum but I can't shrug the feeling that any respectable graduate school will take one look at the name at the top of the degree and simply write me off. It's not that my current university is bad per se, but it's perennially ranked in the 2nd tier of the US News & World Report rankings and as such, it recieves virtually zero academic recognition. Would it be a good idea to transfer into a top 20 school? Even beyond the added benefit of name recognition has anyone transferred into a top school and felt the education to be somehow superior?


sorry for rambling on but I'm stressing out about all this...

 

[rgwalt]

What university do you attend currently? What do you plan to do in grad school? Grad schools look formost at grades and GRE scores, and then recommendations, activities, etc. The university you attend currently is probably ranked poorly because of their grad program, not their undergrad program, and most universities will realize this.

If you really feel that you want to transfer, or think it is that important, then go for it. I would recommend sticking it out where you are though. I doubt you will be greatly hindered when applying for grad school or jobs.

Ryan

 

[NakaNaka]

also depends on your score on the test, depending on what you want to do. If you do good on the test + 3.6 + good interview than you should be fine.

 

[Panther]

I'm currently attending the University of Miami and as long as I stick to higher level and honors courses it can still be quite challenging. As of yet I'm still undeclared but I'm leaning towards a B.S. in CS or Physics (hopefully both). Has anybody actually transferred to a "top 20" school from one of the lower ones? I'm wondering whether the education might actually better...

 

[weeber]

Panther,

I'm curious, is this UM in FL? I know a guy who just graduated from there with a BS in Civil Engineering and is now attending graduate school in Environmental Engineering at University of Texas at Austin (currently tied for 4th in the nation for this graduate program).

Now I can't speak from personal experience, my undergrad degree is from Purdue which is pretty highly regarded for engineering, but in my short graduate experience, grad schools bring in people from all around the world. In my opinion, the name of the undergrad school means very little to them, it's your GRE scores and how you portray yourself in the interview that really matters. And of course, make sure you get to know your professors so they can write you glowing recommendations in the future. These are the points that they really look at.

Sorry I can't help you about changing schools. But I don't think you solely want to depend on the rankings that US News puts out. I think you need to ask yourself if you really like the program UM has going for it. If you feel their program meets your needs, trying to transfer schools could just cause you more trouble then you really need to put yourself through.

 

[Beowulf]

I am currently going to Miami-Dade Community College and will transfer to UM for my BS in CS.I don't know much about the whole school ranking but I don't think UM is a bad school.I am also looking at FSU but I just rather go to UM its closer home.

Of course this is if your talking about Miami,FL if not than disregard the above.

 

[Sukhoi]

The one in Ohio isn't too bad for a state school..it's probably second in the state to Ohio State for state schools. But Miami is mostly known for their business department.

 

[Sigurd]

UM is not a bad school, but they're main strength is medicine (6 yr med and med grad programs), not CS or Physics. If you can, transfer into a school like Georgia Tech. I say GIT, because 1) it's the best engineering school that's anywhere near miami, 2) it's about the same price, and 3) it's got good name recognition for engineering/CS. If you can get a 3.8-4.0 GPA, you can probably transfer to a top 20 school. Rice university is a great school that's both affordable and not terribly difficult to get into (it was my fallback school for undergrad admissions a couple years back). It might be a little difficult to transfer to MIT or Caltech, but if you can pull your GPA high and take challenging courses, it's certainly worth a shot.

 

[Panther]

weeber: yep, this is the UM in Miami, Fl. As for ascertaining whether the program suits me... I really can't answer because I don't know how the CS or physics are at other schools, therein lies my biggest problem. UM seems fine from what I've experienced in the physics dept. and not so much in CS.

Beowulf: as far as the CS program here, I've been pretty underwhelmed. Based on what I've experienced and heard from other CS majors: CS here equates to programming (which is not at all how it should be). But then again I don't know how the CS program is at MDCC so it may still be an improvement.

Sigurd: yeah, Georgia Tech was at the top of my short list of possible transfer schools... but I might just have to go in as a physics major just because their CS is so competitive. I've only taken a hand full of physics courses here and from what I've seen it's pretty decent. But part of the problem is that I don't really know what other school's programs are like so it may in fact be much better or worse (more likely that latter) than I'm giving it credit for... that's really why I was hoping for insight from someone who has transferred to a more reputable school, to see whether it would be worth the hassle of actually transferring.

 

[Beowulf]

<< Beowulf: as far as the CS program here, I've been pretty underwhelmed. Based on what I've experienced and heard from other CS majors: CS here equates to programming (which is not at all how it should be). But then again I don't know how the CS program is at MDCC so it may still be an improvement. >>



MDCC you just take the courses they require and courses needed to transfer to the school you want.They only thing is all schools except state schools need different courses to be done to transfer.I hear UM's CS program has less math than other schools but I never heard anything bad about it.

 

[Panther]

It's fine if you want to become an honest to goodness programmer. I was more interested in the theoretical aspect which is most likely why I was/am a bit disappointed with it.

 

[CJZ]

I feel like I'm answering this question for the umpteenth time on ATOT. Here is my experience: some schools care about the undergrad institution you attended and others don't. I applied for and interviewed at some medical schools and found that at some schools every fellow interviewee was from a "good" school (Harvard, Yale, Cal, etc.). At other interviews there were people from all over (even CSU's- crappier version of the UC system in California). Just depends on the philosophy of the admissions committee and the department you're applying to.

My advice would be to do very well on your GRE's and maintain a high GPA (some schools will adjust your GPA depending on what school you went to). Since you're in the sciences (Physics), I'd also suggest you do research.


CJZ