3 ms·

I would assert that, given that great engineers end up at these top unis, they are able to widen their gap with others by a) accelerating their skills/knowledge

by yomly 10y ago

I would assert that, given that great engineers end up at these top unis, they are able to widen their gap with others by a) accelerating their skills/knowledge by associating with like-minded individuals, and b) being stretched by their respective colleges. My observation is that top colleges tend to lump more work of greater breadth and depth in their students. It's like joining a great sports academy where you develop faster by constantly being in competition with your peers and by also training harder.

loeber 10y ago
I think this assertion is accurate.
SkyMarshal 10y ago
/second, came here to say this too. The top schools give their students much more, harder problem sets, exams, etc. than others. Some grade on a curve too, meaning that if everyone scores between 90-100, they don't all get A's, rather the bottom third gets C's, the mid 90s get B's, and the top third get A's. Creates an extremely competitive environment that pushes folks with raw talent to really work hard to hone it. Finally, most of the work is focused on learning problem solving methodologies, rather than learning the syntax and grammar of particular languages.
- intrasight 10y ago
  Yes. Competition is a powerful motivator. I recall at CMU one day when they gathered all us ECE students together in an auditorium and said "There are an order of magnitude (base 2) too many of you here - we will have to fail half of you out. Look to your left. Look to your right. Those two students may soon be gone." Swear to God a true story. Any fellow classmates ('88) can vouch for the meeting. Meant that a "C" was a great grade since you got to stay. Was terrible for one's GPA however.
  - compsciphd 10y ago
    its a common engineering thing. In my Dad's EE class in the mid 60s they did the same thing.
  - nunez 10y ago
    rutgers did the same thing iirc
- jghn 10y ago
  What modern top level colleges scale grades downward?

by yomly 10y ago

loeber 10y ago

I think this assertion is accurate.

SkyMarshal 10y ago

/second, came here to say this too. The top schools give their students much more, harder problem sets, exams, etc. than others. Some grade on a curve too, meaning that if everyone scores between 90-100, they don't all get A's, rather the bottom third gets C's, the mid 90s get B's, and the top third get A's. Creates an extremely competitive environment that pushes folks with raw talent to really work hard to hone it. Finally, most of the work is focused on learning problem solving methodologies, rather than learning the syntax and grammar of particular languages.

intrasight 10y ago
Yes. Competition is a powerful motivator. I recall at CMU one day when they gathered all us ECE students together in an auditorium and said "There are an order of magnitude (base 2) too many of you here - we will have to fail half of you out. Look to your left. Look to your right. Those two students may soon be gone." Swear to God a true story. Any fellow classmates ('88) can vouch for the meeting. Meant that a "C" was a great grade since you got to stay. Was terrible for one's GPA however.
- compsciphd 10y ago
  its a common engineering thing. In my Dad's EE class in the mid 60s they did the same thing.
- nunez 10y ago
  rutgers did the same thing iirc
jghn 10y ago
What modern top level colleges scale grades downward?