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I don't have a technical education so I'm not sure what differentiates here-- could I get some examples of A versus B tiered schools (besides the obvious A scho

I don't have a technical education so I'm not sure what differentiates here-- could I get some examples of A versus B tiered schools (besides the obvious A schools like MIT/Stanford)

clicks 14y ago
Purdue, Duke, Vanderbilt and so on I would consider B-tier. I went to a B-tier school. Interestingly, I recently learned that one of my smartest friends only applied to one school (Stanford) and got rejected, and afterward applied to the school I went to because it was only 10 miles away from where he lived. While we're on the subject, one other thing -- There's a lot of Russians, Indians etc. who recently came here and have poor English, and so a lot of people just look past them. But a lot of them are the most persevering and focused folks you'll ever meet, and in my experiences they learn English quickly enough anyway (considering they got to America before they were 15 years old or so).
- notaddicted 14y ago
  The way I'd define it in terms of engineering schools: A-Tier: International reputation for engineering B-Tier: The school is known internationally (or nationally in the U.S.) but not specifically for engineering If you're at a B-Tier school you'll probably notice a lot of your professors did their PhD at an A-Tier school. I say this with the caveat that obviously all manners of university ranking are highly contentious, fluid, and usually say more about the ranker than the ranked.
- Xcelerate 14y ago
  Purdue is B-tier? It's ranked top 10 in both undergrad and grad school (we're talking about engineering, of course).
  - argonaut 14y ago
    Tiers are highly subjective. I know many will disagree with tiering. But Purdue is at the very least a tier below A. I'm speaking of undergrad. We at least know it's not A tier (Harvard Princeton Stanford MIT, I think I'm missing a few). Or if you want to get even more resolution, it's not necessarily A- tier either (Berkeley, "lower" Ivies, etc.)
    - cycrutchfield 14y ago
      For Computer Science: A-tier: MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, CMU (in no particular order)
  - erichocean 14y ago
    Purdue is B-tier? Yes, without any doubt.
  - jrockway 14y ago
    I like how you guys are arguing about A. vs B. when many of us went to schools that are in a tier so low that there aren't even enough letters to give the tier a letter-based rank. (Maybe that's why Unicode exists!)
    - Xcelerate 14y ago
      Ehh.. don't worry about it. I don't think my grad school is in a tier either. What matters is what you do with yourself!
    - kamaal 14y ago
      I'm in a same situation here. Trust me going to a big school is as much about having rich parents, exposure and massive social/financial push from people around you as much it is about personal genius and hard work. I would say big schools only act as a hub for smart people to gather learn from each other and become more smart. Despite many people who go to big schools never make it big, and many people who go to small school make it big.
- samstave 14y ago
  I worked with what i refer to as the "Croatian Coalition" at Lockheed Martin. DAMN smart people. One of my best friends is from this group and I am constantly bouncing ideas off him and seeking to find a way to work together again. I would never underestimate the skills of anyone based on where they were from.... Also, don't overestimate the skills of someone either...
jmspring 14y ago
I think tiers are a bit silly. There are certainly a-tier schools like Stanford. That said, some very bright a-tier students I have met have nothing on b or c-tier school students that have a bit of life experience. Not everyone can afford (or is willing to fork out the $$) places like Stanford.
- burgreblast 14y ago
  "This year more than 3,400 of Stanford's 6,700 undergraduates [more than half] are receiving needs-based financial aid. Another 20 percent receive other types of financial aid from internal or external sources. Stanford students from families with income below $60,000 pay no tuition, room or board. Those from families with incomes between $60,000 and $100,000 pay no tuition."
  - zpconn 14y ago
    That may be true, but students at top schools still tend to come from more affluent backgrounds. Yes, there are "homeless to Harvard" stories out there, but generally speaking Harvard students were able to dedicate as much time as they wanted to school and extracurriculars and exploratory learning in high school because they weren't distracted by a difficult home life or forced to work just to help provide for their family. I realize this isn't exactly what jmspring meant, but it is still true, in a certain sense, that not everyone can afford a top school. The difference is that the costs come before you even send out your applications.

I don't have a technical education so I'm not sure what differentiates here-- could I get some examples of A versus B tiered schools (besides the obvious A schools like MIT/Stanford)

clicks 14y ago

Purdue, Duke, Vanderbilt and so on I would consider B-tier. I went to a B-tier school. Interestingly, I recently learned that one of my smartest friends only applied to one school (Stanford) and got rejected, and afterward applied to the school I went to because it was only 10 miles away from where he lived. While we're on the subject, one other thing -- There's a lot of Russians, Indians etc. who recently came here and have poor English, and so a lot of people just look past them. But a lot of them are the most persevering and focused folks you'll ever meet, and in my experiences they learn English quickly enough anyway (considering they got to America before they were 15 years old or so).

notaddicted 14y ago
The way I'd define it in terms of engineering schools: A-Tier: International reputation for engineering B-Tier: The school is known internationally (or nationally in the U.S.) but not specifically for engineering If you're at a B-Tier school you'll probably notice a lot of your professors did their PhD at an A-Tier school. I say this with the caveat that obviously all manners of university ranking are highly contentious, fluid, and usually say more about the ranker than the ranked.
Xcelerate 14y ago
Purdue is B-tier? It's ranked top 10 in both undergrad and grad school (we're talking about engineering, of course).
- argonaut 14y ago
  Tiers are highly subjective. I know many will disagree with tiering. But Purdue is at the very least a tier below A. I'm speaking of undergrad. We at least know it's not A tier (Harvard Princeton Stanford MIT, I think I'm missing a few). Or if you want to get even more resolution, it's not necessarily A- tier either (Berkeley, "lower" Ivies, etc.)
  - cycrutchfield 14y ago
    For Computer Science: A-tier: MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, CMU (in no particular order)
- erichocean 14y ago
  Purdue is B-tier? Yes, without any doubt.
- jrockway 14y ago
  I like how you guys are arguing about A. vs B. when many of us went to schools that are in a tier so low that there aren't even enough letters to give the tier a letter-based rank. (Maybe that's why Unicode exists!)
  - Xcelerate 14y ago
    Ehh.. don't worry about it. I don't think my grad school is in a tier either. What matters is what you do with yourself!
  - kamaal 14y ago
    I'm in a same situation here. Trust me going to a big school is as much about having rich parents, exposure and massive social/financial push from people around you as much it is about personal genius and hard work. I would say big schools only act as a hub for smart people to gather learn from each other and become more smart. Despite many people who go to big schools never make it big, and many people who go to small school make it big.
samstave 14y ago
I worked with what i refer to as the "Croatian Coalition" at Lockheed Martin. DAMN smart people. One of my best friends is from this group and I am constantly bouncing ideas off him and seeking to find a way to work together again. I would never underestimate the skills of anyone based on where they were from.... Also, don't overestimate the skills of someone either...

jmspring 14y ago

I think tiers are a bit silly. There are certainly a-tier schools like Stanford. That said, some very bright a-tier students I have met have nothing on b or c-tier school students that have a bit of life experience. Not everyone can afford (or is willing to fork out the $$) places like Stanford.

burgreblast 14y ago
"This year more than 3,400 of Stanford's 6,700 undergraduates [more than half] are receiving needs-based financial aid. Another 20 percent receive other types of financial aid from internal or external sources. Stanford students from families with income below $60,000 pay no tuition, room or board. Those from families with incomes between $60,000 and $100,000 pay no tuition."
- zpconn 14y ago
  That may be true, but students at top schools still tend to come from more affluent backgrounds. Yes, there are "homeless to Harvard" stories out there, but generally speaking Harvard students were able to dedicate as much time as they wanted to school and extracurriculars and exploratory learning in high school because they weren't distracted by a difficult home life or forced to work just to help provide for their family. I realize this isn't exactly what jmspring meant, but it is still true, in a certain sense, that not everyone can afford a top school. The difference is that the costs come before you even send out your applications.