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re: Which school in the SEC would you send your children?
Posted on 7/5/12 at 11:59 am to Pigimus Prime
Posted on 7/5/12 at 11:59 am to Pigimus Prime
quote:
All of them could provide quality educations. It should not surprise anyone that the better schools are A&M, Florida, Mizzou, and Vandy. That being said I would say Vandy for undergraduate and A&M for graduate. To know why this is, people need to understand things like the AAU, NSF, and research productivity.
I am from Arkansas attended UArk for undergraduate and it was great. I loved being there and think I received a quality education. I am now at A&M for graduate school and it is so much better of an academic university it is not even comparable. I do not say this lightly. The level of faculty salaries, teaching loads, graduate funding, and research funding is ridiculous here. A&M wants to be a top public university and has made amazing strides in recent years. Our graduate program in ranked 19th in the country and there are numerous others at that level here as well. Most SEC schools simply are not on that level.
I like to make fun of Aggies, and I certainly do not get Aggieland or support the athletic program. As far as academics go though, it is tough not to be impressed.
I respectfully disagree, and I'm coming from an Arky undergrad and I go to a "better" grad school than A&M. I feel they are extremely similar, with the only noticeable difference being the networking that exists. However, this has nothing to do with the education you receive there, but rather how easy it may be to get a job afterwards.
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Posted on 7/5/12 at 12:32 pm to bpfergu
I think the Aggie Network is a big part of why Aggies do so well. In many fields Aggies hire other Aggies, and considering the large amount of money and industry in the state that bodes well for Aggie employment prospects. It would make sense to want your kids to have access to something like that.
Of course the Aggie Network isn't magic and it doesn't always work for everyone. I am living proof of that- I got my degree at A&M in a field most Aggies don't respect and I haven't gotten one bit of help from the Network getting a job after graduation. In fact every decent job I have gotten since graduation has been due to the fact I spent one year at Southwestern University in Georgetown and I made connections there. I have watched as my peers with degrees from "less prestigious institutions" and with lower education levels overall make tons more money than me and pass me by. Being an Aggie didn’t work out too well for me career-wise, even though I met my wife at College Station so I did get something valuable from my time there.
My point is that every opportunity is only maximized in the correct situation. If my kid wanted to be an engineer I would steer them towards A&M, but if they wanted something in the Liberal Arts field I would push them to attend another institution. In fact I might push them to a Texas private school like a TCU because it doesn’t matter how good the education is it matters how rich the daddies of their friends are so they can hire them (or recommend them to their rich friends) when they graduate. At any institution the opportunity is what you make of it, and who you know in the end matters more than what you know unless you attend an elite institution like an Ivy or MIT.
Of course the Aggie Network isn't magic and it doesn't always work for everyone. I am living proof of that- I got my degree at A&M in a field most Aggies don't respect and I haven't gotten one bit of help from the Network getting a job after graduation. In fact every decent job I have gotten since graduation has been due to the fact I spent one year at Southwestern University in Georgetown and I made connections there. I have watched as my peers with degrees from "less prestigious institutions" and with lower education levels overall make tons more money than me and pass me by. Being an Aggie didn’t work out too well for me career-wise, even though I met my wife at College Station so I did get something valuable from my time there.
My point is that every opportunity is only maximized in the correct situation. If my kid wanted to be an engineer I would steer them towards A&M, but if they wanted something in the Liberal Arts field I would push them to attend another institution. In fact I might push them to a Texas private school like a TCU because it doesn’t matter how good the education is it matters how rich the daddies of their friends are so they can hire them (or recommend them to their rich friends) when they graduate. At any institution the opportunity is what you make of it, and who you know in the end matters more than what you know unless you attend an elite institution like an Ivy or MIT.
Posted on 7/5/12 at 1:06 pm to bpfergu
quote:
I respectfully disagree, and I'm coming from an Arky undergrad and I go to a "better" grad school than A&M. I feel they are extremely similar, with the only noticeable difference being the networking that exists. However, this has nothing to do with the education you receive there, but rather how easy it may be to get a job afterwards.
You "feel"? Based on what? I was making an argument about graduate schools and support for research. I defy you to find one doctoral department at Arkansas with the level of support and research funding at A&M. Yes, the education can be similar or even better at lower ranked places, but there are many benefits of being in top programs. With respect to academic jobs, students in my field from Arkansas cannot get them. It is really hard to get a job at a place ranked higher than where the degree came from. On undergrad we can agree, but not on grad. BTW, what grad school in Irving is better than A&M, just curious?
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