boab Posted March 3, 2008 Posted March 3, 2008 I am wondering about which of the two schools below would look better on my resume. I am studying for a Ph.D. in Geology. School A: Ivy League, but not quite in Top 10 School B: Top Ten, but not Ivy League. In fact, the school is not that fancy in terms of undergradute reputuation. Any opinions here? I am tempted to say that "Ivy League" means nothing here.
amanda1655 Posted March 3, 2008 Posted March 3, 2008 Ivy Leage means nothing. 1 - The Ivy League is a sports league that just happens to have some fantastic schools in it. 2 - Undergraduate ranking is different from graduate school ranking 3 - For graduate school, fit and advisor are just as important as rank.
boab Posted March 6, 2008 Author Posted March 6, 2008 Considering the large number of views that this post has received and the lack of further responses, I am assuming that Amanda hit the nail on the head here. Does anyone disagree?
Minnesotan Posted March 6, 2008 Posted March 6, 2008 There is a prestige factor at some schools, which may help in the job hunt, but only if all of the other criteria have been exhausted and the applicants are still equal. If it were me, I would take the program where I would be happiest and best able to live for 4-7 years.
Abiogenic Gas Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 Hey! Finally, another geoscience person on this forum! I agree with all that's been said previously. I just wanted it to be known that there's more than one geoscientist here.
boab Posted March 7, 2008 Author Posted March 7, 2008 Hey! Finally, another geoscience person on this forum! I agree with all that's been said previously. I just wanted it to be known that there's more than one geoscientist here. Hey Man, So I wonder about how your are making your decision here. Did you notice that a lot of the so-called Ivy League schools are not ranked particularly well in Earth Science? Schools like Texas at Austin, Arizona, Penn State and Michigan are all ranked above Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Brown and Dartmouth. I am assuming that you are turning away from the "Ivy League" as well.
Canadianpolsci Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 I am wondering about which of the two schools below would look better on my resume. I am studying for a Ph.D. in Geology. School A: Ivy League, but not quite in Top 10 School B: Top Ten, but not Ivy League. In fact, the school is not that fancy in terms of undergradute reputuation. Any opinions here? I am tempted to say that "Ivy League" means nothing here. I'm not a geologist, but I think I know why there are few responses: a)few geologists are on this site, b)you did not list the school names By the way, as a geologist, are you familiar with the work of Boaz Lazar, doing work in Marine/coral reef geophysics?
Abiogenic Gas Posted March 9, 2008 Posted March 9, 2008 Hey Man, So I wonder about how your are making your decision here. Did you notice that a lot of the so-called Ivy League schools are not ranked particularly well in Earth Science? Schools like Texas at Austin, Arizona, Penn State and Michigan are all ranked above Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Brown and Dartmouth. I am assuming that you are turning away from the "Ivy League" as well. Actually, I'm not applying to grad schools yet. I am finishing up my first year of my master's. I plan to apply this fall for Fall 2009 admission to PhD programs. At the moment I don't have any plans to apply to any of the Ivy League schools because most of them aren't that great in my field. I actually did my undergrad at one of these "Top 10" non-Ivy schools and have friends doing their graduate work there. From my experience as an undergrad and hearing about their's as a grad, I never would've thought my school was Top 10 (or maybe I expect too much from a school with "Top 10" as a descriptor). I guess what I'm trying to say is that rankings don't tell you the full story. So next year when it comes time for me to make my decision (assuming I get acceptances) it will be based upon location, fit, and size of department (I have a thing for large departments), in that order. Of course my dream school may not agree with any of this but that's why it's my dream school - Dreams don't have to make sense.
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