Stanford=Trumpery???

[yyemperor]

Something I don't understand...

I've seen many people, including those who are in Stanford right now, are talking about "Don't go to Stanford just beacause of its big name" "Stanford is not your best choice you should go to another prgram in XXX" "You will be foolish , stupid to go to Stanford but you will be smart to XXX"

They have many reasons talking like that, but maybe the most important reason or so called essential reason is that ------

"Stanford is trumpery!!! Although Stanford is famous around the world, it is not as strong as we may believe and it's expensive!!!. If you go to Stanford, the employer will not hire you, because you came from Stanford, a university not strong enough, going to Stanford will be a wasting money, so please go to universities who give you fellowship or any other finacial aids. People in the world will not care about you because Stanford only got its big name..."

First of all, we all know that the university you enter will not really help you to become a successful individual, it depends on ourselves. If we find the path or work hard or... can't we still be very successful after we graduated from Stanford even if Stanford is argubly not stronger than any other universities ?

Those who drop out of school can be trillionaires, so, why do we think for sure that we can't earn back our money?

Second, why the hell does Stanford get its big name when it has so many weaker programs, why is Stanford always ranked among top5 in USNews & World Report, while others except "HYP+ MIT+CIT" aren't?

Third, we need to construct a social network and the reason is that we will not work alone , so why don't we want to build it with stronger people even when they are not in the very same field with us?

Fouth, even if Stanford is really a trumpery, but what about others, like UT-Austin, Berkely, Harvard, UIUC, Columbia......and what about those who are so called "ranked" in 1#, 2#,3 #, 100#, 200#? Is the ranking we mentioned a trumpery??

I mean ...may be Stanford is ranked in 50 in XX program in our opinons, not strong enough, but is the XX ranked in 1# really stronger or how much stronger can it be ?

I don't understand...

[peacelily]

I think the point is that things like individual fit and the strength of your advisor are much more important than the strength of the program. So, for example, if you have one professor that you'd like to work with at a #1 program, but five professors at a #5 program, and all other factors are the same... of course #5 is better for you! There are tons of factors that can override the ranking - how well you mesh with your potential advisor's personality, how much you like the lab environment, how collaborative the department is, how well you get along with other students in the program, the stipend, the city, etc, etc. Rankings are pretty arbitrary, and are often less important than other aspects of the school. Besides, at the PhD level, we are all studying very narrow fields, and even a very well ranked department might not be very strong in a particular area that someone wants to research.

I hope my response was in line with the topic... Frankly, I was a bit confused by this post.

Just want to add: Of course, if a very well ranked school, such as Stanford, is also your best match, you should by all means go there! I don't believe that a good ranking is the most important factor in a decision, but as an added bonus, it definitely won't hurt =)

P.S. Still don't know if my answer has anything to do with what you're asking.

[socialpsych]

I'm not sure I understand what you are asking. Are you wondering whether Stanford is overrated--whether its reputation is better than the way the school actually is? Or are you wondering why its reputation is relevant at all? Or something else?

Personally, I am going to Stanford because it has a top program in my field where the professors have a very good fit with my research interests. And because I like the location. There is no conflict for me--it is a prestigious name, with a great ranking, and a program I'm really excited about.

I don't know whether I've answered your question at all?

[Aceflyer]

I'm not sure I understand what you are asking. Are you wondering whether Stanford is overrated--whether its reputation is better than the way the school actually is? Or are you wondering why its reputation is relevant at all? Or something else?

Personally, I am going to Stanford because it has a top program in my field where the professors have a very good fit with my research interests. And because I like the location. There is no conflict for me--it is a prestigious name, with a great ranking, and a program I'm really excited about.

I don't know whether I've answered your question at all?

I agree. I'm not really sure what the OP is trying to 'get' at with his post. But just in general, it's probably a bad idea to go to a program just because it's ranked highly or just because it's at a prestigious/big-name university. The importance of going to a grad program that is a good 'fit' for you cannot be overstated.

Talking about Stanford particularly, it definitely offers strong programs in a variety of fields. Stanford Biosciences, for example, is one of the premier graduate programs in the biosciences. Stanford Chemical Engineering is also one of the top programs in the world in that field. At the same time, Stanford, like any other university, also offers some programs that are comparatively 'weak'. For grad programs, the reputation of the program matters a heck of a lot more than the overall 'prestige' of the school the program is at. (Assuming you want a job in the field after graduation, that is. If you're planning on switching to a totally different field like consulting or business, the prestige of the school might be more significant.) For example, if you wanted to do Chemical Engineering, you'd be foolish to go by school 'name' to select JHU over the University of Minnesota.

[Jordan+AirForce1]

i know what OP is talking about.

there are many prestigious institutions, but from thegradcafe forum (and some other forums i've visited) there are tons of topics created that are something like "Stanford vs. some other school," but i have seen almost no existence of "harvard vs this school" or "MIT vs this school"... it's always Stanford that has many people puzzled over their selection.

and, if i go into one of those topics, it's almost always the same pattern. OP will say he got accepted into both Stanford, non-funded MS, and into another school, for Ph.D full funded or something like that. OP will say he's torn between these choices, and the majority of the responses he receives are "don't go to a school for it's name, find your fit and consider overall value, with financial aid heavily factored."

While I fully agree with the advices in such topics, what I don't understand is why only Stanford has so many topics like that, while there are surely other institutions as prestigious as Stanford.

My guess is, Stanford gives out a lot more unfunded MS acceptances compared to other comparable institutions.. What;s your take?

[twocosmicfish]

Most schools have a 2-stage selection process. First they weed out those they consider underqualified, then they up-select their favorites for funded positions, leaving the remnants in the waitlist often forever. Stanford basically admits their waitlist for unfunded masters programs. Some small number of these may be able to transition into a funded PhD at the school, but more often that does not happen.

This process does somewhat dilute the prestige of a MASTERS from Stanford - anyone who knows their admission policy knows that, due to the lack of the up-select, the standards are lower for the masters than it would be at other schools. However, you still get to work with the same prof's in the same labs, so it is still a great opportunity. In return, Stanford gets extra tuition as well as a chance to look closer at the marginal group and up-select the best down the road. Remember, the prestige of a program is usually measured in the number of individuals who get Nobels or other prizes or recognitions.