Schools prestige and programs prestige

[rileypep]

Is there a correlation between how high a program is ranked and how hard it is to be admitted to the program? For an example, we all know that M.I.T. is one of the best schools in the world. But their International relations program is only ranked in the low 20's. Is it harder for someone to be accepted into lets say SAIS, SFS, or Elliot than the MIT IR program? Even though MIT as a whole is more prestigious and higher in the rankings.

[stilesg57]

Generally, yes. Schools with medium overall prestige that have a very prestigious program in XYZ subject tend to be very competitive for that particular program. Think Korbel School at DU. Similarly, prestigious schools with a lackluster or not-well-known program tend to be easier to get into for that specific program. See CIPA, Cornell.

This applies to whole types of degrees too. For example, because MPA/MPP degrees are not as popular or sought after, they are usually easier to get into at a prestigious institution than other degree programs like law, business, medicine, etc. For example, GWU has a ridiculously high acceptance rate for the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy, north of 40% if I remember correctly. But their law school has an acceptance rate closer to 20%, and their med school closer to 15%.

Also, I'm going to save you a lot of headaches right now: don't believe the rankings. As for the specific schools you mentioned, MIT is probably harder to get in to than Elliot even if it's not ranked as high. Don't believe the rankings - they're bull.

[younglions]

I don't know anything about MIT IR, but my guess is that's it more academic and doesn't weigh work experience as much as other more professionally oriented IR schools do. In that sense, it might be easier to get into because you don't need to go through the requisite 2-3 years of accumulating relevant work experience, but it's perhaps more difficult in that you need to make sure your academics are quite strong. For schools like HKS, WWS, SFS, and SAIS, (among others), you need both.

[bongin]

But according to Peterson's statistics of admission, MIT IR is relatively low when it compares with SIPA, IR/PS.

However, I'm not sure the accuracy Peterson shows, just see it as a reference.

[sommelier]

Be careful how much importance is placed on a schools prestige. That alone does not guarantee you anything in life, other than a bulletin point on your resume.

You could go to CUNY and land a quality internship at the UN or go to GMU and land a graduate fellowship at the World Bank or IMF and you would be positioned just as well, if not better than a 'prestigious' graduate.

My point is there are many ways to get from point A to point B. If you make your program work for you, get involved and exploit your opportunities to network and learn, than virtually any program can be excellent for you. Concentrate on getting funding, the opportunities presented to you and the place you really like rather than some magazine ranking.

[Demetrios2011]

Obviously relying on undergraduate prestige would be a mistake. However, I would argue that overall graduate prestige has at least some relevance, as many of these programs are interdisciplinary and the resources of the whole graduate school would theoretically be a component of your degree. That being said, after a brief glance an Petersons, I noticed that GW, UW, Columbia, Cornell, Fordham and NYU for example all have very similar MPA acceptance rates (61-68%.) Michigan is a little more selective at 56%. (many other programs do not list their acceptance rate) So right off the bat you can see that there is not a particularily strong correlation between USNWR ranking and acceptance rate (or almost anything else worth considering,) as those schools cover a wide range in the rankings. Penn's Fels program actually has a much lower acceptance rate (33%) than all of those schools, yet is ranked lower. Also, acceptance rate does not necessarily tell you much about the qualifications needed to gain acceptance. Schools like GW, Columbia, and NYU recieve applications from just about every prospective MPA. Smaller schools outside of DC or NYC might have a similar acceptance rate and still demand much higher minimum qualifications for acceptance, because they are merely recieving fewer applicants, and there may be a lot of self selection involved based on the specialities of these programs. The big programs probably recieve many of the all-star applicants, but also many of the marginal ones. (speculation, of course.) Finally, and most importantly, there is a huge difference between what I will call a selection effect and a production effect. Top ranked school tend to select (and attract) the best students, so their graduates tend to be the most successful. If you are a top candidate, you will be probably successful wherever you go. You will still have the same resume upon graduation, with only one new line.

And I do notice that the OP refers to IR programs specifically, but the basic concepts are the same.