UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

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nonick
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UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by nonick » Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:03 pm

I've managed to narrow my choice of grad schools down to UIUC and Cornell.

As you probably know UIUC is number 1 for condensed matter (the field I am most interested in) and has a great reputation for physics/engineering in general. The same can be said for Cornell. This means that at least among the people in academia the two schools are entirely comparable in terms of reputation. However, what if I decide not to stay in academia, or try to find a job somewhere in Europe (I am originally from Europe)? At least judging by my nonphysics friends, Cornell has a much greater reputation among the common public than UIUC.
So do you guys think Cornell bears more name recognition than UIUC, and is it justifiable to choose Cornell, provided everything else is equal?

Just to put the things in perspective, I have fellowships from both schools, and in both schools there are several people I would be happy to work with. Also, I find that the two places are similar in terms of geographic location, so I don't think that's a factor.

surjective
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by surjective » Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:27 pm

Sounds like you should go to Cornell.

As you said:
All other stuff is about equal, but Cornell wins on reputation outside N. American academia.

Easy choice.

Best of luck!

nonick
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by nonick » Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:37 pm

yeah, but the thing is that I think that this perceived advantage of Cornell in terms of reputation is not really justified. In my view, the two programs are equally prestigious. Hence my question is more along the lines of whether it's justified to base my decision on the general public's perception of which is the better program, rather than on my own.

mhazelm
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by mhazelm » Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:42 pm

The general public has probably just heard of Cornell more on average than UIUC, which is in my opinion the reason for a higher reputation (in politics, the person with more "sound bites" and name exposure tends to do better, and Cornell's name is more unique than UIUC's, so that's my reasoning). Before I started researching graduate schools I probably would've thought higher of Cornell at first. But I don't know that that is the best reason to choose one over the other. Personally, I'd go with gut feeling - which one feels more like home?

admissionprof
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by admissionprof » Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:38 pm

nonick wrote: Also, I find that the two places are similar in terms of geographic location, so I don't think that's a factor.
Huh? Champaign-Urbana is in the plains of Illinois--flat and completely non-scenic. The campus is not very pretty. Ithaca is "gorge-ous" and is one of the most scenic cities in the country--and the campus is beautiful.

nonick
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by nonick » Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:50 pm

admissionprof wrote:
nonick wrote: Also, I find that the two places are similar in terms of geographic location, so I don't think that's a factor.
Huh? Champaign-Urbana is in the plains of Illinois--flat and completely non-scenic. The campus is not very pretty. Ithaca is "gorge-ous" and is one of the most scenic cities in the country--and the campus is beautiful.
I know that in terms of natural beauty Ithaca has the edge, but I am not really much of an outdoor person. Frankly, I don't really care if the terrain is flat and I am surrounded by cornfields or that it's hilly and I am surrounded by woods. What really matters to me is that both places are almost the same size, both are safe, both have a large student population, and both have good restaurants/bars/shops. Also, I believe the climate is pretty much the same. It doesn't snow as much in UC but it's equally cold.

Maxwells_Demon
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by Maxwells_Demon » Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:08 pm

If the scene is important to you, however...

I had a friend who went to UIUC for undergrad and eventually transferred out because he thought it was miserable, in terms of the nonstop rain, no sunshine, ~3-4 hour bus ride from chicago, and middle of nowhere. That was him. Several of my professors went to UIUC, said it was great.

I also have a friend at Cornell that says it's great there (no complaints).

I would choose Cornell, though. I am totally an outside person, and nature is pretty important to me.

-Maxwell's Demon

nonick
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by nonick » Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:20 pm

Maxwells_Demon wrote: it was miserable, in terms of the nonstop rain, no sunshine, ~3-4 hour bus ride from chicago, and middle of nowhere.
the problem is that the same can be said of ithaca... just replace chicago with NYC

excel
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by excel » Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:56 pm

You had asked:
"So do you guys think Cornell bears more name recognition than UIUC, and is it justifiable to choose Cornell, provided everything else is equal?"

The answer to the first part of the question is clearly yes, no question that Cornell has a better name recognition and general reputation than UIUC. I think the reason is Cornell excels not just in physics, but in so many different disciplines (incl. various engineering at which several other ivies are not that good), so there would be people in many different walks of life who think highly of Cornell.

The answer to the second part of your question depends on whether name recognition is important to you. If you go to UIUC, will you rue the fact that you missed the chance to go to an university that has better name recognition? If yes, that will likely negatively affect mindset and work. Just from your question, I think yes you will. But, you know best!

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valentino
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by valentino » Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:47 pm

Why are you concerned with the general public? Does the general public have any hand at hiring highly specialized professionals into research labs, be it academia or industry? I think when you try to get a job in Europe or wherever, if UIUC is good in condensed matter, then the people there would know -- not the general public, but at least the people who matter.

I have the same experience here in my country -- people know Cornell but have no idea what University of Chicago is.

nowhereguy
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by nowhereguy » Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:56 pm

valentino wrote:Why are you concerned with the general public? Does the general public have any hand at hiring highly specialized professionals into research labs, be it academia or industry? I think when you try to get a job in Europe or wherever, if UIUC is good in condensed matter, then the people there would know -- not the general public, but at least the people who matter.

I have the same experience here in my country -- people know Cornell but have no idea what University of Chicago is.
I think you miss the point of his question by not looking at the broad picture. If he decides to leave academia, he might not end up getting a job in a research-oriented industry. He might end up doing something different, like finance, in which case he should care which of the universities is more reputable overall.

cato88
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by cato88 » Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:40 pm

nowhereguy wrote: I think you miss the point of his question by not looking at the broad picture. If he decides to leave academia, he might not end up getting a job in a research-oriented industry. He might end up doing something different, like finance, in which case he should care which of the universities is more reputable overall.
Even in finance your going to be hired by someone who has dealt with physics enough to know UIUC reputation or someone who has gone to grad school in physics. Most industries have HR people who make it their business to have an idea of the reputation of a program in a field they are hiring in ie. the kid in McDonalds who doesnt know about UIUC and barely knows about Cornell is not in charge of hiring you unless the economy gets really really bad.
There are also industries that dont give a damn where you go to school but more who you know. In my experience defense contractors are like that.

astrofan
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by astrofan » Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:43 am

nonick wrote:
So do you guys think Cornell bears more name recognition than UIUC, and is it justifiable to choose Cornell, provided everything else is equal?

Just to put the things in perspective, I have fellowships from both schools, and in both schools there are several people I would be happy to work with. Also, I find that the two places are similar in terms of geographic location, so I don't think that's a factor.
Maybe you have already considered these things, but how are the quals at each school? What is the stipend vs. cost of living at each school?

If they are the same, based on everything else you said, than I guess you got to flip a coin. I would love to have your problems :wink:

nonick
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by nonick » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:56 am

Thanks for all the replies guys...
I am still nowhere near having decided where to go...
I guess what my initial concern/question was was that if something happens and I don't want to do physics anymore, a phd from an Ivy league school will give me a better start than a phd from a school known only for physics and engineering. Also, i guess going to a place that is at the top for almost any discipline you can think of, means that I would have better opportunities for meeting people who may turn out to be the future leaders of the world...
I guess that gives Cornell a slight edge... still there are 3 more weeks till April 15.

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WhatCanYouDoFermi?
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by WhatCanYouDoFermi? » Sun Mar 22, 2009 2:22 pm

My feeling is that if you are planning to get a PhD in condensed matter physics, then presumably aren't you hoping to make a career in condensed matter physics? And in this case you are of course choosing between two of the best. I am also having to decide between these schools and personally I wouldn't weigh the possibility of going into a different field into my decision because right now that seems like an unlikely scenario. So I would say don't worry about general public perception as a career move unless you think there is a strong possibility that you will end up doing something else. Other people may feel differently about that. I don't know how Europeans view the two schools, but I would be interested to know that as well.

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grae313
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by grae313 » Sun Mar 22, 2009 5:03 pm

Wait until you visit both schools before you start stressing.

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a13ean
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by a13ean » Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:16 pm

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Last edited by a13ean on Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

Peter
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by Peter » Mon Mar 23, 2009 12:03 pm

If you go to either academia or industry Cornell is a much better choice. It has a much better placement record, just check where professors at top universities got their Ph.D.'s, you will hardly find anyone with an UIUC Ph.D.. I would not make a decision based on Us News rankings, you may want to go to Europe to do a postdoc and Cornell is much better recognized interationally. Both locations suck quite a bit, but Ithaca is still much better than Urbana.

cato88
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by cato88 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:46 pm

Peter wrote:just check where professors at top universities got their Ph.D.'s, you will hardly find anyone with an UIUC Ph.D..
Wait have you tried doing so because this is not true. Do you realize that UIUC stands for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Peter
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by Peter » Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:56 pm

cato88 wrote:
Peter wrote:just check where professors at top universities got their Ph.D.'s, you will hardly find anyone with an UIUC Ph.D..
Wait have you tried doing so because this is not true. Do you realize that UIUC stands for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
I am aware of what UIUC stands for, they are underrepresented relative to their rankings. Cornell does a much better job in this regard.

MIT has 4 Cornell Ph.D.'s 0 form UIUC same goes for Harvard and Colorado 4:0

I don't want to check all the departments in the country, but UIUC's placement record is pretty bad. Even worse considering that
it is one of the largest programs in the U.S.

cato88
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by cato88 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:35 pm

It is 4 to 4 for UCSB and
1 to 3 for Cornell.

The only decisive statistics is into placement into post-doc because as far as I know your never placed into a position as a professor right after your PhD program but I am not sure where that information would be located.

Peter
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by Peter » Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:38 pm

cato88 wrote:It is 4 to 4 for UCSB and
1 to 3 for Cornell.

The only decisive statistics is into placement into post-doc because as far as I know your never placed into a position as a professor right after your PhD program but I am not sure where that information would be located.
We are talking about UIUC not UCSB. I look at the only placement record that is available and I assume postdoc placement record is
correlated with tenure track.

cato88
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by cato88 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:48 pm

Peter wrote:
cato88 wrote:It is 4 to 4 for UCSB and
1 to 3 for Cornell.

The only decisive statistics is into placement into post-doc because as far as I know your never placed into a position as a professor right after your PhD program but I am not sure where that information would be located.
We are talking about UIUC not UCSB. I look at the only placement record that is available and I assume postdoc placement record is
correlated with tenure track.
I suppose the last bit of information was too implicit
| Cornell | UIUC | Grad School
| 3 | 1 | UCSB Professors
| 4 | 4 | Cornell Professors

Peter
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by Peter » Mon Mar 23, 2009 3:29 pm

Cornell still seems to be the better choice. Let's put it this way: in academica Cornell > UIUC, in industry Cornell >>>> UIUC. (Unfortunately all that HR people care about is Ivy league status)
UIUC's reputation drops expontentially with respect to distance from Urbana, while Cornell's is a power law :D.

jdgates
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by jdgates » Mon Mar 23, 2009 4:08 pm

Peter wrote: MIT has 4 Cornell Ph.D.'s 0 form UIUC same goes for Harvard and Colorado 4:0

I don't want to check all the departments in the country, but UIUC's placement record is pretty bad. Even worse considering that
it is one of the largest programs in the U.S.
Let's check for what's relevant here, namely, condensed matter, and rather than cherry-picking let's check all of the top ten (actually 11, two are tied for the last spot) CM programs as ranked by US News (whine about rankings if you want, but they're a decent indicator of prestige within the field, since that's all the info that goes into them). Since the AIP profiles don't always break down by research area, I checked quickly on the web pages of each program; I didn't try to separate out adjuncts, emeritus, etc. I can post the breakdowns by school if anyone's really interested, but the grand total is 13 UIUC (10 theory, 3 experiment), 17 Cornell (6 theory, 11 experiment). Hardly a vast difference in total. If anything, it may simply suggest that UIUC has a better record for theory and Cornell for experiment, with the total number differences being the result of the fact that most places have more experimentalists in CM than theorists.
Peter wrote: Let's put it this way: in academica Cornell > UIUC, in industry Cornell >>>> UIUC.
Let's put it this way: What's your source? ("What I've heard as a grad student at a second-tier program" doesn't count, nor does "Cornell rejected me, so they must be great." Give us data.)

For the OP: If you have a specific research interest, look more specifically at what's available. If you're thinking about going into industry to do experiment (or what passes for experiment in industry), you may want to think about what technological skills you can pick up (friends of mine who did CM experiment found recruiters' ears pricking up when they mentioned specific classes of instrumentation they worked on), and how extensive the respective facilities are (overall they're tremendous at both schools, but maybe you're interested in something more specific). Finally, depending on what non-academic job you're looking for, the origins of your PhD may not matter at all; when I looked into consulting, finance, and other areas (including the one I ended up in), the Big Ten were as heavily recruited as the Ivies -- PhD-level jobs don't tend to function on the alumni/good-ol'-boy network nearly as much law/business and nonspecialized bachelor-level jobs.

If all of the above doesn't matter to you, then hopefully you've visited both and know which had a better feel.

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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by Peter » Mon Mar 23, 2009 5:52 pm

I do not think that there is statistics about industry placements, so I cannot point out any source. This is a theory, but is does not make it incorrect. My friends who successfully interviewed with Wall Street and consulting firms had the impression that the school's overall reputation counted the most. At least, the fellow candidates were form top schools, and HR seemed to put most emphasis on name recognition. If you would like to work for Intel as an experimentalist after graduation, then I assume you would have similar chance. You might place UIUC in the same tier with Cornell, but it seems to me that only UIUC graduates share this opinion. Both are excellent institutions, but they are not equally good.

I truly believe that the condensed matter research at UIUC deserves the first spot in the rankings. However, what makes Cornell have the edge is that it attracts better students...


Finally, I do not believe that I attend a second-tier program as you pointed out.

cato88
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by cato88 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:56 pm

Peter wrote:(Unfortunately all that HR people care about is Ivy league status)

In my experience HR people dont care about Ivy status. They view it as an interesting sidenote like if you juggle or something.

thisiswhoiam
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by thisiswhoiam » Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:58 pm

More evidence for the pile.

Numbers for CalTech CM Faculty: 0 UIUC, 3 Cornell (out of 12 total CM faculty members)

cato88
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by cato88 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:05 pm

This is pointless like when arguing with people who believe Harvard >>>>> Berkeley.

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fermiboy
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by fermiboy » Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:38 am

I think people in this thread are seriously underestimating the reputation of UIUC in industry. From wikipedia, (so it must be true)

Alumni have created companies and products such as Netscape Communications, AMD, PayPal, Playboy, National Football League, Siebel Systems, Mortal Kombat, CDW, YouTube, Oracle, Lotus, Mosaic, Safari, Firefox, W. W. Grainger, Delta Air Lines, BET.

Alumni and faculty have invented the LED, integrated circuit, THX, quantum well laser, transistor, MRI, and Plasma screen, and are responsible for the structural design of such buildings as the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center, and the Burj Dubai.


That's a pretty solid resume. I don't know about finance, but in high tech industries UIUC is a major player, on par with Cornell, IMHO.

cato88
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by cato88 » Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:47 am

I didnt know the technical founders of youtube and Hugh Hefner were UIUC alum.

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Helio
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by Helio » Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:56 am

cato88 wrote:I didnt know the technical founders of youtube and Hugh Hefner were UIUC alum.
part Hefner biography:

Following graduation from high school in January 1944, Hef (a nickname preferred since adolescence) joined the Army, serving as an infantry clerk and drawing cartoons for various Army newspapers. After his discharge from service in 1946, he spent the summer taking art classes (anatomy, of course) at the Art Institute of Chicago, enrolling that fall at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. Hefner earned his bachelor's degree in two and one-half years by doubling up on classes while drawing cartoons for the Daily Illini and editing the campus humor magazine Shaft, where he introduced a new feature called Coed of the Month.

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naseermk
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by naseermk » Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:08 pm

Peter wrote:Cornell still seems to be the better choice. Let's put it this way: in academica Cornell > UIUC, in industry Cornell >>>> UIUC. (Unfortunately all that HR people care about is Ivy league status)
UIUC's reputation drops expontentially with respect to distance from Urbana, while Cornell's is a power law :D.
At present Cornell might have a much better name recognition/reputation as compared to UIUC outside US. Within the US, in the area of CM, UIUC has a much better reputation than Cornell. For instance, at my company, recruiters target graduates of UIUC much more than Cornell [Fortune 1000 not 500].

Moreover, you have to take into account the future as well i.e. by the time you graduate UIUC might have improved in rankings/recognition etc. I personally think that the age of 'private' universities are over in the sense that people recognize that graduates of 'top' state schools are as competitive as graduates of 'Ivy' schools. Having said that I think Cornell is one of the Ivies that is much like a state school (I felt that they are much more inclusive and accomodating of varied backgrounds as opposed to Harvard/Columbia etc).

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grae313
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by grae313 » Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:25 pm

naseermk wrote:At present Cornell might have a much better name recognition/reputation as compared to UIUC outside US. Within the US, in the area of CM, UIUC has a much better reputation than Cornell. For instance, at my company, recruiters target graduates of UIUC much more than Cornell [Fortune 1000 not 500].
Much better? I doubt it. Cornell is world class in CM, as is UIUC. It also depends on what type of CM your are doing... for instance, for nanofab, Cornell and CNF can't be beat.

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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by Peter » Wed Mar 25, 2009 9:09 am

Deleted

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naseermk
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by naseermk » Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:47 pm

grae313 wrote: Much better? I doubt it. Cornell is world class in CM, as is UIUC. It also depends on what type of CM your are doing... for instance, for nanofab, Cornell and CNF can't be beat.
Agree that CNF seems to have all the toolsets that a research facility would need. But, the 'father' of transistors [Bardeen] was at UIUC.

valloein
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by valloein » Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:45 pm

naseermk wrote: But, the 'father' of transistors [Bardeen] was at UIUC.
In which universe is that a criterion for selection of grad school ?

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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by dlenmn » Thu Mar 26, 2009 3:02 pm

Didn't you hear? His ghost walks the halls and gives enlightening physics advice.

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naseermk
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by naseermk » Thu Mar 26, 2009 5:05 pm

valloein wrote:
naseermk wrote: But, the 'father' of transistors [Bardeen] was at UIUC.
In which universe is that a criterion for selection of grad school ?
Setting aside the universe characterized by Gravitons, shouldn't a school's ability to foster talent be important?

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dlenmn
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by dlenmn » Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:05 pm

naseermk wrote:Setting aside the universe characterized by Gravitons, shouldn't a school's ability to foster talent be important?
Yes, but Bardeen has been dead for over 15 years. He's not actively fostering any talent. His students and colleagues do it at many different places. How does his former presence have any significant impact on a school's current ability to foster talent? He received his BS and MS at Wisconsin. Then he went to grad school at Princeton. Then he taught at Minnesota. By your logic, these schools should also have an excellent claim to foster talent.

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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by chocolate » Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:40 am

nonick,
While reputation is important, I think that there is something important to realize in making the choice between Cornell and UIUC. Cornell appears to me to place a greater emphasis on understanding phenomena such as quantum fluids, superfluidity, supersolidity and other such phases of matter. On the other hand, UIUC places a great deal of effort into understanding strongly correlated electron systems, such as high temperature superconductors, heavy fermion systems, mott insulators, density waves and the like. I know that this is a vast generalization, but it does seem to me that there is a concerted effort at each school to solve these respective problems. It is really up to you as to what problems in physics you think are more interesting. On that note, you can't really go wrong with either school, they're both great places. Cornell probably has the greater reputation amongst the public, but I don't think you should let that sway your decision.

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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by slugger » Mon Mar 30, 2009 2:03 am

I didnt apply to cornell, but i was out at UIUC like 2 weeks ago and I really liked everyone i met. The culture of the department seemed really positive and friendly and all the graduate students i met seemed really happy. I know this does not really address what you are asking, but I really don't think that there is any way to fully answer it anyway. What did you think of the cornell faculty and graduate students? In what scholastic environment do you think you would perform at your best and develop to your fullest potential? Unless you plan on pursuing work in a completely unrelated field after graduation i doubt the name recognition of cornell over UIUC will really matter--people inside the field will know UIUC, its when u are trying to go to wall street or something like that afterwards that i might think that the cornell prestige might be more beneficial. Even then it probably would not be a big deal. Then again, a cornell hoodie would prolly pull more tail in bars too...hmm...i say go cornell. Chicks love ivy league guys.

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coreycwgriffin
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by coreycwgriffin » Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:53 pm

This thread is pretty stupid, IMO. Nobody's going to look down on you for getting a Ph.D. from UIUC, and if you think I'm wrong, and that you would look down on people who got their Ph.D.'s from there, you're a dick.

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bryanwitha_y
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by bryanwitha_y » Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:05 pm

I'm in the same situation with Yale and UIUC for Nuclear Physics. They're pretty evenly matched up in that respect (Yale a bit higher ranked), but I think that the combination of research area and location will sway me towards UIUC.

I like the research approach at UIUC in how they all seem very close and communicative. After visiting a handful of grad schools, I would say that they have the most cohesive physics program overall, collaboratively and interpersonally speaking.

And seriously, just to plug Urbana-Champaign, it is in the middle of corn fields, but the campus really is nice and clean, the city/town is big enough to have things to do, and housing is nice, plentiful, and dirt-cheap. Plus, there's pretty much no "slums" or industrialized areas, which is nice to be rid of. I've spent a few weekends there, and even walking around town alone at night, you feel safe there. The U-C people and location is pretty much the big thing pulling me from leaning east coast to Yale.

/UIUC plug

But really, I am undecided. Yale's got the good hands-on stuff (important, as pointed out above), plenty money, and like Cornell, in the "real" world, Yale's just got that name (probably to an even greater extent). I didn't mind New Haven (I'm from South Chicago), but it sure didn't impress me.

nonick
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by nonick » Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:26 pm

I accepted Cornell's offer. Thank you for your thoughts on the topic, it helped but I believe I would have chosen Cornell nevertheless.

@ bryanwitha_y, I totally understand you. I dislike big US cities, hence my two top choices being UIUC and Cornell. I chose Cornell, but this was a very hard choice, and I chose Cornell mostly because it offers everything I liked in UIUC. However, since in your case, all the external factors like geography, money, etc. favor UIUC, I'd say go for it; I am sure you can't go wrong.

LucasWillis
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by LucasWillis » Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:20 am

@bryan,


Yale.

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bryanwitha_y
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Re: UIUC reputation compared to that of Ivy League schools

Post by bryanwitha_y » Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:52 pm

LucasWillis wrote:@bryan,


Yale.
What's your reasoning, if I might ask?



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