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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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 Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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| I'd just like to point out two of my best professors in university did not hold PhDs. |
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ernie
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
Location: asdfghjk
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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i'd have to agree as well ^
what schools in canada would you consider to be 'better' schools? i can see certain places being better at offering certain courses, but this has more to do with their facilities than their reputation... |
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ajgeddes
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Location: Yongsan
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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| ernie wrote: |
i'd have to agree as well ^
what schools in canada would you consider to be 'better' schools? i can see certain places being better at offering certain courses, but this has more to do with their facilities than their reputation... |
The problem with this is that each school tends to have differenct strengths, and even the not so good schools probably have one really good program. However, one really good program doesn't make a university great. So, as better overall universities and not just focusing on a single subject, I would say (Also, just taking Ontario into account because that's what I know best.):
Toronto
McGill (yeah I know it isn't Ontario)
Waterloo
McMaster
Queens
Other schools are quite good in a subject or two, but I would hardly say are great overall.
Carleton being a good example. |
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ernie
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
Location: asdfghjk
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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| i think the fact that we can list 5 'elite' schools in ontario, a place with about 12 000 000 people, is a sign that schools in canada are rather balanced, especially compared to korea... |
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ajgeddes
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Location: Yongsan
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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| ernie wrote: |
| i think the fact that we can list 5 'elite' schools in ontario, a place with about 12 000 000 people, is a sign that schools in canada are rather balanced, especially compared to korea... |
Yes, schools are much more balanced in Canada compared to Korea, but that is largely because we don't really have private universities. However, I wouldn't call those schools 'elite', just that they are the better schools in Ontario, however, I think all those schools rank in the world top 100, or at least close to it. |
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:18 pm Post subject: |
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| flakfizer wrote: |
| I remember a piece about this topic done by 60 Minutes, or TIME or some other well-known news group that showed that at the top universities, the great profs rarely taught undergrad students but spent all their time in research with a few grad students. Undergrad classes were often taught by TAs. Their conclusion was that going to an elite university does not mean you will be being taught by those wondeful profs if you're an undergrad. |
This is spot on. |
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reimund
Joined: 01 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:47 pm Post subject: |
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For undergrad, I imagine the benefits of going to an elite university are the name recognition (for potential future employers), the quality of the student body (since they will only accept top students, etc), and most importantly, the networking/connections. You therefore will have more opportunities and pathways for a bigger variety of careers if you're in an elite. This doesn't necessarily mean the "quality" of education will be better, though. But then again, we need to define the parameters for "quality of education" - you could argue that all those aforementioned benefits are a part of "education" since it prepares people for the working world.
Last edited by reimund on Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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ernie
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
Location: asdfghjk
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:48 pm Post subject: |
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| and this ^ is the key problem, imo... confusing cause and effect... |
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faster
Joined: 03 Sep 2006
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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| flakfizer wrote: |
| I remember a piece about this topic done by 60 Minutes, or TIME or some other well-known news group that showed that at the top universities, the great profs rarely taught undergrad students but spent all their time in research with a few grad students. Undergrad classes were often taught by TAs. Their conclusion was that going to an elite university does not mean you will be being taught by those wondeful profs if you're an undergrad. |
This is why the elite liberal arts schools are getting more and more popular with elite high school graduates, both in the US and in Korea.
That said, I bet many of the TAs at the top schools are better than many of the profs at the crappy schools. There are also great benefits from having elite classmates--the late-night debates on Derrida at Yale are probably more interesting than their counterparts at Chico State (if such debates even occur there).
I firmly believe that a great education can be had anywhere (even the public library), but it's definitely harder to avoid at the great schools, which have earned their reputation over the long haul.
It may not be a good thing, but it's a fact: exclusivity has its virtues. |
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cangel
Joined: 19 Jun 2003
Location: Jeonju, S. Korea
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| Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:25 am Post subject: |
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| I'd put a second or even third-tier college grad up against a first-tier grad in their content area. Once those doors close, what do you think is going on? Additionally, as previously stated, PhD's rarely teach undergrads at major unis (at least in the US). My second-tier uni was taught exclusively by PhDs. Additionally, it seems most Ivy league profs, for example, are far too academic and don't have the experience down where the rubber meets the road... Publish or perish. Hiring somebody based on the school name on the diploma, as they often do in Korea, is a recipe for disaster. |
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adeline
Joined: 19 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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| However, from my experience, the better schools in Canada do seem to be harder that the "worse" schools. I went to one of the better schools and we had to do a lot of research when we wrote papers, yet my at the other schools seemed to have it so easy. I remember my friend having fourth year Political Science papers that were only 10 pages, while for us, we had a 30 page minimum, and even his thesis was shorter than 40 pages. Obviously, this isn't conclusive evidence, but this has been my experience with the better schools and the not so better schools. |
^ I agree, if you are comparing intro courses then sure there won't be much difference. psych 101 is pretty much the same everywhere, but unis should be measured by advanced classes not gigantic intro lectures. at my uni all courses are taught by phds, that is important. It is also important to have access to those experts that gravitate to good universities. |
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