Why is going to top-tiered universities like Harvard or MIT etc so difficult? (1 Viewer)

[Deathless]

Why is going to top-tiered universities like Harvard or MIT etc so difficult?

So many people are always saying how difficult it is to go in there, why (for undergrad)?

- Fees?
- Extra co-curricular?
- Academics?
- Admission rate?

I don't see how it is difficult, fees I presume are around $60k a year, which isn't that much. Extra co-curricular is easy just bs about it, for example I went to mission last year, so I'd just write all about that and how I have been in the school clubs (chess, music, debating, drama) since like year 7 [it's not that hard to talk about or go to, when you don't really need to attend them but your considered a member] and then about school programs like Cadets, Oasis, Duke of Ed etc...?

The Academics, if your looking to go these universities and do a good course would be 99+? (A bit hard I guess, but not really...)

The admission rate is the only factor I can identify that would make going to these universities difficult? What's the difficulty? Or is it going to post-grad in these universities that's difficult?

 

[runnable]

What makes them so difficult? Simply put, it's competition.

ie Harvard will be damn easy if only 100 people in the world applied for it, but it's not.

 

[xeuyrawp]

Why is going to top-tiered universities like Harvard or MIT etc so difficult?

It's called supply and demand.

Harvard has one of the biggest enrolments of a top-tier uni in the US, and it is only 20,000 - look at the wikipedia list of the Ivy Leagues, for example, and you'll see what I'm talking about with regards for supply. The best unis in the US (my subjective label) essentially have a total undergrad enrolment of ~100,000.

Remember that Macquarie + Sydney + UTS + UNSW = 140,000.

As for demand: You're asking why top-tier universities have high demand?

As for their entry requirements: Obviously with what it is said above, they're going to have high entry requirments.

 

[merillem]

...fees I presume are around $60k a year, which isn't that much.

Good to know that 180K for an UG degree isn't much for some....

 

[John555]

Good to know that 180K for an UG degree isn't much for some....

Well since undergrad degrees all take 4 years to complete in the US, that would be 240k USD...

 

[BlackDragon]

Yeah, the other thing is that as an international student you won't have access to the many scholarships and monetary programs that make it affordable to domestic students, especially for undergraduate courses. This is especially the case in Europe, but in also in America, and it would simply cost so much that most people simply couldn't dream of affording it. In America most people wouldn't be able to afford it in any case. If you are a strong student and you want to do postgraduate studies then research opportunities and scholarships increase alot, but there are still the same problems. It is just difficult to get in and extremely expensive.

 

[Yasser Arafat]

haha i wonder

shit troll

 

[artist91]

Pretty sure this is a troll but anyway...

As people have stated it is much harder to get admitted to top-tier us colleges because of the quality/sheer number of applicants. When you look at it, places like USyd and UMelb will accept pretty much anyone into an Arts degree where as Yale will only accept like 8% of applicants.

And btw, I think that you are making it sound easier than it is. The ECs you listed will not get you into any great colleges. You need about quadruple the number and at a very high level.

 

[Will Shakespear]

I was captain of my under 12's soccer team

That'll at least get me into Brown, right?

 

[Deathless]

Nah I'm not saying I'm amazing. I am saying there is no point going to Ivy league universities. You learn the same shit anyway. What's the difference between a MBA in Oxford or Cambridge and in Singapore? The content is the same stuff.

But yeah I get the point about high creditentials... and money don't mean shit - you can borrow it (even a cat can get a credit card), you can get it from Aust government or you can borrow from your parents. I just don't believe there should be so much hype about these universities that's all.

 

[Deathless]

Yeah yeah I know, I was just listing shit, you can just bull crap about everything you do - e.g. the guy from our school who went to Yale just bull crapped about how he did World Vision or some other stuff.

Since that guy was a faggot, I deduced that the universities like Harvard are just for snobs etc.

 

[runnable]

1) You don't learn the same 'shit'. The professors and resources are on a different level. Networking too. Take a UWS degree and try to convince the employer that it's actually the same 'shit' as Harvard.
2) MBA from Judge/Said are not 1st tier, maybe not even 2nd. Good chance a b-school in Singapore beats them. Insead, Nanyang are both good choices.
3) You are a troll, or really ignorant.

 

[Foodie]

It's not hard to get into these ivy leagues if 1) Your family is OMGWTF rich (these institutions are whores for endowments), or 2) One of your parents/grandparents attended the institution or other ivy leagues previously ( you're a legacy and considered 'one of them').

Otherwise, you have to be pretty goddamn smart and bright.

 

[Survivor39]

2) MBA from Judge/Said are not 1st tier, maybe not even 2nd. Good chance a b-school in Singapore beats them. Insead, Nanyang are both good choices.

The MBA program from Nanyang is ranked 27th in the World this year according to Financial Times, slightly ahead of UNSW (36th). Both are lower than Oxford (16th) and Cambridge (21st) and INSEAD (5th).

Business school rankings and MBA rankings from the Financial Times

 

[runnable]

The MBA program from Nanyang is ranked 27th in the World this year according to Financial Times, slightly ahead of UNSW (36th). Both are lower than Oxford (16th) and Cambridge (21st) and INSEAD (5th).

Business school rankings and MBA rankings from the Financial Times

True. I said Nanyang is a good choice, one doesn't have to be in Oxbridge to do quality MBAs .

 

[Deathless]

Do uncles count?

My uncle went to Harvard and he's jobless lol (but he's in retirement age but still... he got conned and lost heaps LOL - he was in it ageees ago though he's like 70+ now, he's so old now but he is asian so it was a big thing during his time).

At the other person who said there is difference between a MBA from Harvard and others - if you compare people who genuinely want to do well and people who care next to nothing, then your not comparing at all... Theories are essentially the same and there is nothing special or someone being better because they've got one from Harvard and not some other university/college besides the prestige.

Oh and if I am wrong well sorry mr smartiepants but that's what I overheard from a conversation of strangers besides me who went to a MBA in Oxford or some ivy-league uni not sure, he was middle aged I think. Also Singapore ain't that bad it's ranked 5th isnt it? That'd be two places behind Harvard?

 

[xeuyrawp]

It's not hard to get into these ivy leagues if 1) Your family is OMGWTF rich (these institutions are whores for endowments), or 2) One of your parents/grandparents attended the institution or other ivy leagues previously ( you're a legacy and considered 'one of them').

Otherwise, you have to be pretty goddamn smart and bright.

Pretty sure that even legacy and endowment don't make it 'not hard' to get into Ivy Leagues, generally speaking.

 

[artist91]

No uncles don't count as legacy. Only parents. And they whole 'it's easy to get in if you're a legacy' thing isn't really true, you still have to be an excellent applicant it just helps you if you're on the cutoff and gives you good hooks for your alum interview. People just say that because Bush got into Yale with mediocre scores but if your the president's son they might make an exception lol.

 

[Monstar]

At this rate i probably wont even get into vassa...

IVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR VASSA BASHING YOUNG LADY

 

[compache]

People at Harvard Need to Have More Sex | LimeLife

I'll leave you with this.