does reputation really matter?

[terbo]

i mean, let's say i graduate from one of these programs and my grades are as good and my thesis/dissertation is roughly as profound as it would have been at another school, will a program ranked #50 do that much more for me than a program ranked #100?

i'm sure this has been discussed but thoughts? grads out there?

[lambert]

I mean that depends on too many things so no answer will be satisfactory. You can generally do groundbreaking research while being a phd student in the most obscure Russian university and still become a top tier mathematician, and this has happened in the past. But it's a general fact that the further in you go in academia, the less spots are available for you. If you're aiming at a top post-doc, for example, and you come from a school ranked in the 100s, you would be competing likely with dozens of strong people from Harvard, U Chicago, MIT and the like for 3 or 4 spots. So the odds would be stacked against you. I also hear that it's hard to "jump" from group 2 schools to group 1 schools later in your academic career, but again YMMV.

If you don't care about academia and want to land a job after PhD, I think in most cases people won't care too much beyond the fact that you got your PhD somewhere.

[FreddieBiddleBooty]

I was actually talking to one of my advisors about this yesterday. He said that, by far, quality of research trumps reputation of school, but that reputation does play a factor. If you're confident enough to say that you can produce great results no matter the school, then choice of school may not be as important as, say, where the school is located and who/what kind of people work there. You'll want to be contempt with where you are and who you're working with in order to make it through your PhD. If you're miserable the whole time then it would be miles harder.

I just recently accepted an offer from a school ranked in the 70's. I was waitlisted to UIUC, Ohio, and Boulder. But I visited this university and loved the program, met a potential advisor who seems like an awesome person, whole faculty was very welcoming. The area was beautiful and my wife and I could really see ourselves living there for the next 5 years. After my visit they granted me an extra fellowship, so they really wanted me to attend. And I think that's important (to me at least).

[junglemath]

I was actually talking to one of my advisors about this yesterday. He said that, by far, quality of research trumps reputation of school, but that reputation does play a factor. If you're confident enough to say that you can produce great results no matter the school, then choice of school may not be as important as, say, where the school is located and who/what kind of people work there. You'll want to be contempt with where you are and who you're working with in order to make it through your PhD. If you're miserable the whole time then it would be miles harder.

I just recently accepted an offer from a school ranked in the 70's. I was waitlisted to UIUC, Ohio, and Boulder. But I visited this university and loved the program, met a potential advisor who seems like an awesome person, whole faculty was very welcoming. The area was beautiful and my wife and I could really see ourselves living there for the next 5 years. After my visit they granted me an extra fellowship, so they really wanted me to attend. And I think that's important (to me at least).

Wow, your story sounds very similar to mine. We also visited a 70 something school recently and were very happy with the people and the location, so we will be attending.

[FreddieBiddleBooty]

I was actually talking to one of my advisors about this yesterday. He said that, by far, quality of research trumps reputation of school, but that reputation does play a factor. If you're confident enough to say that you can produce great results no matter the school, then choice of school may not be as important as, say, where the school is located and who/what kind of people work there. You'll want to be contempt with where you are and who you're working with in order to make it through your PhD. If you're miserable the whole time then it would be miles harder.

I just recently accepted an offer from a school ranked in the 70's. I was waitlisted to UIUC, Ohio, and Boulder. But I visited this university and loved the program, met a potential advisor who seems like an awesome person, whole faculty was very welcoming. The area was beautiful and my wife and I could really see ourselves living there for the next 5 years. After my visit they granted me an extra fellowship, so they really wanted me to attend. And I think that's important (to me at least).

Wow, your story sounds very similar to mine. We also visited a 70 something school recently and were very happy with the people and the location, so we will be attending.

Very cool! FSU right? Congrats! Hope you enjoy it there.

[junglemath]

I was actually talking to one of my advisors about this yesterday. He said that, by far, quality of research trumps reputation of school, but that reputation does play a factor. If you're confident enough to say that you can produce great results no matter the school, then choice of school may not be as important as, say, where the school is located and who/what kind of people work there. You'll want to be contempt with where you are and who you're working with in order to make it through your PhD. If you're miserable the whole time then it would be miles harder.

I just recently accepted an offer from a school ranked in the 70's. I was waitlisted to UIUC, Ohio, and Boulder. But I visited this university and loved the program, met a potential advisor who seems like an awesome person, whole faculty was very welcoming. The area was beautiful and my wife and I could really see ourselves living there for the next 5 years. After my visit they granted me an extra fellowship, so they really wanted me to attend. And I think that's important (to me at least).

Wow, your story sounds very similar to mine. We also visited a 70 something school recently and were very happy with the people and the location, so we will be attending.

Very cool! FSU right? Congrats! Hope you enjoy it there.

Thanks. What about you?

[FreddieBiddleBooty]

Thanks. What about you?

I'll be attending U of Tennessee