RiseToTheTop
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Plenty of people have succeed with educations considered far "inferior" to Vandy so I'd argue your statement is false. A teaching degree from Vandy is worth no more than a teaching degree from MTSU. Law degree and probably an MBA from Vandy likely command a higher starting salary than elsewhere but many disciplines are irrelevant.
That's like saying more 3 stars make it to the NFL. The fact of the matter is an education from a private or ivy league university (of which vandy pretends to be, but isn't) carries far more clout anywhere you go than from another place.
Your comparison of a teaching degree from vandy and MTSU is a bit if a misnomer. If they are applying for the same job? sure. it pays the same. But a degree from a top end school most likely isn't going to be applying to the same places as a state school, unless they just have a huge desire for that district, and that's where connections matter as much as anything, of which, once more, generally the best connections will come from a private or ivy league school.
It's kinda like how the NFL looks at the SEC right now with getting football players. A player rushing for 1000 yards in the big ten is not as impressive as a player rushing for 1000 in the SEC, and one could even argue its not as impressive as rushing for 900 or 850 in the SEC.
Unlike conferences in sports though, education isn't very cyclical. The best schools have always, and mostly will always be, the best schools.
I don't think his argument was that MTSU is a better school than Vandy or vice versa.
He did after all state that folks who get a law degree from Vandy will certainly get higher pay than from lesser schools.
However, I do understand the point that certain degrees from so called "lesser schools" can and do mean more than equivalent degrees from Vandy. In this case it isn't about saying "Hey I went to Vandy" because that might not mean much if the department that it is in is not very good.
Case in point. I was offered a chance to go to Vandy when I graduated high school but I chose to go to UT. Why? Because UT has the better Anthropology department which is what I'm interested in. Does Vandy have an anthropology department? Yes but it is focused highly on archaeology and not physical, I could still get an education on physical anthropology at Vandy but it would not be nearly as complete as one at UT. Therefore, since I wanted to pursue my masters and my doctorate, it was in my better interest to go to the "lesser" school that had the better program, UT.
So when it was time to apply to my master's program, it is far more impressive that I was a volunteer at the body farm and conducted research with the donated collection at UT, then it would be sitting in lecture halls at Vandy. I did go on a field school through Vandy, but that was archaeological and not physical anthropology, again not as helpful for my career.
I know this is just my own personal example but it is a valid point that depending on the degree and the program, so called "lesser" schools can be more valuable than the "higher education" ones.
I don't think his argument was that MTSU is a better school than Vandy or vice versa.
He did after all state that folks who get a law degree from Vandy will certainly get higher pay than from lesser schools.
However, I do understand the point that certain degrees from so called "lesser schools" can and do mean more than equivalent degrees from Vandy. In this case it isn't about saying "Hey I went to Vandy" because that might not mean much if the department that it is in is not very good.
Case in point. I was offered a chance to go to Vandy when I graduated high school but I chose to go to UT. Why? Because UT has the better Anthropology department which is what I'm interested in. Does Vandy have an anthropology department? Yes but it is focused highly on archaeology and not physical, I could still get an education on physical anthropology at Vandy but it would not be nearly as complete as one at UT. Therefore, since I wanted to pursue my masters and my doctorate, it was in my better interest to go to the "lesser" school that had the better program, UT.
So when it was time to apply to my master's program, it is far more impressive that I was a volunteer at the body farm and conducted research with the donated collection at UT, then it would be sitting in lecture halls at Vandy. I did go on a field school through Vandy, but that was archaeological and not physical anthropology, again not as helpful for my career.
I know this is just my own personal example but it is a valid point that depending on the degree and the program, so called "lesser" schools can be more valuable than the "higher education" ones.
Nerwen, it is always good to encounter another product of UT's grad program in Anthropology. I completed my M.A. in 1996, with specialization in cultural anthropology, and then went on to Indiana University for doctoral study. Is the department still located in South Stadium Hall or have they begun to finally make the official move out of its old home? In my day, we could legitimately claim that we spent more time in Neyland Stadium than the football team.
If you were going on to grad school somewhere I would argue that an undergrad degree from Vandy would be a monumental waste if money.
You know you enjoy Vandy's failure too much when you've read vandymania to the point you know which of their posters are the biggest pieces of s***. Fwiw I don't post, only read. But yeah... these are the worst posters:
ChiDore
GerryN
bhoyal
jones2mitchell
bek7567
Those have to be the worst posters on that board.
In my specific example (Aerospace Engineering) a degree from UT wouldn't be seen any differently than one from Vandy. If you were going on to grad school somewhere I would argue that an undergrad degree from Vandy would be a monumental waste if money. Lots of fields don't care where you went to undergrad. They only care about your field of research and thesis topic in grad school.
I don't think his argument was that MTSU is a better school than Vandy or vice versa.
He did after all state that folks who get a law degree from Vandy will certainly get higher pay than from lesser schools.
However, I do understand the point that certain degrees from so called "lesser schools" can and do mean more than equivalent degrees from Vandy. In this case it isn't about saying "Hey I went to Vandy" because that might not mean much if the department that it is in is not very good.
Case in point. I was offered a chance to go to Vandy when I graduated high school but I chose to go to UT. Why? Because UT has the better Anthropology department which is what I'm interested in. Does Vandy have an anthropology department? Yes but it is focused highly on archaeology and not physical, I could still get an education on physical anthropology at Vandy but it would not be nearly as complete as one at UT. Therefore, since I wanted to pursue my masters and my doctorate, it was in my better interest to go to the "lesser" school that had the better program, UT.
So when it was time to apply to my master's program, it is far more impressive that I was a volunteer at the body farm and conducted research with the donated collection at UT, then it would be sitting in lecture halls at Vandy. I did go on a field school through Vandy, but that was archaeological and not physical anthropology, again not as helpful for my career.
I know this is just my own personal example but it is a valid point that depending on the degree and the program, so called "lesser" schools can be more valuable than the "higher education" ones.
Actually the programs I applied to cared very deeply for the program, a friend of mind with more outside expereiance, better grades and a personal relationship with the department was only offered a certificate position (not full grad school) whereas I got in because I came from a stronger program and she did not
