Just posted a reply to Mel Murphy, who wrote,
“Read your article. Having kids in the college selection mode, and having received mailings and invitations from WUSTL as well as other “prestigious” institutions, I am most appreciative and find it eye-opening. Caveat emptor, indeed”
I think the following is useful advice for anyone looking at schools.
“Maybe, I can help with another suggestion. Get someone who knows a field well to look at online tests for a course in that field. Be careful to try to find out how the test is graded. You can get a lot of useful information that way. I look at calculus courses. For example, Reed College and the University of Michigan are very different. After I looked at the syllabus for calculus and the tests and grading, I was less surprised that a much higher percentage of Reed’s graduates go on to get PhD’s in STEM fields. (For a comparison of several schools you can look at http://www.inside-higher-ed.com/college-rankings/baccalaureate-to-ph-d-in-science-and-engineering-feeder-schools/ on my blog.)”
Recent Comments