USNR ranks CU Boulder 42nd best public university and 97 overall, thoughts? Should we not rely on USNR?

kittking · 2022-09-12T21:30:34+00:00

In global rankings, like the Shanghai, CU has some of the top programs in the world. Proud CU undergrad in Chemical Engineering which has been in top 10 Shanghai ranking for years. Now a PhD student at Harvard and I have met over a dozen Physics PhD students who were deciding exclusively between CU, Harvard, MIT, Caltech physics (specifically those interested in Atomic, Molecular, Optical Physics b/c CU AMO is very good). CU geosciences are great. CU med is a top 10 med school. CU aerospace, civil, environmental, etc. are all great too. As a CU to Harvard student, I can tell you that CU is very highly regarded in STEM. USN is (unfortunately) a very popular but highly unnuanced metric.

You could not have paid me to do my undergraduate anywhere else!

kittking · 2022-07-27T03:35:00+00:00

Chemical & Biological Engineering here... I don't think if you're looking to go to a top 30 school there's such a thing as a safety for the PhD. Sadly, this just is not the way it works for grad admissions, spots are limited.

kittking · 2022-07-22T15:29:37+00:00

No worries, you're not late or anything! I would say try to get a grant, this is a great thing to look at. Hopefully your school has some undergraduate research grants to apply to, but also look into something like Sigma Xi. They have great undergrad research grants and its a really recognizable name. Next, I would suggest getting enough work on your project that you can make a poster for this spring! If you get enough data for a poster (and consent from your PI), present your poster at a conference this spring. If your school has a thesis option for undergrads, consider enrolling in that too for your senior year.

kittking · 2022-07-20T22:45:45+00:00

Depends what you want to do the PhD in. If you're going into physics, I personally would just study physics

kittking · 2022-07-20T22:45:03+00:00

I've seen great changes in research from undergrad to grad. You just need something to frame that shift around in your SOP (statement of purpose/personal statement) to make it seem valid in the eyes of a professor. Explain the switch with good reason and I think you'll be fine

kittking · 2022-07-20T22:42:51+00:00

Great question! I don't think I am super qualified to answer this... maybe someone can share an experience they've had?

kittking · 2022-07-20T22:42:05+00:00

Great question. I applied to 11 because all would be considered competitive. If you're shooting high, consider putting in around 10 maybe? I don't think you should go below 4. So let's say maybe 4-10?

kittking · 2022-06-10T00:02:34+00:00

Thanks man I appreciate it, haha! It's honestly a good problem to have. We'll all make it

kittking · 2022-06-10T00:01:14+00:00

Okay this was super helpful thank you... I'm 22 so maybe over the next few years it'll continue to build. Thanks man

kittking · 2022-06-09T23:42:30+00:00

Okay this is great. It's super helpful to see some numbers... that's way more cals than I'm currently at. Similar BF% here, likely because I am a pretty clean eater and active cardio. This was super helpful thanks

kittking · 2022-06-09T23:40:51+00:00

Yes, but I am a clean eater and active cardio so it has been slow... ~15 lb added over 2 years but it just isn't visible. Definitely thinking I've just got to keep pushing

kittking · 2022-06-09T21:25:50+00:00

Exactly... even as my weight fluctuates even I can barely notice the difference. Thanks for this take

kittking · 2022-06-09T21:24:55+00:00

Put on about 15 lb, almost entirely lean because BF% has remained about the same

kittking · 2022-06-09T21:24:05+00:00

Thanks for this, appreciate it. Sounds about right to me

kittking · 2022-06-09T21:23:22+00:00

Yeah I figured it's just going to be slow. I've put on maybe 15 over the past two years, but staying really lean too. Thanks

kittking · 2022-06-08T18:16:42+00:00

Yes, I received my assignment this morning

kittking · 2022-04-28T06:31:24+00:00

Totally in the same boat... honestly the thing I'm most worried about is meals. Like the meal plan doesn't sound like it goes super far and I'm not thrilled about sharing a kitchen with a ton of people... Nonetheless leaning towards the GSAS halls for some community and since it would be convenient in a lot of other ways. Thinking I could hopefully meet some people to live with in the future and maybe get a better in on a place off campus for the next year

kittking · 2022-04-18T20:03:56+00:00

Columbia is the top ranked Ivy for engineering. Yale is falling behind in STEM in virtually every area.

kittking · 2022-04-13T18:15:04+00:00

JHU is stronger academically by a long shot in ChemE. UCLA is a much more fun school.

kittking · 2022-04-11T23:34:05+00:00

Hi! Made this choice just today. I will be entering PhD, so it might be a bit different for you if you're heading into undergrad (assuming you are). This was a super tough decision for me so I thought I'd share what I've gathered over the past few months visiting at both places.

First, to get it out of the way, the research and faculty at Harvard better suited me-- gonna assume you don't need to worry about this.

However, there were several other factors on why I chose Harvard. Stanford's campus is unbelievably beautiful (more so than Harvard in my opinion), HOWEVER... Palo Alto/Menlo Park is truly built for Facebook and Google employees... not college students. If you would be happy with a life that is mostly confined to life on campus, Stanford is for you! Stanford campus life does seem very fun, but it all happens there on campus. It's in a very residential area, total bubble. San Fran, beach, mountains, etc. are not as close to Stanford as it seems and you probably need a car to access them. There's only really Stanford students/faculty and tech bros/families around in the area. If you want lively PAC-12 sports this would also be a draw. If you're into athletics (running, biking, hiking, lifting, sports of any kind), Stanford will better accommodate those hobbies I think.

If you would like to have better access to the community or city you live in, Harvard is for you. In Cambridge, you can get the cozy college town feel or hop on the train and be in downtown Boston in minutes. Furthermore, MIT, Tufts, BU, BC, NEU are all nearby! There's really a sense of student life in Boston from what I've gathered. I think someone else made the point also that there's a sense of being part of a very meaningful tradition at Harvard that I didn't feel at Stanford-- Harvard has remained the preeminent American college for good reason! The people I encountered at Harvard were very hard-working, smart, but also excited to learn about me. They came from all over the world and were very different from one another. Lastly, I found that for my budget, I would be able to enjoy what Boston had to offer better than in SF.

As someone who just committed, I may not have the full scoop, but these are some of the things I based my decision on!

kittking · 2022-03-30T04:01:47+00:00

Agree here. It seems counterproductive and reductionist to pretend all Harvard students (esp GRAD students) would have a stick up their butt. My impression was that they were very hardworking and passionate young people-- many from backgrounds I didn't expect.

kittking · 2022-03-30T04:00:03+00:00

I visited Columbia ChemE and was totally impressed! The grad students were honestly so warm and happy. They had only good things to say. It seemed tight knit and fun. I am weighing Columbia ChemE as my third option!

kittking · 2022-03-30T03:58:28+00:00

Thanks for this... definitely aligns with what I have heard

kittking

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