Stanford vs Oregon academics

All on you wrote:

altoroad wrote:

Because you don't necessarily know what your major will be.

Why would you start college without knowing what you're gonna major in? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard (unless the school is giving you a free ride). You should go to community college or figure out what you want before you start spending loads of money and debt.

Many students do know when they matriculate -- they're going to major in chemistry or biology and go to med school. After a semester or two of chemistry, they often discover an interest in, say, religion or english.

Unless you're planning to do a vocational major, you should just pick something you find interesting. If you find nothing interesting, maybe you should not be in college.

Whoops that should be "All on you," not "altoroad." Altoroad knows what he's talking about, meant to call out the (less knowledgeable poster) All on you.

Listen to me bros wrote:

Oh and to the entrepreneur who said they'd hire the Chico kid over the Harvard kid:

You have to remember that the college an applicant attends is a signaling mechanism for their ENTIRE life before they went to college; i.e. there is a reason the Harvard kid was able to go to Harvard and the Chico kid had to go to Chico. Granted, that reason may be the Harvard kid's wealthy uncle or the Chico kid's need to stay home near his sick mother, but 9 times out of 10 the Harvard kid is just better. That's how the world works.

No, the Chico kid gets the job. The Harvard kid is not "better."

I have hired many people. The reason the Chico kid gets the job is that they will likely be the employee who is happy being a member of a team. They can be productive and climb the ladder over time.

A Harvard, high GPA, type is often an employee who wants to be the boss from the get-go. The business world does not work that way.

The Harvard grad is more likely to quit for greener pastures. The company loses their investment training this type of employee.

My counselor says Chico State is at the same academic level at Oregon. But I'd rather go to San Jose State or San Diego State myself.

you are a joke wrote:

Also, to those saying that some major programs are stronger at Oregon than they are at Stanford, you are wrong. No undergrad program at Oregon is anywhere near any undergrad major at Stanford.

That is not true at all. I know off the top of my head that sports business/marketing majors are much better at Oregon. So you don't know what you're talking about

> sports business/marketing majors are much better at Oregon

no they aren't

the only thing UO has that Stanford has is the quarter system

Not a real major.

lol lol lol lol lol lol lol wrote:

> sports business/marketing majors are much better at Oregon

no they aren't

the only thing UO has that Stanford has is the quarter system

How do you know those programs aren't better at Oregon? Do you just "feel" that way or did you even look it up or think about it?

fact: parking lot is empty at ore. open enrollment. same level as cal state u & lane cc.

fact: parking lot is empty at ore. open enrollment. same level as cal state u & lane cc.

How do you know those programs aren't better at Oregon? Do you just "feel" that way or did you even look it up or think about it?

In the PAC-12 the 4 Calis are top 10 in the world, the rest are 'forget about it'.

The dark side of the PAC-12 are the war criminal faculty in physics and engineering especially from China, Israel, Iran, Pakistan, India and of course the good old U.S.A.

Hirer of peeps wrote:

No, the Chico kid gets the job. The Harvard kid is not "better."

I have hired many people. The reason the Chico kid gets the job is that they will likely be the employee who is happy being a member of a team. They can be productive and climb the ladder over time.

A Harvard, high GPA, type is often an employee who wants to be the boss from the get-go. The business world does not work that way.

The Harvard grad is more likely to quit for greener pastures. The company loses their investment training this type of employee.

Okay, so people should choose UO over Stanford so that they will develop lower expectations for themselves and therefore be better able to succeed in less desirable workplaces.

All on you wrote:You are missing the point.

It all depends on the major. If you want to be an engineer, of course Stanford will be among the best schools that you can go to. But if your major is something else, then Stanford may not be the best choice or anywhere close to the best choice. There are plenty of things that Oregon is better at.

How do you not understand that?

This is a weak argument. "D" quality at a better school. When it has been clearly established that no major worth studying is better at UO than at Stanford, you can't base your argument on the vague assertion that "plenty of things are better at Oregon."

As an Oregon grad, this is a really silly discussion, and I'm not sure how or why it got started. I don't think anyone at Oregon would honestly argue that they are getting a better education than they would at Stanford. There are however, reasons to go to Oregon, maybe even over Stanford.

Say you have a high school student who is smart enough to get into either school. This kid happens to be from the state of Oregon, say Portland, and he intends to move back to Portland when he graduates. This kid also has to pay for all his education through loans.

Oregon costs about $15,000 - $20,000 a year, living expenses included. Stanford costs $40,000 a year, tuition only. This kid can finance 100% of expenses at Oregon, work hard, and get a job in Portland paying $40K a year right out of school and be $80,000 in debt. Or, he can go to Stanford, finance all of it, move back to Portland, get a job for maybe $45 - $55K a year, and have $200K in student debt. When you factor in tuition plus interest on debt, that Stanford education costs a whole lot more and in certain markets, like Portland, doesn't do that much for you job wise. Further, while the Stanford guy might get paid more right away, he's doing the same job and is up against the same people for promotions, and at that point it's all job performance.

Over his whole life, it might still be better for this kid to go to Stanford, but maybe not. There are plenty of people in Portland Oregon making plenty of money with Oregon degrees.

Now, no one will argue that Oregon will get you into Google, or into Investment Banking at Goldman, etc. If this is what you really want to do, go to the proper school. Or, if you want to become a doctor, go into high level research, or any of the other things people have argued on this thread, go to the proper school.

But, if you want to get a good solid job in secondary market where the brand on your degree matters less, don't waste your money.

So, that's why one might choose Oregon over Stanford and have it be a reasonable choice.

Very sensible post. I completely agree.

Stanford also has one of the most generous financial aid programs though. If your family makes less than $60,000 a year, all tuition, room, and board is paid for by Stanford. If your family makes less than $100,000 per year, all tuition is covered. The amount of debt you accumulate at Stanford is probably less than that at Oregon for almost any middle class family because of this.

So, in reality, there is almost no reason to not choose Stanford if you are admitted.

Argumentation wrote:

All on you wrote:You are missing the point.

It all depends on the major. If you want to be an engineer, of course Stanford will be among the best schools that you can go to. But if your major is something else, then Stanford may not be the best choice or anywhere close to the best choice. There are plenty of things that Oregon is better at.

How do you not understand that?

This is a weak argument. "D" quality at a better school. When it has been clearly established that no major worth studying is better at UO than at Stanford, you can't base your argument on the vague assertion that "plenty of things are better at Oregon."

I didn't make a vague assertion. I listed specific programs that would make Oregon the better school to go to. Sports business, marketing, etc. Look it up. It's the top program in the country.

And you can't call that a program not worth studying. Engineers aren't the only people in the world.

And Oregon's education program is ranked higher than schools like Berkeley, USC, and NorthWestern

So once again, it depends on your major