DiscussMormonism.com

lulu wrote:http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/galleries/2012/08/05/college-rankings-2012-least-rigorous-schools-photos.html#slide11

I did my first and third (last) year of undergrad at BYU. My second year at a small (<10,000) state university. At the state U., I was surprised that it took 2X the effort in each class to get a grade as it had at BYU during my freshman year. I dismissed it as the difference between taking 200 (and some 300) level classes that second year. I returned to BYU for my final year and B.S. The effort in those 300 and 400 classes was surprisingly just about mid-way between the effort of the BYU 100s and the state U.'s 200 and 300 level. So, from my own undergrad experience, 30+ years ago, I'd say yes to the title question. BYU 300 and 400 classes were appreciably easier than 200 and 300 at the state U.

In my JD work at BYU's law school, I finished that in 5 semesters. I went one semester to another law school considered at the time to have a similar ranking. Difficult wise? No difference. The biggest difference was that BYU Law was more focused on theory, while the teaching approach at the other was more practical oriented. Both have their merits. Each semester of JD work required about 2X the effort a semester at BYU undergrad had taken. But I saw no difference, JD program to JD program.

I earned an LLM (tax law) from a third law school. Each semester there was a serious ratchet up of effort required over JD work. I went from a 3.4 last semester of JD work to getting a D on the first paper I submitted in my LLM program. (I dug down deeper, redoubled my efforts and ended the LLM program with 3.35.)

Might have posted this here before. If so, I apologize for repeating myself.

I have children who graduated from BYU and children who graduated from a state university. Only two schools involved here.

The average income of those who attended state university is now pretty much three times that of the BYU grads. Other factors are involved for sure - but just saying.

So many factors are involved here that it would be difficult to tell. The most important difference: choice of major.

I view a number of undergraduate degrees as kind of a joke. These are the degrees that do not challenge but nevertheless provide that important "piece of paper" that is used to separate those who had managed to stick out college from those who had not gone or had not graduated.

I would say that any degree that requires significant mathematical or linguistic skill in order to survive and graduate is difficult to fudge. (Even in the softer majors there are ways of taking it easy and ways of getting a rigorous education.) Look at how undergraduates who have matriculated from a particular school perform in graduate school as compared to their peers.

Can a dope fart around and get a degree in Business, Communications, English, or Psychology? I think so. And they probably can in most universities in the country.

Can a dope fart around, get into the MBA program at Wharton, and there graduate in the top 10% of the program?

Highly unlikely.

I did some pre-mission, freshman generals at UofU, BS at BYU, and then MS at UofU.

I didn't see a difference in the level of difficulty. I will say, however, that a 3rd year law class at UofU took the cake on difficulty. You lawyers have my respect.

BYU was sheltered from the Universe. That is about the only difference. You see more cigarettes, skateboards, short shorts, and beards at UofU.

i can't compare to other universities, but apart from a handful of upper level courses in my major and the honors electives i took, every class i took at BYU was at a high school level of rigor.

in the religion dept i would say more like middle school level, which was a big disappointment to me.

palerobber wrote:i can't compare to other universities, but apart from a handful of upper level courses in my major and the honors electives i took, every class i took at BYU was at a high school level of rigor.

in the religion dept i would say more like middle school level, which was a big disappointment to me.

I was a Classics major at BYU. Learning to read ancient Greek and Latin up to the 4000 level, and being encouraged to learn some French and German as well, was probably a stiff enough intellectual challenge for the majority of people. In fact, not very many people could pull it off.

Kishkumen wrote:

palerobber wrote:i can't compare to other universities, but apart from a handful of upper level courses in my major and the honors electives i took, every class i took at BYU was at a high school level of rigor.

in the religion dept i would say more like middle school level, which was a big disappointment to me.

I was a Classics major at BYU. Learning to read ancient Greek and Latin up to the 4000 level, and being encouraged to learn some French and German as well, was probably a stiff enough intellectual challenge for the majority of people. In fact, not very many people could pull it off.

Any idea how Classics at BYU compares, on the rigor scale, to Classics programs at other U's?

There was a minimum requirement of credits in the Religious Education Department when I attended. As noted above the classes were ridiculously easy. In other schools I imagine that those credits would be fulfilled with some practical real life education as opposed to the religious propaganda fed to us at BYU.

Kishkumen wrote:So many factors are involved here that it would be difficult to tell. The most important difference: choice of major.

This. I find that many of these types of rankings are useless. Discipline or program rankings are vastly more meaningful. I would imagine that the rigor of the different degree programs at BYU vary greatly, just as they do at most other universities.