Biases about BYU outside of Utah

[_ttribe]

Except that the ranking of the sum of all its parts does make a difference when you are trying to get a job.

Again - that's not necessarily the case either. Again going back to my own example in accounting: the Big 4 accounting firms (Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers) identify only a handful of "National Recruiting Schools" - schools that they don't rely on local offices to recruit from; they send a national team and it includes very big events. BYU is one of those for the Big 4 accounting firms.

[_The Dude]

There was an accountant who fell from a 5-story building onto a parked car and was still alive. The paramedic told him it was a miracle that he lived through that - noting that the only way to survive that kind of impact would be if he was in a completely relaxed state. The accountant replied, "While I was falling, my life flashed before my eyes and it was so boring I fell asleep."

That was a good one...I'll admit it.

Yeah, lol. I'll have to remember this joke for the family reunion in Utah this summer. Half of them are accountants, the other half are lawyers. I am the only black sheep (in so many ways).

[_Enuma Elish]

BYU degrees are not highly regarded. I know that having a BYU degree will hurt a candidate applying for employment or grad school. It is a school that does not carry a strong academic reputation. Therein is the problem. Academic reputation.

But it is looked upon better than the Univ. of Utah. Utah is basically considered mediocre at best.

This is why moving my kids west is a large issue. The lack of good universities is a problem.

Not at all true. Best not to confuse athletic conferences and/or college sports with the validity of an academic degree. Based upon my personal experiences with Ivy league institutions, I suspect you would be more than a bit shocked to learn of the inordinate amount of BYU college graduates both teaching at and attending these universities.

This was an interesting report recently concerning the fact that BYU ranks higher than any other school including Harvard in terms of student acceptance. BYU degrees are highly thought of both in the academic and professional circuits.

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/a ... 673ab.html

Here is the US News Word Report listing BYU as number 1 in terms of obtaining student acceptance, and one of the best universities in the world overall (I believe it was number 71, which is pretty damn good!)

http://www.usnews.com/articles/educatio ... rsity.html

[_JohnStuartMill]

Enuma, BYU is a decent university, but it's not an outstanding one. The only evidence you've given to the contrary is either anecdotal, or is the collection of choices made by high school students who were inculcated with the belief that BYU is specially favored by the Creator of the universe. That's not very good evidence of BYU's reputation in the eyes of employers and elite academicians.

[_Enuma Elish]

Enuma, BYU is a decent university, but it's not an outstanding one. The only evidence you've given to the contrary is either anecdotal, or is the collection of choices made by high school students who were inculcated with the belief that BYU is specially favored by the Creator of the universe. That's not very good evidence of BYU's reputation in the eyes of employers and elite academicians.

That's complete nonsense! It is a fact that BYU graduates both teach at and attend the most prestigious programs in the world! It is also a fact that due to BYU's demand, it is the #1 university in the world in terms of acquiring its highly intelligent, talented student population.

Now, whether or not BYU is an "outstanding" university is purely subjective. So thanks for sharing your opinion. I'll share mine.

I believe BYU is an "outstanding" school! Having worked for several years directly with LDS students attending Harvard, MIT, Wellesley, etc., if any of my children are accepted to BYU, as a father, there is no school I would rather they attend for undergraduate studies!

BYU offers an outstanding academic experience, an unparalleled social atmosphere for Latter-day Satin students, and a truly outstanding spiritual environment. BYU students who work hard, have no trouble whatsoever moving on to the most prestigious graduate programs and professional assignments in the country.

So in my opinion, it's not only an "outstanding" university, but the best undergraduate school on the face of the planet.

[_The Dude]

It is also a fact that due to BYU's demand, it is the #1 university in the world in terms of acquiring its highly intelligent, talented student population.

Is this a reference to BYU's rating as the #1 "most popular" university? If so, lol.

[_Enuma Elish]

It is also a fact that due to BYU's demand, it is the #1 university in the world in terms of acquiring its highly intelligent, talented student population.

Is this a reference to BYU's rating as the #1 "most popular" university? If so, lol.

Laugh away, Dude! What do you suppose it means to be the #1 most popular university in the world? If a university acquires an incredibly large portion of the students it accepts, and has to turn away the vast majority of the students who apply, feel free to laugh away, but that school will acquire a highly intelligent, talented student population.

Do you have any idea what type of grades and test scores it takes these days to get into the "most popular" university in the world?

LOL!

[_JohnStuartMill]

It's true that there are BYU graduates at prestigious graduate programs. But this is mostly attributable to the fact that, by virtue of its religious affiliation, BYU is able to attract students who have the potential to go to more highly regarded undergraduate institutions. These people generally get high GPAs and crush the grad school admissions tests. My point is that they would have done this no matter where they went to school, and that BYU's alleged academic excellence does not explain the success of the very best BYU grads as well as this lurking variable I've identified.

[_harmony]

Laugh away, Dude! What do you suppose it means to be the #1 most popular university in the world? If a university acquires an incredibly large portion of the students it accepts, and has to turn away the vast majority of the students who apply, feel free to laugh away, but that school will acquire a highly intelligent, talented student population.

Do you have any idea what type of grades and test scores it takes these days to get into the "most popular" university in the world?

LOL!

Not to quibble, but the reason they turn away so many applicants is because so many Mormon mommies and daddies want their precious children to go to a protected environment where they're shielded from all those wicked people at state universities.

At least, that's why all the graduates in my ward apply to BYU and BYUI, even mine. The only difference is that mine turned down the offer when BYU accepted them, and instead attended in state schools, where there's a variety of cultures, colors, and world views. (Some of them still ended up ultra conservative, but no one can I didn't try.)

[_harmony]

Evidently, to US News, a university is more than the sum of its parts.

And such rankings are rather useless insomuch as they provide little or no insight to the individual with respect to particular degree programs.

In the long run, attending BYU has less to do with the degree and more to do with the increased opportunity of running into a worthy mate. Else there'd be no one who has a degree in Ag from BYU-Provo (and I know several who have them... and who met their spouses there). Which, of course, supports EE's contention that BYU is #1 "Most Popular". (kinda the most popular girl in school...) I'm not sure being "most popular" translates to "best university", but it certainly helps if all one wants is access to thousands of possible spouses. Social gatherings and all that.