UCLA versus UT Austin or Texas A&M

[2B]

If you are still talking about UCLA vs UT Austin, then I'm in agreement with you.

MIT vs UT Austin is a totally different story, and it has nothing to do with chest puffing either. At least chest puffing and impressing others do not apply to me.

I've worked with graduates from all over. I was a manager in the petrochemical industry for way too long. One thing I saw was that no school (including MIT) had any advantage over any other in managerial or technical promotions or salary. I used the "five years" comment to adjust for slightly higher starting salaries some schools' new grads get. I can attest to this premium disappearing in about 2 or 3 years.

I guess the point is....The schools with the reputations of being top tier aren't the ones winning these contests. In fact, they haven't come close.

Different schools emphasize different things. It's not part of the degree plan so it often comes down to whether a faculty member is willing to organize the contest participation and whether they push it.

I was personally involved in a contest while in college but I wouldn't use my "winning" as an endorsement of the UW's engineering program or detracting in any way from the "losers" programs. It was nice to have that on my resume as a new grad. Now I'd never bring it up in an interview let alone put it on my resume.

 

[Sam]

2B, thanks for sharing your experience.