> Your example from higher education is telling. I got my undergraduate
> degree from a decent state school, the U. of Wisconsin's Madison campus,
and
> went on to Columbia for grad school.
Decent? Madison is probably one of the top half-dozen state schools in the nation (Berkeley, UCLA, Austin, Ann Arbor, and Virginia are all of comparable quality).
> Were the Columbia students any smarter? Not really.
Other Ivy Leaguers have told me the same thing. I don't believe them.
> Was the undergraduate education any better? That's hard to say--each
place has its
> particular advantages and disadvantages, and in any case a great many
variables affect the
> experience of any individual student.
The best public universities boast top-notch graduate programs--off of the top of my head, I can tell you that Michigan's philosophy, political science, and sociology departments are routinely ranked among the nation's five best, and it's English department is right outside of the top ten. As an undergrad, though, a lot of your courses will be taught by TAs (or Graduate Student Instructors, as they're called in these parts--one of the concessions won by the graduate students' union).
-- Luke