School Difficulty Forum

[Plato's Thought]

Is the work, at say, a T15 school, much more difficult than the work at a school ranked around 50 or 100? Generally, what makes a school more difficult than another school? Any transfer students want to answer this question?

[sundance95]

Are you asking if the work is more difficult, or if it is more difficult to do well in terms of GPA? The curriculum is largely the same per ABA standards (lol), but at higher ranked schools you are competing against tougher competition.

[NU_Jet55]

Not really much different at different schools. Course load largely depends on your specific professor. The level of difficulty depends on how good your section-mates are at taking exams.

[Plato's Thought]

Are you asking if the work is more difficult, or if it is more difficult to do well in terms of GPA? The curriculum is largely the same per ABA standards (lol), but at higher ranked schools you are competing against tougher competition.

If the work is more difficult in terms of assignments given, competition notwithstanding. At Duke would I have to do more work that is harder than say, the University of Wisconsin or Kansas?

[D-ROCCA]

I think it's impossible to answer this question. On the one hand, higher ranked schools tend to draw more qualified students, so the competition is difficult because everyone around you is so smart. On the other hand, it's damn hard to get top grades even at lower ranked schools because everyone knows they need great grades to get a job, so they bust their ass. It's probably easier to be above median at a T2 than at a T-14, but if you're looking for top 5% grades, it's damn hard everywhere.

[vissidarte27]

The way I see it, the bar is the same no matter where you go (state differences nonwithstanding).

If you go to Berkley or you go to Podunk CA Law School, you'll still have to take the California bar.

[BruceWayne]

Are you asking if the work is more difficult, or if it is more difficult to do well in terms of GPA? The curriculum is largely the same per ABA standards (lol), but at higher ranked schools you are competing against tougher competition.

This. The kids here at UVA GO HARD. One thing that I will say about UVA is that the whole "laid back" then is a bit overplayed. People are laid back in the sense that they aren't assholes (for the most part) but they gun hard. It's one of the things that makes me laugh about the school; everyone talks about how they are not a gunner and how it's so uncool to be a gunner, but then they gun there ass off. I'm starting to understand that what these people mean when they say they aren't gunners, is that they don't ask a lot of in class questions or raise their hand a lot in class. But really their just doing this because they're afraid that they may give away some magical answer that will cause someone else to get an A and not them.

[DoubleChecks]

I think it's impossible to answer this question. On the one hand, higher ranked schools tend to draw more qualified students, so the competition is difficult because everyone around you is so smart. On the other hand, it's damn hard to get top grades even at lower ranked schools because everyone knows they need great grades to get a job, so they bust their ass. It's probably easier to be above median at a T2 than at a T-14, but if you're looking for top 5% grades, it's damn hard everywhere.

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