It's time to connect with studying abroad (graduate or postdoctoral).Here, combining my own experience of studying and working, I will talk about the American university system and how to select American universities and mentors.
First, studying abroad should not be the ultimate goal of life pursuit, but only a process in the middle, so choosing a school and mentor (or lab, research team) that suits you is essential for your future career.I think this is the most important choice for a researcher's career. Because, what university to enter is often not under your control, and where to choose to go to graduate school has a lot of choice.Future jobs can be better if they are not satisfied, but few people will change mentors among graduate students (of course, it can be changed, but it is very expensive).
In an excellent university and excellent laboratory, the subtle training of graduate students cannot be learned in the classroom.For example, research topic selection, experimental design and method selection, presentation competence training, application for funding, publication of articles, how to find a job in academia, etc. are all trained in laboratories and research teams.Finally, and most importantly, the network (which is somewhat similar to but different from China's) is built in the laboratory.By going out for meetings and meeting with scientists who come to the lab to visit and make presentations, graduate students begin to build networks that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
What is the use of networking in the United States?Because the core academic system in the United States is peer review, that is, your achievements are judged by peers, not by countries or leaders.It takes more than three professors to write letters of recommendation (note, not only your mentor; letters of recommendation are needed not only for the first time, but also for the rest of your life in academia);So it's important for your peers (in the international academic community in your field) to understand your research, your academic level, your reputation, and even your personality.That's why reputation is more important than anything else in academia.
Second, you must have a basic understanding of the American university system before choosing a school or mentor.This system is very different from the Chinese university system we are familiar with.
1. prestigious and non-public schools.The top universities in the US News & World Report.Note that this ranking is primarily for undergraduates, not for their research capabilities.In recent years, the West has begun to cite Shanghai Jiao Tong University's world university rankings to reflect the level of research universities.I think this ranking basically reflects research ability, that is, students who want to study abroad should use this reference to judge famous and non-famous schools.The list of recognized top research universities in North America (62) should be dominated by member universities of The Association of American Universities.
2. Public and private universities.Many people may not realize that the mainstream universities in the United States are public schools (state, that is, state-funded, there are no national universities in the United States).Public universities undertake major teaching and research tasks.Among the top universities are a number of private universities, such as the eight Ivy League universities, MIT, Stanford, Duke, Northwestern and so on.However, the top 100 universities are dominated by public universities.The universities with the most US government funding for research are also dominated by public universities.
The biggest difference between an undergraduate-oriented ranking and a research-oriented ranking is the ranking of public universities.For example, the University of California at Berkeley, US News & World Report ranked around 20-25, while Shanghai Jiaotong University, which focuses on research capabilities, ranked third in the world.The main reason is that the university pays relatively little attention to undergraduate education (because it is restricted by the state government and cannot strictly limit the number of students, the proportion of students is large, and the number of large classes is small).
Having studied and worked at several prestigious public universities (University of California at Berkeley, University of Minnesota) and private universities (Northwestern University, Brown University), I found that there are many differences not only in undergraduate teaching but also in research.Private universities generally tend to focus on several popular research areas, while public universities are generally well-versed in everything they do.This is related to scientific research funding.Private universities attach particular importance to research that can generate funds and produce benefits, after all, private universities do not have government funding.However, the future trend is that the boundaries between private and public universities in the United States are becoming blurred.Direct funding from many state universities is already well below 50 percent of total revenue, meaning the state's status as a major shareholder is much less than it used to be.
3. Research universities and non-research universities.Most of the top universities in the United States are research universities, but many small Liberal and Arts universities have a very high status among American students.These schools mainly carry out elite undergraduate education, and a group of undergraduates will go to the best research universities to graduate school.Scientific research for these universities is mainly to develop the research capabilities of undergraduates.Many relatively conservative American families are eager to send their children to these small universities because they think the school is too big and lax to let college students learn badly.So, not all good high school students go after Harvard or MIT.
4. Strong professional and weak professional.Top universities are not necessarily good at every major.Therefore, applicants should consider how to coordinate this relationship: good schools and bad schools (good schools and good majors are of course the best).Oregon State University, for example, is not very good, but it has a strong forest and ecological specialty. Northwestern University is very good, but the ecological specialty has just been established and is not well known.If I receive both offers at the same time, how do I choose?It's hard to measure, for example, what your future goals are (academia or industry, academia is more professional and mentor, industry only looks at school, doesn't know the details), what your mentor's research project is, and what's your school's location.
5. Hot and cold professional.The so-called hot majors refer to professions that are easy to find jobs in the future, have high wages, and have sufficient funds for scientific research.To be clear, there is no eternal hot and cold profession.In a market-oriented society, hot and cold majors are market-oriented.A popular major will attract many students to study, and over time, the popular major will be saturated, and it will naturally be difficult to find a job.A classic example is that more than 10 years ago, a large number of Chinese students studied computers or transferred to computer science, many people got a master's degree in less than two years, and immediately found a well-paid job, buy a house and a car.However, with the bursting of the IT bubble a few years ago, the US computer talent began to saturate, and the major was no longer popular.As a result, the finance and accounting professions have become popular.But in the period of writing this article, the United States has experienced unprecedented financial turmoil, many financial structures have failed or laid off a large number of employees, and the elite of Wall Street finance needs to change careers.On the contrary, some relatively unpopular majors, such as soil science, meteorology, and geography, have not had difficulty finding jobs in recent years.In addition, the recognition of popular majors in China and the United States is different, mainly because the economies of the two countries are very complementary.Construction and automobile manufacturing, for example, may be hot at home, but in the United States, it's harder to find work.Automobile design and manufacturing in the United States are on the decline.
Therefore, to choose the right major, you must have a long-term perspective, while combining your background and interests.
Good teachers and bad teachers.Poor schools have good mentors, good schools have bad mentors, how to choose?If it's really bad school, a good professor won't stay long.In the United States, professors move frequently.If you really have a bad mentor for Offer, don't say no right away and find out if he/she is leaving soon.Good teachers move from bad schools to good schools, often taking students away (if you're good, of course).