In India I used to hear everyone saying( and all the media hype surrounding it) that it is tougher to get through IIT than even Harvard/ MIT. This is said mainly on the premise that the acceptance rate( the number of students who apply vs those who get through ) is lower for IIT than for the others. Lets explore the reasons why this isn't true:
1. Everyone remotely connected with science in India gives the IIT exam. If you have taken Maths in class 12 it goes without saying that you will be sitting( or your parents will coerce you into sitting) for the exam. No one just applies to Harvard or MIT, it is not a by default phenomenon.
2. You apply individually to Harvard/ MIT and it is not a joint entrance examination. I know quite a few people who apply to some really good colleges but not to MIT because they feel they aren't good enough to get through. I have never heard anyone saying I they won't be giving the IIT exam because they aren't good enough, people just give it.
3.The cost of attending Harvard is so much more than attending IIT. There are people who don't think of attending such schools solely because of the cost and never apply. Never happens with IIT.
IIT is tough to get through but I am pretty skeptical whether it is tougher than Harvard/ MIT.
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2 comments:
Quite true
:o)
In India, hitherto engg and medical have been the most preferred career options. And as you pointed out, anybody who has taken maths and science, sits for JEE. That itself defines the competition and the intake ratio. And also, IITs don't force anybody to sit in JEE. The real competition is at the top. Whether its 20k or 200k, the competition is same. After 12th, in India, how many do you think have the sanity to know what is right for them?
And not everybody sits in JEE. People sitting for AIEEE are double of what sit in JEE. And anybody who's eligible enough to study in Harvard/MIT, and backs out coz of finances, is... I mean who does that?
And doesn't matter if you apply individually. Your application is jointly evaluated.
I think its a very absurd comparison. As, one is for undergraduate studies and other is for graduate studies. This itself is a big difference. Let alone the history, geography and funding of the institutes.
Don't think that this has hurt my "I am a bloody IITian" ego. :D Coz IITs hasn't done any good for me. But believe me, if you had spent your undergrad days in an IIT, you would understand. Its not just about getting in, its about staying there and getting out too.
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