Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2015 May 16

= May 16 =

What are the best universities ( USA, Canada, Europe, Australia & New Zealand) for a Masters degree in telecommunications engineering?
What are the best universities ( USA, Canada, Europe, Australia & New Zealand) for; (a) A research Masters degree; (b) A theory Masters degree; in telecommunications engineering? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Karlcd (talk • contribs) 13:10, 16 May 2015 (UTC)
 * In the U.S., the best known school rankings are published by U.S. News and World Report. Telecommunications engineering is a subdiscipline of electrical engineering.  Here is their rankings thereof.  -- Jayron 32 20:12, 16 May 2015 (UTC)


 * Maclean's runs the university ranking racket here. They'll give you a taste for free, but for that sort of detail, you'll have to buy the issue. Or subscribe to their website. Or find it "pirated" somewhere next year, after the proper owners have no use for it, and you have a fair use for it. InedibleHulk (talk) 20:46, 16 May 2015 (UTC)
 * We shouldn't be suggesting our clients become accessories (whether after, during or before the fact) to serious offences. If we can't even give legal advice, we certainly can't aid and abet law breaking.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:07, 16 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Are you suggesting we protect them from crime? Because that costs extra. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:39, 16 May 2015 (UTC)
 * I'm suggesting we give suggestions that would not involve our clients in piracy, not even passively. If they want to do that, they can think of it themselves and they won't need our help.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:57, 16 May 2015 (UTC)
 * I thought you were talking about the ranking racket. Amended. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:03, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

Question (How can I join this organization?)
Hi. How can I join this organization? (Sophie Concepcion (talk) 11:38, 16 May 2015 (UTC))


 * (Moved from Math Desk and title fixed.) StuRat (talk) 13:17, 16 May 2015 (UTC)


 * You already did, when you registered. But, you made a few mistakes in posting this Q:


 * 1) You put it on the Math Ref Desk. I moved it to Miscellaneous.


 * 2) Your title is meaningless, as every post here is a question. I added to it to make it useful.


 * 3) You posted your Q at the top, in it's own section, when it belongs at the bottom, under that day's date. The "Ready? Ask a new question" button at the top takes care of this part for you.


 * I will post a link to this new location to your talk page, so you can find it. Oh, and Welcome Aboard ! StuRat (talk) 13:17, 16 May 2015 (UTC)
 * You may want to join a WikiProject, which helps coordinate the editing of articles in one subject-area. There's a list of them linked from that page, or it's here WikiProject Directory. LongHairedFop (talk) 18:16, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

Does a student who graduated from a lower-ranking school in a developing country be admitted to a graduate school in a western country?
Most colleges in developing countries are sub-par by western academic standards. In one developing country, for example, professors are not obliged by law or by their institutions to pursue a doctoral degree. Even worse, this country’s state colleges lack decent science and computer laboratories, affecting in turn the quality of learning experience. No doubt, higher institutions in improvised countries have much to invest in their facilities, research, and faculty.

Having said this, does a student who graduated from a lower-ranking university in a developing country have a chance to be admitted to a graduate school in a western country? Based on your experience, do graduate schools give much weight to the reputation of your undergraduate school? If your school is accredited in your country, will this help?

I've also read this article from New York Times. I wonder if graduate applicants who didn’t obtain a bachelor's degree from U.S. schools have no chance of getting admitted.Rja2015 (talk) 17:22, 16 May 2015 (UTC)


 * Yes, it is possible for someone from an impoverished country to attend a Western graduate school. And yes, the admissions departments do care what school you went to.  I went to a top-tier US graduate school in science, and I would guess that about a fourth to a third of the students were foreign, though mostly from developed countries.  Most US graduate schools require some form of standardized admissions test such as the Graduate Record Exam, LSAT, MCAT, etc.  I've spoken in the past to people on the admissions committee of my school, and they said they give the greatest weight to admission scores, followed by letters of recommendation, and only then transcripts.  I suspect that a student from a developing country who could show exceptional test scores and excellent letters of recommendation would not find it that hard to gain entry to a US graduate program.  Of course, the difficulty is in obtaining sufficient knowledge and skill to earn exceptional scores despite a background that may lack much of the preparation that students from other countries had access to.  There is no easy answer to that.  So the short answer is, yes it is possible, but no it's not easy.  Dragons flight (talk) 19:07, 16 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Money can "grease the wheels", but the International Monetary Fund warned that may (in general) waste more time than it saves. It obviously isn't a great way to save money, either. Also illegal and unethical. But possible. InedibleHulk (talk) 19:23, 16 May 2015 (UTC)


 * Quite a significant number of Pakistani and Bangladeshi taxi-drivers in New York City were Lawyers and Doctors back home. Since I didn't take names, I don't have a source, but I am sure it's available.  I know a Cuban who worked as a medical doctor in the US.  She did so by getting Spanish citizenship, and having her credits transferred to a Spanish University, then to the US.  From what I have seen personally, though, most Cuban licenciaturas (bachelor) degrees would not rank as high an associates degree in a county college in the US.


 * Generalizing, however, doesn't work. My neighbor's son got his medical degree in St. Lucia very cheep, and as he passed whatever test was necessary he was admitted as an intern in the US, and now lives in a 72' yacht in NYC.  This is the sort of thing where the OP, if he cares about his life, should contact a professional counselor, not random people on the internet. μηδείς (talk) 22:23, 16 May 2015 (UTC)