What matters more? AND YES>>It does matter

[A:Tony]

What am I talking about? Reputation. For universities. I mean certain programs at certain schools are amazing. But if the program is bad, does it still matter that you went to a great school? E.G. Going to Waterloo to study history. Waterloo is not an arts school is it?

[Dr T Non-Fan]

More of a Careers question, I think.
1. Go to a great school for casual conversation points.
2. Go to a great program to get a job.
3. Go to LOTR:TROTK, because it is one of the best movies of the year, it will sound great in a theater, and the makers and backers should be rewarded for their excellent filmmaking results. (Sorry: theatre.) Buy popcorn based on your own tastes, though.

Undergraduate or graduate? For a graduate degree, definitely go for the program. But for undergraduate, maybe the school - after all, you might change your mind about your major.

[openminded]

Has there been any significant change in ranking school reputation in the past 50 years? Is that good or bad?

[Ninjuary]

I thought this thread was going to be about something else.

For reputation, I think the program is more important than the school.

[Master P]

You forgot to place the question in context.
In general if you are going to worry about what other (unqualified ) people think maybe you should look into marketing.

[Rockhound]

If you are going to get a job with an undergraduate degree, it's all about the school, not the program. Hiring managers don't know enough about those details.

I went to Waterloo because:
1. I could get co-op and not have to rely on my parents to finance me. The co-op would also give me relevant experience when I graduated.
2. Waterloo is one of the only unis in the world that offers a BMath, not a BSc (Math) or BA (Math). I liked the uniqueness of that and the fact that it meant that a greater number of math courses would be required to graduate (arts courses were not my forte).

So I voted program's reputation - To me it was a side benefit that Waterloo is internationally renowned as a school.

[Actuary Chick]

Originally Posted by Sammie

2. Waterloo is one of the only unis in the world that offers a BMath, not a BSc (Math) or BA (Math).

What is a BMath? And how does it differ from a BS or BA?

It is a Bachelor of Mathematics. Unlike a BSc or a BA where you would major in Math, a BMath would major in things like: Accounting, Statistics, Actuarial Science, Pure Math, Computer Science, etc.

The real difference is the number of math courses required. Waterloo mathies are required to take a lot of math courses overall, and many of them must be on the subject of their major.

I looked for a link to the course calendar which broke out the course requirements, but it was taking me too long. I'm sure one of the younger folks here can help out...