Quote Originally Posted by janetfan View Post
It is not quite so cut and dry - just as assuming every professor at Stanford is a superior scholar or teacher to every professor at Santa Clara. There are some professors who might prefer teaching at Santa Clara or even a junior college as opposed to Stanford for any variety of reasons.

Sometimes scheduling and class availablity plays a part in a student's choice to take courses at a different school. When I was a student I took my major with a teacher off campus because he had skills and presented opportunies that far surpassed what was available from any of the professors on campus.

Many times students need courses to fulfil the requirements of their major even if such courses will have little or no bearing on their future professional careers.
In certain cases is it so bad to work hardest on what will be more important to your future and maybe slack off a little on a course that although required may not be important in the future?

There are many possibilties and situations. Giving the benefit of the doubt here - students accepted at Stanford have a proven record of success in high school. If they choose to study off campus for whatever reason I don't necessarily see it as them throwing away opportunity or as a waste.
Yes, I totally agree it's wrong to assume that every professor at higher-rated school is a superior scholar or teacher to every professor at a lower-ranked school.

Here I would refrain from talking about Stanford or Santa Clara specifically because I did not attend either of them or have friends in them.

But some research universities put such a great emphasis on research productivity that teaching skills may not matter more than research competence in the selection process of the candidates of professors (they'd say both are equally important though) and that professors in research universities may not be pressured to invest as much effort in teaching as those in teaching colleges.

On the other hand, teachers may tailor the level of teaching to the level of understanding of their average students. Class discussions also may be more exciting at competitive schools.

Basically, I think it good that the university allows flexibility in exchanging credits across schools. It could create a loop hole that we discussed, but from a broader perspective, it creates more opportunities for the students to study in different places in the world and more autonomous selection as you mentioned. Sometimes, you may not be able to get the kind of learning opportunity in your university if you have to limit your choices specifically to your university.

Sorry I am getting off the topic. I wish Rachael good luck with her studies.