<p>What do you think the criteria is for the ranking of colleges? Would you really get less of an education at a 3rd or 4th tier school? For example, my child is interested in speech pathology and wants to look at Old Dominion University, which is ranked 4th tier by US News & World Report. I am wondering if we should visit or just drop it from our list. Any opinions????</p>
<p>IMO- Go check out the school and decide if you like it.Do not let the rankings deter you. I looked at rankings out of curiosity, but would not use them as a deciding factor.
I checked out the rankings of various schools that either I or someone I knew attended and was surprised at how diverse they were. I know people that graduated from tier 4 universities that are quite successful and felt that they had a great college experience. My own U is not even ranked 3rd or 4th tier because it is considered a regional U.
I am looking at colleges with my younger d currently, and we are trying to emphasize fit and individual program quality for her major. Is ODU accredited in that field? Good luck.</p>
<p>Yes, ODU's program is accredited by ASHA. Thanks for the advice. We will visit and decide for ourselves.</p>
<p>Keep in mind also that there are a lot of brilliant students at 3rd or 4th tier state or regional universities. Some are there because they didn't want to go far from home, some didn't want to pay $30K+ a year to go OOS or private, some have other reasons. </p>
<p>My mom graduated from ODU in Nursing and we visited when I was a junior, it just wasn't the right fit for me.</p>
<p>FWIW, even though ODU is a very regional school, it has a very strong tie with NASA Langley. When I was down there, I met lots of engineers from ODU. Some of them are already in middle-management positions.</p>
<p>In speech-language pathology, it matters little where the school is ranked on the USNWR continuum as long as it is ASHA accredited.</p>
<p>peteypie, I tried to PM you, but for some reason I was unable to send a private message. I am a speech-language pathologist and would be glad to answer any questions your child has regarding the profession, if you want to PM me.</p>
<p>I really think it depends on the student. If the student is naturally smart and has the drive the seek out the resources to make him/her successful, then the ranking of the college is irrelevant. But of course the school must appeal to the student and offer what the student wants for his/her college experience.</p>
<p>I always hear, from my parents and some fellow CC posters, that the ranking is irrelevant. But is that a fact? I believe that success after graduation depends on the student, but a part of me thinks that a regional school is somewhat inferior to a more reputable school. This question always makes me wonder...</p>