<p>Vanderbilt is underrated because of its location in Tennessee. Ha I’m seeing a theme with these last few posts…</p>
<p>The Air Force Academy is underrated because USNWR puts it in the regional category while West Point and Naval Academy are in the national category.</p>
<p>Bowdoin is underrated because people don’t know it’s there.</p>
<p>^^^There are many well known schools in this country where most people haven’t the faintest idea where they are located. That would be a good thread. I think I’ll start it…</p>
<p>Out of all the top 20 schools in USNWR, I think that there are only 3 underrated schools. Here they are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Rice University is underrated because it is a small research university comprised of only 3,100 undergraduates, it is primarily focused on undergraduate education (no prominent grad schools besides Jones School of Business), it is in Texas, no prominent basketball or football team, and it is heavily focused on sciences/engineering. Additionally, it is less than a 100 years old, founded only in 1912.</li>
</ul>
<p>-Emory University is underrated because it is a DIII athletic school. The main campus was founded around WWI.</p>
<p>-WashU is underrated because it is in St. Louis and it is also a DIII athletic school.</p>
<p>In my opinion, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, and Johns Hopkins are schools that are OVERRATED. Vanderbilt is overrated because of its athletics… I visited Vanderbilt and read their literature before considering applying, and it seemed to not be as academically oriented as Duke, Rice, Emory, WashU, etc. In my opinion, UVA is better than Vandy.</p>
<p>Northwestern is underrated because it’s not in the Ivy League, and gets beat up on in the Big Ten.</p>
<p>But at least our Football team could pound the snot out of the Ivy wusses anyday :P</p>
<p>Also, because people confuse it with Northeastern.</p>
<p>Northeastern is underrated because it still has a reputation as an open-door commuter school for Bostonians, despite its amazing co-op program and recently breaking the top 100 universities and climbing up the US News chart.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is underrated because no one knows where it is located.</p>
<p>Northwestern is underrated because it’s not in the Ivy League and it’s located in the Midwest.</p>
<p>Michigan is underrated because it’s located in the Midwest (in a state with a high unemployment rate.)</p>
<p>^Michigan, imo, is also underrated because it’s a public university (which is generally frowned upon on CC, if only because it is a state school).</p>
<p>Rice has a powerhouse baseball team though slik nik</p>
<p>Oklahoma State is underrated because it doesn’t give any attention to rankings… and is in Oklahoma.</p>
<p>Re WUSTL location: As a former St. Louis resident, it’s a pretty valid reason.</p>
<p>The University of Tulsa is underrated, because it is in Oklahoma.</p>
<p>@arbiter213:</p>
<p>I feel that Hollywood knows about Northwestern. In the movies Step Brothers, The Devil Wears Prada, and Adventureland, one of the main characters either went to Northwestern undergrad/grad school or got accepted to one.</p>
<p>A lot of people in Cincinnati know about Northwestern, but then again, Northwestern is a Midwest school.</p>
<p>@on the fly:</p>
<p>I totally agree that Rice has one of the best collegiate baseball teams in the country. But here’s the problem: less people follow collegiate baseball than collegiate basketball or football.</p>
<p>I’ll be going to a lot of baseball games at Rice… anyway, baseball has always been my favorite sport 
Go Owls and Go Reds!</p>
<p>Most of the Cal States are underrated because they constantly play second fiddle to the UCs.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Also true…TU is in Oklahoma.</p>
<p>Clemson University is underrated because there are no minorities at the school and thus has no international reputation.</p>
<p>^ I wouldn’t expect diversity at a school with an institute named for Strom Thurmond.</p>