fwiw: I downloaded the most recent (but old) nrc grad rankings. The only two academic programs where BC beats Emory is Theology and Econ. In other words, the academics believe that BC is stronger than Emory in those departments. Philosophy and Chem are a wash. Most other comparable departments, Emory has a decided advantage of the prestige-thingy. As one random example, Emory is ~15 in French, while BC is ~35.
Boston College folks, I know this is off-topic, but my daughter (a Latina) applied to BC. She received a message from the school around Jan 10 that her application was incomplete, missing a counselor rec. She talked to the counseling department and thought the issue had gotten cleared up, and now today she received a text from BC that her application had been withdrawn because it was incomplete. We are mess here at our house trying to figure out what happened. She’ll call BC first thing in the morning, but is it really too late to get it resolved?
@bluebayou If you parse through the USNWR ranking subcategories (assuming anyone cares enough and wants to spend the money), you can get to understand how a final ranking is determined. Peer rankings, class sizes and, now, Pell Grant students, can cause things to move around quite a bit. And that probably underpins the Emory vs. BC ranking. But I am wholly in the camp of bbfan1927, you choose an undergraduate college based on what that is experience is going to be for you across a whole range of dimensions. I would argue that graduate program rankings are not that relevant for an undergraduate experience (which is why many students choose to attend LACs). I would go further to say that even perceived undergraduate strength in certain academic areas can be wholly trumped by the broader college environment and experience. I counseled my son to pick a college (among excellent alternatives) where he felt he would be most happy and would grow best as a person, and to not sweat the “rankings” of the colleges, no less the rankings of the academic departments in the colleges! Fit and feel are incredibly important, and are viscerally different among colleges. And I would agree totally that the Catholic schools get a bad rap on the “peer assessment” for the issues you noted.
I went to Georgetown as an undergraduate, a great undergraduate school. Almost none of my fellow graduates I know would even consider going to graduate school there, unless it was Medical School or Law School. Georgetown graduates have better options to attend grad school at universities that are more specialized in graduate studies, as has been my experience and those of my peers. BUT THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT GEORGETOWN IS NOT A GREAT PLACE TO GO TO COLLEGE AS AN UNDERGRADUATE. The simple reality is that the quality of the undergraduates, as a whole, are just a level above most graduate students there. Should the perceived view of the quality of a Georgetown undergraduate education be diminished as a result of this. I don’t think so. Ditto for BC!
cc:
I don’t disagree with what you wrote, but I was just trying to address your earlier post on why/how Emory is ranked higher in USNews.
Regardless of whether we think that Undergrad rankings should be affected by Grad prestige, the fact is they are due to the Peer Assessment score. The issue is even exacerbated when comparing a Uni with fewer grad programs as a % of total students rather than more. For example, some of the tippy top privates are ~2/3rds grad students, and 1/3 undergrad. (cough, cough, certain colleges in Cambridge and Palo Alto…)
In contrast, Emory’s student ratio is about 50:50, while BC is about 2/3rds undergrad and 1/3rd grad; both are more undergrad-focused, so to speak.
OTOH, More grad programs = more research = more prestige = higher Peer Assessment Score = higher USNews ranking.
@bluebayou No problem.That is exactly right, and I get it completely. Whether it is relevant or not from an undergraduate education and experience standpoint is an entirely different issue from whether it gets factored into a school’s ranking - which it definitely does. As do other USNWR factors that lie beneath the surface. To be fair, any of the college rankings need to hang their hat on some sort of methodology to provide some objective integrity to what they do. Whether, at the end of the day, that results in an outcome that makes common sense is open to question. I think, for the most part, taken in broad bands, the USNWR rankings (and others) do a pretty good job. But there is room for debate and differing perspectives as to what factors are most important to consider in any evaluation and how that might inform ranking outcomes. And students should consider those factors that are most important to them in making their decisions.
Sorry to hear about your experience. Unfortunately, your story is not unique.
Is it likely that since BC lifted the restrictive EA, the increase in EA applicants might in turn mean a decrease in RD applicants on the flip-side? So in the end admission will potentially level itself out, with just a proportionate increase attributable to an overall increase in interest in Top Tier schools across the Board?
@1stTimeCollMom The numbers have already been released. Roughly, compared to the previous year, there was a 6k increase in EA, 2k decrease in RD, and 4k increase in total apps.
My fear as a 1st Time College Mom is these horror stories you hear about your child living off campus in a hotel because of over accepting students, or worse! I think I was trying to make myself less worried about that, but the net 4K increase in total applications is still off-putting, maybe they will issue fewer acceptances in RD than in the past??? She was offered 4 years of housing so maybe if she does accept the offer of acceptance at BC she will not have a housing issue? Thank you for the data!
@1sttimecollmom Even though class of 2021 was over enrolled by around 100, that was handled with additional triples on campus. I don’t believe BC has ever housed kids in hotels. I would not worry about housing.
Class of 2021 interestingly enough was over enrolled by 100 and they still accepted quite a few tranfer students.
As for over-enrolling, rumor has it that currently there are 10 girls in temporary quarters, or rather, a makeshift 10 person dorm, hastily converted from a common area study room in one of the dorm buildings. I have heard that the girls are not being billed for board and BC is guaranteeing them the next 3 years on campus housing. Again, this is just a rumor on campus.
“…says more about how overrated you guys opinion of the world is.”
Uh, shouldn’t be surprising that folks from the HUB OF THE UNIVERSE think highly of themselves.
I propose a BC-Emory football game to settle the squabble going on here once & for all. If not football, then ice hockey.
BC has had problems with where to house over-enrolled students for decades. I’m surprised they are not getting better at handling the issue.
@COSpgsparent Did you get your application resolved? I’ve dealt with administrative workers from several colleges over the years, & those at BC were about the only ones I ever had problems with. Having grown up in the area, & having lived many other places, I chalk it up to a kind of Boston-area combativeness, rather than an intentional jerkosity.
@moooop I actually posted that comment to the wrong group and then it was too late to delete it. Hah! But, yes, it did get resolved…it was actually an issue with the high school, not BC. I’m so glad my daughter was paying attention to her email. We’re crossing fingers and hoping for the best. Sounds like there are many fantastic applicants, and I’m sure my daughter will end up where she’s supposed to be…it’s an exciting time. Thanks for asking!
Nice that it wasn’t the school and is all set.
Glad we were all ready to chalk up the issue to their natural Boston combativeness. Whatever that is. Ever been to NY Philly or DC?
I’ve only experienced people trying hard to good job and very nice at BC. Maybe they ship them in from out of town.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
I propose moving on from this OT conversation. 7 posts deleted.