<p>If you had asked me 15 years ago, I would’ve scoffed at these lists. Born and educated in the NE, I had the US News mentality. The US News “elite” were clearly the best. And how can a school with students with mediocre stats like The Citadel produce results to rival elite schools? I have since witnessed it first hand. The “inputs” vary greatly, but the “outputs” are, on the whole, disciplined, focused, self-reliant and confident, with great leadership skills. They also have an incredible alumni network. Clearly, the school is not for everyone, nor is it a pipeline to Wall Street. It is far more practical than intellectual. But the grads tend to be quite successful. If you knew me IRL, you would know that this post is the equivalent of me “eating crow” and getting over some long held prejudices. </p>
<p>Incidentally, I’ve also become a big fan of Sewanee and Centre. Two schools I would’ve considered “second tier” until I visited and did my research. </p>
<p>If you notice, the list is more balanced for southern schools which tend to take a back seat to the NE and West Coast schools in USNews rankings. </p>
<p>I knew nothing about Centre until we looked at an old obituary for H’s grandfather(thanks to google). We had always known where he had gone to medical school but didn’t realize he had gone to Centre before that. I looked it up and it does sound like a great place. </p>
<p>“I thought that someone would try to rebut these rankings.” Not me. Both of my kids’s schools are on a few of these lists so they look good to me!</p>
<p>Holy Cross raised a record $42million during the recent fiscal year and once again its alumni giving rate was above 50% which should place it among the top 10 colleges and universities for alumni paticipation rates. HC ranked 25th by US News is also one of a few dozen schools that is need-blind for admission(meets 100% demonstrated financial aid.) For a small school to raise north of $40 million is remarkable in the current economic environment. Most top fundraising schools-Ivies, Duke, Stanfors have medical schools and several grad schools like business and law that push their respecttive annual hauls in the hundreds of millions category.</p>
<p>Nor are the kids who hated it and transferred out I suppose. That’s a weakness in these rankings. Perhaps they, along with retention/grad rates could be more useful. </p>
<p>@OhMomof2 For better or for worse, six-year graduation rate is part of this ranking. It’s weighted the same as each of the other metrics. </p>
<p>(I think that graduation rate is worth 25% in the USNews ranking, which seems excessive.)</p>
<p>Probably better, because alumni feedback about schools with low graduation rates is…distorted. Giving those schools a small penalty is a fair balance. </p>
<p>Probably worse, because graduation rates reflect more than student strength, institutional support, and finances.</p>
<p>Will bump this thread until it floats above the sesquipedalian balderdash. (Like the CWUR “ranking,” which purports to measure “quality of education.”) </p>
<p>“Overall assessment” covers “Would Personally Choose Again,” “Would Recommend to Student,” and “Value for Money.” </p>
<p>College experience rank (comprises Intellectual, Social, Friendship Development, Career Preparation and Job Opportunities):</p>
<ol>
<li>United States Military Academy</li>
<li>United States Naval Academy</li>
<li>United States Coast Guard Academy</li>
<li>United States Air Force Academy</li>
<li>Citadel Military College of South Carolina</li>
<li>Spelman College</li>
<li>Morehouse College</li>
<li>Sewanee: The University of the South</li>
<li>Centre College</li>
<li>Hampton University</li>
<li>Washington and Lee University</li>
<li>Harvey Mudd College</li>
<li>Kalamazoo College</li>
<li>Yale University</li>
<li>Davidson College</li>
<li>Appalachian State University</li>
<li>Princeton University</li>
<li>Rice University</li>
<li>University of Notre Dame</li>
<li>Howard University</li>
</ol>
<p>Combined “Friendship Development” rank:</p>
<ol>
<li>Morehouse College</li>
<li>Spelman College</li>
<li>United States Military Academy</li>
<li>Hampton University</li>
<li>Sewanee: The University of the South</li>
<li>Washington and Lee University</li>
<li>Citadel Military College of South Carolina</li>
<li>United States Coast Guard Academy</li>
<li>United States Naval Academy</li>
<li>Kenyon College</li>
<li>College of Wooster, The</li>
<li>Centre College</li>
<li>College of the Holy Cross</li>
<li>Wellesley College</li>
<li>Kalamazoo College</li>
<li>Davidson College</li>
<li>California Institute of Technology</li>
<li>United States Air Force Academy</li>
<li>Bucknell University</li>
<li>Carleton College</li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry for bumping too often. I have a reason for doing so, but it’s a tad…petty and mordant!</p>
<p>And here’s the list without “Alumni Giving,” “Value for the Money,” or any of the “Financial Success” metrics. (i.e. Only the experiential categories, “College Experience” and “Overall Assessment,” are included.)</p>
<p>Metrics included:</p>
<p>Intellectual Development
Social Development
Friendship Development
Preparation for Career Success
Immediate Job Opportunities
Would Personally Choose Again
Would Recommend to a Student
Overall Happiness
Graduation Rate</p>
<hr>
<ol>
<li>United States Military Academy</li>
<li>United States Naval Academy</li>
<li>Centre College</li>
<li>Sewanee: The University of the South</li>
<li>Yale University</li>
<li>Washington and Lee University</li>
<li>Spelman College</li>
<li>Kalamazoo College</li>
<li>Citadel Military College of South Carolina</li>
<li>United States Coast Guard Academy</li>
<li>Morehouse College</li>
<li>Rice University</li>
<li>Davidson College</li>
<li>Appalachian State University</li>
<li>Princeton University</li>
<li>Gonzaga University</li>
<li>University of Notre Dame</li>
<li>United States Air Force Academy</li>
<li>Pomona College</li>
<li>College of the Holy Cross</li>
<li>Auburn University</li>
<li>Wellesley College</li>
<li>Colorado College</li>
<li>Grinnell College</li>
<li>Amherst College</li>
<li>Hampton University</li>
<li>Harvey Mudd College</li>
<li>University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</li>
<li>College of Wooster, The</li>
<li>University of Virginia-Main Campus</li>
</ol>
<p>LOL
First thing that came to mind when I saw it was…“NO WAY”…all military or military connected schools except Princeton, Claremont and Rice. That could not have been more skewed.</p>
<p>In general, alumni factor always, and will continue to correlate with Top Academic and Sports Ranking schools.
Sorry guys but, Ivies and big sports schools will always lead the list on this issue.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what you are claiming. Is the ranking “skewed” because of a methodological problem or unconventional results? Do the strong performances of “military or military connected schools” imply that the results are suspect? How do you know? Unless you are suggesting that the military had a hand in this listing, which is an interesting idea, your objection only changes the question. Why are alumni of military-connected schools more zealous and satisfied about all aspects of their college experiences than alumni of other schools? (Another possibility: the collection of data is untenable dreck. I doubt that either of us has enough information to draw that conclusion.) </p>
<p>I’m not sure if Sewanee, Centre, Yale, and the HBCUs are military-affiliated in the way that you mean.</p>
<p>I can understand why alumni of service academies would be particularly satisfied: they have good job opportunities and preparation for career success, an intense and rigorous experience, and the schools are free. Also, many of the academies’ unhappy students don’t become alumni. Adding graduation rate to the ranking is a sufficient penalty for such schools. </p>
<p>In any case, I much prefer this ranking of undergraduate schools to USNews, Forbes, and the drivel that QS, ARWU, THES, and CWUR pump out.</p>
<p>@Exodius ;
From the look of this thread, it seems that you are looking for justification to convince yourself of the reason to either attend or remain a loyal member of these military schools, and there is nothing wrong with that.
However, to believe that the Alumni factor based on Top rankings, graduation rates, job security, satisfaction etc… of military schools outrank the IVY’s, other top school and Top big sport schools is nothing but “DELUSIONAL”.
What other platform do you see this study being referenced other than military related sites like OCS recruitment etc?
I’ll say do what you have to do in life, but do not start a thread to debate other peoples opinion in order to convince yourself of the decisions you make or about to make.
SMH.</p>
<p>In fact the site OP is getting his information from is a big joke.They are already asking people to pay money to see the full listing.
Its baffling that some people can not differentiate a site crying for attention and the real thing.
Are you on their payroll @exodus? You might want to re-examine what you endorse in life, as some are not just worth the steam.</p>
<p>I don’t care what you think of the rankings, but they are no worse than the alternatives.</p>
<p>I have great respect for the military academies, but I don’t go to one. I attend a school that many people on CC would kill to attend, which does exceptionally well in these rankings and most others. (So, not Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, Chicago, or MIT…and not Columbia anymore.) </p>
<p>By the way, the founder of the Alumni Factor went to Harvard and Stanford, an Ivy and a big sports school, which must be at the top of all rankings, no? Perhaps she hated her time at those places? ;)</p>