American University's Rating - How to think about it

Colleges and Universities A-Z American University
1

<p>My S, a junior, is interested in international relations and is looking at a wide range of different schools, including some universities strong in this field, some more LAC-ish experiences, and all the DC schools, including American. We recently toured Gtown, GWU and AU and he liked both Gtown and AU (not so much GWU, he prefers a bit more traditional campus feel).</p>

<p>In any case. While I recognize AU’s strength in this area and the undeniable benefit of being where the action is in DC, I can’t help but be somewhat bothered by the fact that AU’s national ranking is so low. Let me be clear. I am not a prestige whore or a rankings whore. I’m not OMG-there’s-a-difference-between-#8-and-#13-on-USNWR at all. I am fully comfortable with the fact that there is a wide wide range of schools that offer excellent educations. My kids are looking at schools that range all over the top 40 in the national uni and LAC lists, and I’m perfectly fine with that.</p>

<p>However, American does sort of stick out like a sore thumb in that regard, and it just makes me a little bit uneasy, since I don’t have other first-hand experience with the school.</p>

<p>Can anyone talk to the factors that might account for their ranking being where it is (and if it’s something like “they don’t play ball with USNWR” I’m totally fine with that) and how they feel about it?</p>

2

<p>I am also wondering about this. Hope someone has some insight…</p>

3

<p>Wow…I had the same exact thoughts a year ago…#86 (or something like that!) Practically slumming just by visiting. :)</p>

<p>A year later, here are a few things that have me leaning towards American:
*I only have one child, so regardless of the school being #1 on the list or #1000, I want her to be in environment where she is happy, challenged, excited and to some degree cared for.</p>

<p>*She looked at and applied to 3 LAC’s, all in the top 20. However, I was concerned that the schools are smaller than her HS. Also, my kid is unique (arent they all) but I have a concern that a small school might not fit in with her particular brand of crazy. So although I know she will be accepted to 2 of the 3 (maybe all 3), I have been succesful in showing her my take on the LAC’s.</p>

<p>*She looked at schools that were at the top 30 of USNWR, and applied to quite a few. However, the more we looked and visited and saw some of the locations, the more we realized that she was not going to be happy in the middle of no-where or way far way, and that being in DC has some real advantages. So schools like Dartmouth, WUSTL, and anything on the west coast was out.</p>

<p>*She was accepted into the honors program. Here-in lies the biggest game changer. The honors program offers some unique advantages. So american jumps quite a few rungs up the ladder in my book.</p>

<p>*The SIS is brand new, due to open in a few months. Gorgeous. Clearly, SIS is where American is investing its money and banking on its future. it is also ranked Very High on the list of schools for international relations. </p>

<p>*Most important, I guess to me, is that after 4 years my child will take a bit of time off and see the world (peace corp or teach for america or something) and then get a graduate degree somewhere. The choice of Graduate school is important, and in my dreams she will get into an IVY. But I know that the IVY leagues value an undergrad degree from American, if the student has made the most of their 4 years (clubs, leadership roles, etc, etc). When I think of all the opportunities she will have by being in DC, internships, fellowships, research, getting stoned at the jefferson memorial at 3am, and study abroad, American moves so far up the USNWR list. (one of those items is to gauge if anyone is still reading!)</p>

<p>So…I guess American wiggled its way up my daughters list from low on the pack to pretty high, beating out quite a few schools that she had applied to. In fairness, she has not yet heard from 2 reach schools, and if accepted she may in fact go there. But I would put away the ranking books and worry more about the right fit for your child…</p>

<p>Sorry to ramble. I should be working.</p>

4

<p>Thank you for your response. I do agree about fit being important. And if American’s DC location therefore means a better fit, I’m all over that. It’s just – what causes their rating to be so low? What are the specific factors that cause it to fall so low, and how should I feel about those factors? Is it that the rest of the school outside of international relations / business / etc. isn’t as good? That doesn’t mean I’d cross it off. I just want to have a better understanding.</p>

5

<p>Pizzagirl: In all honesty students here at AU are quite aware of the ranking of AU, however I will ask you to look at the rankings of the specific schools to see where the problems lie:</p>

<p>SIS - #1 in the US
SOC - #3 in the US
SPA - #7 in the US
KSB - #28 in the US</p>

<p>So specifically we have some fantastic schools where we are improving every year; AU is incredibly underrated and I think it is only a matter of time before we drastically improve our overall ranking.</p>

6

<p>Can you tell what source you are getting these National Rankings from?</p>

7

<p>SIS is a great program with great faculty but on which list did it surpass Johns Hopkins (SAIS), Princeton (Woodrow Wilson), Georgetown (SFS), Harvard, Yale, Columbia or Tufts? Graduate or Undergraduate?</p>

<p>Full disclosure I am a student at Georgetown. I have the utmost respect for American and its students and was actually here looking for some information for a friend interested in SIS. However, I have a hard time believing that SIS has the climbed the rankings so much as to beat out all of the above universities. (not that all are better)</p>

<p>With that said, to the OP, if your child is interested in IR, American regardless of any ranking it is an incredible place to be. Im not sure why the university as a whole does so poorly but the US news week people like to power trip. Best of luck.</p>

8

<p>I’m not sure if this would apply but both GWU and Georgetown tend to tank in rankings because so many of their professors are adjunct instead of full-time tenured. This is because many of them work primarily for the government or other firms in DC. I’ve heard this causes them to be ranked lower by BW/USNWR. Can anyone speculate on that?</p>

<p>Also I’m not sure why but AU dropped from being 28 to being NR(not ranked?) this year in businessweek which was a surprise.</p>

9

<p>This comes from a wiki article simply because its the easiest place to get all the different IR type rankings in once place. The point of all this is, I think, that the individual programs are more highly regarded than the US News ranking would suggest, if all that matters. IMHO I think it hopefully matters most in suggesting the type of education a student will receive.</p>

<p>The School of International Service (SIS) is recognized as the largest of its kind in the U.S. Among The Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) schools, AU’s School of International Service has the largest number of minority students and female students and is ranked 6th among APSIA schools in numbers of international students.[25] A review in Foreign Policy Magazine ranked the school 8th in the country for preparing future foreign policy professionals and 25th for academic careers. SIS’s undergraduate programs earned a spot at number 11, and its graduate programs were ranked number 8.[29] Because the field of international relations is not evaluated by U.S. News & World Report, the College of William and Mary recently published the results of their survey, which ranked the AU international relations master’s degree in the top 10 in the United States and the doctoral degree in the top 25.[25] [American</a> University - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_University]American”>American University - Wikipedia)</p>

10

<p>Other than being in DC, there really aren’t many similarities between AU and GWU or GT. First of all, more than 60% of AU students receive needbased aid; at GWU it is 38%, and at GT it is even lower, I think. In other words, the students are statistically much poorer, and you will definitely notice it when you visit the other colleges.</p>

<p>Secondly, the majority of GW students are in the liberal arts (many in the sciences), and, combined with the engineering school, that makes up 65% of the student body. At GT, the vast majority of students are in the liberal arts. At AU, more than 60% of students are in SIS, Kogod, Public Affairs, and Communications - liberal arts are a distinct minority (and a great many of the liberal arts major double in one of the other schools.) Statistically very few science or arts students.</p>

<p>In the liberal arts, I doubt AU would be ranked in the top 100 (hence its USNWR ranking). But the business school is much more highly ranked than GW, and about the same as GT. It has by far the largest international relations school (and by far the most course offerings) - GW, with double the school population, has less than half the number of students in IR. Then add in Communications and Public Affairs, and you quickly see that AU is a very, very different school than GW and GT, and if they weren’t all in DC, I doubt they would be compared.</p>

11

<p>Why very few science or “arts” students? For what was the Katzen Art Center built? The Gen Eds are mostly liberal arts courses, if you can even get into them? My daughter can’t get into the ones she needs. ):</p>

12

<p>I think they should be applauded for choosing to put emphasis on what they do well.</p>

<p>As for gen ed., my d. has never, even once, had difficulty getting the ones she wanted or needed. Between her advisor, and just showing up for the first week of classes, or finding alternatives that she like equally well, it has never been a problem.</p>

13

<p>With regards to the BW ranking, this was because not enough employers ranked Kogod and their experiences with their students / the school. It is definitely an unfortunate situation, but I will be looking to rectify that for the upcoming year and hopefully being even higher ranked than 28th.</p>

14

<p>My daughter was told by her advisor, who never, by the way, provides any advice, help, or encouragement, that she would not be able to get the ones she needs as she has to fit specific categories, not random ones. It is based on priority of registration as I have already said a number of times, Mini.</p>

15

<p>The advisor merely gives clearance for registration and nothing else.</p>

16

<p>My son has been accepted to AU honors program with a generous scholarship…
accepter to Notre Dame as well…he is now deciding what to do.
We attended AU for the Accepted honors students overnight …my son really liked it. They really went out of their way to make him feel special…
We both have concerns about the reputation…not to sound like a snob…
but would a ND diploma be better? Or should he go to DC…take the scholarship and miss out on the big college experience??</p>

17

<p>'red, I think they are just out to get your d., if she exists. Why she is still at AU is a mystery to me. My d. has received excellent advice, and help, repeatedly, from her initial advisor, her departmental adivsor, her career advisor (actually two of them), and from faculty she has befriended, as well as the school’s dean, all of whom have gone to bat for her, repeatedly, to get her the courses she needs, the appointments she needs, internship referrals, even planning for her graduate program. </p>

<p>Of course, she exists, and she asks.</p>

<p>“Or should he go to DC…take the scholarship and miss out on the big college experience??”</p>

<p>Well, it will be a different college experience, “the big city college experience”. Does that appeal? Or does Indiana have a better draw? And if Indiana does, how much is it worth in cash? </p>

<p>Or, do a thought experiment: take the difference in cost between the two schools and imagine you weren’t going to save any of it, but were going to spend it on additional educational experiences - support for unpaid internships, international travel, a year of professional school (law school, etc.), a year of painting on the south coast of France, etc.</p>

<p>Now do an equation:</p>

<p>ND = AU PLUS experience. Now, which way do the scales lean?</p>

18

<p>Whether your daughter, David and Ellen, had good advisors or not, my daughter has not. I have had to go to bat for her cause Noone else will. Another poster said the Gened system is not good, and they may change it in the coming year. She said it was tough luck if you couldn’t get your courses because of priority registration. We are not the only ones with this problem. My daughter said her best friends, who are now transferring can’t get the needed or desired classes either and were trying to find them at other colleges in the area, but resorted to transfer all together.</p>

19

<p>Cadred, I’m sorry your daughter is having such bad luck with her friends–as I recall, first they moved off campus because they hated the dorms, now they are leaving altogether because they can’t get into classes. My D’s friends are all still living on campus and have no issues with classes or plans to leave. She really likes her adviser and has had positive experiences with other members of AU’s administration. I think only one of her profs this year was a something of a disappointment. She’s managed to get the classes she’s wanted so far–maybe had to take a second choice once or twice, but that’s hardly a big deal. DH and I have no complaints, except wishing the dining hall food was better, so D would make more use of her meal plan–but having eaten there during a visit, we knew it was a weakness. D hosted a visiting student during the Honors prospie program last week and felt very comfortable encouraging the girl to enroll.</p>

20

<p>“My daughter said her best friends, who are now transferring…”</p>

<p>They’re STILL transferring? I thought they already left.</p>

<p>“I have had to go to bat for her cause Noone else will.”</p>

<p>That’s likely the problem, rather than the solution. You sound like a broken record. And I pity your d. for it (if she exists).</p>