<p>Maybe it's just me but I'm getting tired of people comparing schools based on the US News University Rankings. Am I alone? It would be great if people could just stop ranking universities. It would also be great to be able to dedicate one's life without so much peer pressure to an field of academics just as apprentices did in the time of the Renaissance. Where has all the beauty in learning gone? Everything is competition now. Every test, every project, every assignment. Even the supposedly innocent act of volunteering to help people is now done, most of the time IMO, to impress admissions people. I think instead of making me a better person, college admissions has made me realize how greedy and evil people are. In conclusion, I hate the USNews Rankings because people put Cornell down without any reason to support their judgements just because of its rank.</p>
<p>^Amen. Well put, I have the same complaint!</p>
<p>i hate US news. there really isn't any point to ranking schools in estimated numerical order. When you look at it, there are so many schools that are deserving of the "top 5" in one field or another.</p>
<p>True guys .... I agree.</p>
<p>I hate the fact that selectivity has become synonomous with quality. Just a few days ago, my calculus teacher insulted the fact that I had chosen Cornell over other Ivies, saying that "those who go to Cornell were rejected by Yale, Stanford, Harvard, [enterinanyotherschoolyougetthepoint]."</p>
<p>that's horrible. It definetly annoys me. Quite frankly, all the kids who diss Cornell can't get into the school anyways. Most of the kids who label it as the "lower" ivy league are bitter about being rejected and deferred from other schools.</p>
<p>I subscribe to USNEWS.com. I think that the information is very useful. However, it is, what it is. It take numerous factors into account, and statistically ranks them. My son is interested in EE (Electrical Engineering). USNEWS ranks Berkeley higher than UCLA and UCSD. OK, in some factors, this is probably true. Will a graduate in EE from UCLA or UCSD not get a job, and will he/she be thought as deficient because he/she graduated from UCLA? I think not. The same applies to other schools, and to other majors. You have to take the rankings for what they are. It includes graduation percentages, alumni giving rates, SAT scores, etc. etc. It/they (USNEWS) is just one factor to consider in the overall picture. It is not worthless info, but also, it is not the end-all, be-all rating and ranking.</p>
<p>I also don't think the US News criteria is entirely worthless. The quality of the student body (as determined by acceptance rates, avg. SAT scores, etc.) is an important consideration in judging a school's value.</p>
<p>However, I think the US News should reward rigorous schools like Cornell or Berkeley or MIT for holding its students to a high standard. As of right now, schools that are grade-inflated (and therefore have high graduation rates, freshman retention rates, etc.) are actually REWARDED in the rankings for passing out cupcake grades. </p>
<p>Yet in the end, the US News rankings is simply an opinion. Take it with a grain of salt as you would anyone else's opinion.</p>
<p>On a side note, the London Times ranked us 9 in the nation and the next ivy league after HYP :) . We're in the top 15 on most every rank. In the end none of these ranks really decides whether or not you will be successful in a college. Only you can decide that.</p>
<p>It not so much the US News rankings themselves that bother me, but it is the superficial "what's your SAT?" mentality that they represent that bothers me. School is just cutthroat competition--not learning. Instead of actually taking time to understand the material, I memorize it and do so to the liking of each of my teachers. I know this isn't what is better for me as a person, but in order to get into a school with a lot of resources I need to have "good grades". </p>
<p>It's that entire feeling that makes me despise those rankings, SATs, and the position that other standardized tests have gotten in today's educational system that make me resentful.</p>
<p>The USNWR is one ranking. I treat it as I do any other ranking guide--with a grain of salt. I do not think that USNWR is useless. It's good to use when starting out one's college search, and to check out schools a person would possibly have never known about. For instance, when I was in my college search using USNWR, I came across Washington University in St. Louis (I never heard of it before then), and I decided to look into that school. Also, by using US news, I came across good liberal arts schools that I'd never heard of before (Swarthmore, Williams, Bowdoin, Amherst, etc.). I think it offers good information about the universities, such as their peer assessment scores, etc. However, I did not use it as a sole measure of whether one school is better than the next, and when occasional students do that, I do tend to get slightly irritated. A school may perform highly on USNWR, but may not do as well in another ranking, and vice-versa. Cornell is #13 on USNWR (I think that's great). However, in the London Times Ranking, Cornell is ranked number 14 (I believe) in the world (9th in the nation), and the Washington Monthly ranked Cornell at number 5 in the nation. All in all, USNWR is one ranking, and it shouldn't be the only thing to use when choosing a school.</p>
<p>I like the rankings. They are a quick and painless way to assess the relative strengths and weakness of different schools. That said, I do not like people using them incorrectly.</p>
<p>US News rankings are definetely a good gauge about how good universities are comparatively, especially if you aren't familiar with colleges.</p>
<p>Cornell is an awesome school, but its selectivity isn't as high as the schools usually ranked above it in the U.S. News rankings, and some people consider that an important factor.</p>
<p>Also, the London Times Rankings focus on graduate programs moreso (where Cornell is also great) rather than undergrad, which is what the U.S. News rankings do (which is why its so popular too, they say).</p>
<p>Okay, sorry for this second post, but the way you phrased that last sentence made it sound like pride has a direct relation with how others perceive you. What if I am proud of setting goals and reaching my potential? What if Cornell were my first-choice school (which it is)? Your post was so shallow I had to read it twice. I think Harvard has warped your mind. Go get some fresh air and stop being so paranoid about what others think about you. Stop trying to boost your ego by coming on to the Cornell board and making pejorative comments. And what in the world is the difference between a first-tier ivy and a second-tier ivy? So I guess in comparison to Yale, Harvard is a second-tier Ivy if you only include Yale and Harvard within your standards.</p>
<p>I guess that affirms a couple of reasons why I picked Cornell: (1) I will not be surrounded by snobby people paranoid about their public image who have inflated egos (just like their gpas); and, (2) I will not be surrounded by people who attach their prides to their school name.</p>
<p>Haha...a typical fight "prestige" fight between the ivy leagues. </p>
<p>In my opinion, Harvard students for the most part are snobby. In fact, judging from the attitudes of some of the other Harvard students I've met, Harvard_Crimson is on the "milder" snobby side. You won't believe the things that some of those guys say about the other ivies, especially Cornell.</p>
<p>dont forget guys, Cornell is still an ivy! And only stuck up prestige whores break up the ivy league into tiers. In the end, both Cornell and Harvard play each other in hockey every single year (and Cornell usually wins). </p>
<p>Here at Cornell, everybody laughs at grade-inflated Harvard. </p>
<p>Afterall, at least 50% of the people here would have a decent shot of admissions at harvard. the majority of students at Cornell were spectacular students in HS. This is especially true of engineering where Harvard lags behind Cornell quite a bit. </p>
<p>I'm not feeling 'good enough' about Cornell, so i'm gonna go make a few posts to boost the ego on the Emory forum, brb...</p>
<p>Harvard_Crimson...quit trolling. Troll.</p>
<p>That said, rankings are good and bad. They're good, because they give schools a reason to compete and improve in many areas. I'd bet that school funding has increased considerably since the US News rankings became an important feature of the US university landscape. Improved funding means improved resources, and in the long run, improved student experiences.</p>
<p>Can someone explain to me exactly what a "troll" on CC is?</p>
<p>Taken from Wikipedia:</p>
<p>"In Internet terminology, a troll is a person who posts rude or offensive messages on the Internet, such as on online discussion forums, to disrupt discussion or to upset its participants."</p>
<p>Harvard_Crimson is a troll because he's just saying BS to get other people riled up. It's nothing constructive at all.</p>
<p>Haha...how true. Yeah, he's just here to boost his ego.</p>