<p>Pat, heres the Revealed Preference Rankings:
<a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/W10803%5B/url%5D">http://www.nber.org/papers/W10803</a></p>
<p>brand, think about journalism, you'd be a pro. here it is, this time in context:</p>
<p>"not quite sheed. they're both great. but let's try something.</p>
<p>vanderbilt is a significantly better school than emory overall....[stats follow]".</p>
<p>simply developing an argument. as previously stated in this same quote, i believe they are indeed somewhat on an even keel (i did however choose vanderbilt over emory and others for a reason). despite this, i can argue that vanderbilt is a better school than emory as well as vice versa. hence the words "let's try something". i see where you might be coming from though</p>
<p>i surely don't look down upon* others for their choice of school. my closest friend will be attending emory in the fall over the likes of the ivies among others.</p>
<p>finally, fit is just about everything. i despise the rankings. i prefer statistical analysis over them.</p>
<p>Not just better, significantly better. </p>
<p>That is:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Significant: Fairly large in amount or quantity
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It just seems like a contradiction to say two things are peers and then say one is significantly better, no?</p>
<p>brand_182, I'm not going to get on your case this time because you're probably just ignorant on the topic of mathematical statistics.</p>
<p>NOTE:
<p>He's obviously well-versed in statistics. Therefore, brand, when brian used the term "significantly better," he wasn't using "significantly" to mean "fairly large in amount or quantity" - he was using it in terms of statistics.</p>
<p> [quote] The statistical significance of a result is the probability that the observed relationship (e.g., between variables) or a difference (e.g., between means) in a sample occurred by pure chance ("luck of the draw"), and that in the population from which the sample was drawn, no such relationship or differences exist.
</p>
<p>If that doesn't clear things up for you, open up a stat book.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If that doesn't clear things up for you, open up a stat book.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm good. You and others obviously have a Vandy bias and long await the prophesied day when it will break the top 10 - to no avail - which causes you to put on your ******* faces if anyone questions the merit of said discussion. Enjoy propping your school up on a pedestal and splitting hairs. I'm out.</p>
<p>Hey, what's with the attitude? </p>
<p>Oh, well I guess I'd be ticked off too if I was getting my education at a place like Wesleyan.</p>
<p>I surmise the attitude comes from your own (unnecessarily) combatant attitude.</p>
<p>And Wesleyan, in terms of LACs, is ranked higher than Vandy in the college rankings, I believe. (I hope that was sarcasm on your part.)</p>
<p>Your condescending attitude is so thick that I can notice it over an internet chat forum - maybe that's why I'm willing to give some attitude back. All I've done is state that the measures being used here in an attempt to claim one school's superiority over another are inconclusive and this argument seems to be grasping at straws. I mean, come on: the rate at which students transfer out? Cross admit data? A 4% difference in admission rates and difference of maybe 20 points in each SAT section? Surely you must all realize that none of these factors can logically conclude that one of these schools is better than the other. They are peers and for all practical purposes any statement such as "Vandy is better than Emory" or vice versa is opinion.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Oh, well I guess I'd be ticked off too if I was getting my education at a place like Wesleyan.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You obviously haven't looked up the statistics for Wesleyan lately.</p>
<p>thought you were "out"?
it definitely boggles my mind to see people bickering over similar schools.
vanderbilt and emory are in all academic senses, peer universities...both "great", as i've mentioned a couple times in this thread.</p>
<p>brand, in the post you've referenced of mine in which i stated that vanderbilt is "significantly" better overall, i preceded the "argument" with a statement that i believe...both are very similar. i enjoy developing arguments no matter what my personal belief is. hell, i think abortion is wrong, but i could sit down with an uber christian and leave them speechless because i have more facts, just as i could sit down with a vanderbilt maniac and argue that emory is a better school...with a different set of numbers. maybe that extreme example can help you get a better feel for this whole statistics thing.</p>
<p>the point of this thread is (if you were to read it, wouldn't be very hard to pick up on) to predict that vanderbilt will rank above emory in your favorite publication. i love statistics and i am having a look at that possibility as these are indeed two very similar schools.</p>
<p>like all ranking obsessed kids these days, you seem to have chosen your school based off its ranking (if i'm mistaken, well, you've given off that signal, which surely isn't a good sign to begin with)...i had no trouble choosing vanderbilt over both nat.unis and lacs ranked in the "top 5" of usnwr</p>
<p>why don't you all just settle down a tad...you chose great schools that were fits for you and you'll have a great time</p>
<p>^^ I believe brand_182 chose Wesleyan over WUStL, so I doubt it has anything to do with rankings/prestige.</p>
<p>In fact, the point of my presence in this thread was to state that these schools are similar and that the differences in such metrics are irrelevant. I agree that I shouldn't have singled out your use of significant as you just want a discussion, though I did end up giving you one, only to be greeted by another Vandy poster who felt it necessary to insult my intelligence as he/she has done before. At the same time, I find these discussions pointless, especially when they're developed and contributed to by admittedly biased posters. </p>
<p>FWIW, I did choose Wesleyan over WashU. I didn't actually see much of a difference in prestige between the two. I commend you on your choosing Vanderbilt as it is an excellent school with a unique atmosphere. I do not see it as being any better than Emory, however, just as I do not see Wesleyan as any better than WashU. Threads such as these seem to instigate the same feelings as those embodied in the USNews ranking. In a sense, the idea of trying to differentiate two schools based on minute details is all part of the grand USNews scheme of assigning a number and position to schools.</p>
<p>we're on the same page.</p>
<p>you're right, but it's a fight that can't be won and it's consequently interesting to look at as people will always want to talk about them</p>
<p>True, but I always wonder why we never (or at least I never) see threads like this with Harvard vs. Yale, Princeton vs. Dartmouth, Duke vs. Penn, etc. as their subject. Is there something that the big boys know that those of us just a notch below aren't aware of? Just a thought.</p>