<p>You don't become a famous prof without lots of research. That's just the way it works. Many of the profs at the big research schools spent some time at the top LAC's but wanted a bigger pond to do their work in.</p>
<p>Haha slipper, I picked NU over Michigan. I think they are both equally good schools; the main reason I picked NU was because of Chicago and the opportunities that the city offers.</p>
<p>Slipper, you are incorrect about Northwestern and Michigan. In terms of undergraduate student quality, they are identical. According to the USNWR, both are tied as the 18th most selective universities in the country. As far as more students chosing Northwestern over Michigan, that is also incorrect. It is roughly a 50/50 split. And I really have no idea how you figure the teaching is better at Northwestern.</p>
<p>Where does USC fit in?</p>
<p>Heh... do you really want to know?</p>
<ol>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>Yale</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Princeton</li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Caltech</li>
<li>Dartmouth</li>
<li>Columbia</li>
<li>Amherst</li>
<li>UPenn</li>
<li>Williams</li>
<li>Swarthmore</li>
<li>Brown</li>
<li>Duke</li>
<li>Northwestern</li>
<li>Cornell</li>
</ol>
<p>Barrons, first of all, famous prof doesn't equal good prof. Second of all, even if it did, many top LACs DO have famous profs. They are able to get these because they offer many research opportunities and a chance to actually TEACH undergrads. Finally, many profs leave large research unis and come to LACs...one thing you have to understand about profs and universities is that there are more equally qualified professors than good universities for them to go to.</p>
<p>kimfuge--I'm curious about your ranking...I don't understand how you can separate Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore. Either you understand the importance of a small university, and thus would put them all above UPenn, or you don't understand this importance, and then you would list them all below UPenn.</p>
<p>haon, The most famous professors in the world are NOT at LAC's. Can famous professors be at LAC's? I'm sure they can be but in general, the most famous professors are found at research universities. Unfortunately for you, barrons was correct in his statement. Professors get famous because of their research. barrons didnt make that rule up, he just reported it to everyone. Dont shoot the messenger!</p>
<p>Stanford behind Yale? But Yale sucks in science and engineering compared to Stanford.</p>
<p>The most famous profs will be members of the National Academies of Science and Engineering. Amherst+Swat+Williams have 0 members on staff. Michigan has 43 and Wisconsin has 63. I cannot vouch for their teaching but they are the best people in their fields.</p>
<p>NAS link</p>
<p>ubermensch-
With your well- stated description of what makes a college/university "tops", why doesn't Rice make your list?? It is a great school-- I'd put it above the larger U's like Michigan, Northwestern or Duke.</p>
<p>Top 10 is easy - Ivies + Stanford+ MIT. Those are the only eligible top ten. The other schools aren't consistenly at the top, or they're not well known to most people (Berkeley/UCLA may be the exceptions)</p>
<p>Most people are shopping at Wal-mart.</p>
<p>"Top 10 is easy - Ivies + Stanford+ MIT. Those are the only eligible top ten. The other schools aren't consistenly at the top, or they're not well known to most people (Berkeley/UCLA may be the exceptions)"</p>
<p>It's easy, if one doesn't include Caltech in his list and also Duke to a certain extent, he is either joking, or not well-educated. :)</p>
<p>"Heh... do you really want to know?"</p>
<p>yes :p</p>
<p>I agree. Caltech is easily part of the top 6.</p>
<p>Intelliot, I approximate USC to be around number 40 in the US. That is just an approximation though. US News ranks it number 30 so if I were you I'd stand by that number instead. That is not bad in the relative scheme of things. I mean, that means that USC is still better than at least 97% of the schools in the country. It is especially good if you plan on living/working in Southern California. A USC degree in Los Angeles can compete successfully with a degree from any school. Well, the person holding the degree can. USC is also rapidly improving. Much funds are being pumped into the school.</p>
<p>Hey you guys, </p>
<p>I have a question about which school I should choose. I'm a sophomore at East Carolina University who's taken business core classes, but I've developed an interest in Engineering and Computer Science.</p>
<p>For Transfer, I've been accepted by George Washington University, and have been awarded the Elliot Engineering Scholarship ($12g), however, I am thinking about holding off, and going to UNC Chapel Hill for fall '05. If I go to UNC for the fall, I'll be an in-state resident by then, meaning the price will be a fraction of what GWU would cost.</p>
<p>As for areas of study, I have narrowed my options to: Biomedical or Mechnical Engineering, Computer Science, Business Finance. </p>
<p>Which school would be better for me? My father wants me to go to UNC because of the money, but I don't like the country, I'm more urban... thus, I lean towards GWU. Also, one of my best friends goes to GWU. </p>
<p>Stats: UNC - 29th; GWU - 52nd
Let me know what you think.</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p>This is quite interesting, although not new. I found it from another forum:</p>
<p>"The USNWR rankings is done by amateurs. Here's a new ranking scheme proposed by four professors (2 from Harvard, 1 from BU, 1 from Wharton) that is perhaps more objective -- it is based on desirability, eg, if a student is admitted to both Harvard and Yale, how likely is he or she going to select one over the other.</p>
<p><a href="http://papers.nber.org/papers/w10803%5B/url%5D">http://papers.nber.org/papers/w10803</a></p>
<p>Here are the top 10 (see Table 3 for the full rankings):</p>
<p>1 Harvard
2 Yale
3 Stanford
4 Cal Tech
5 MIT
6 Princeton
7 Brown
8 Columbia
9 Amherst
10 Dartmouth "</p>