We all know that College confidential has their list of Ivies, Top Universities, and Top LACs.
I have bone to grind about the Top Universities List. I feel that it leaves some Universities out that would be considered prestigious in multiple fields. Also, if you look at the top LACs list, it includes colleges which many do not consider necessarily “prestigious”. If the top LAC list was compiled so liberally, why not the top Universities list too?
The Universities I feel should included are: UIUC and GTech (just some I noticed, there might be more).
Does anyone else feel the same way or would like to counter my argument? I look forward to reading your thoughts on the matter.
UIUC has some good faculties and since it admits by major, also some good to superior quality students but overall it’s a very mixed bag. You’re going to run into some nitwits there and I’m not talking football team only.
GTech is fantastic and is probably just barely of the list. It has to cut off somewhere.
I don’t expect too much from lists. But the fact that Georgia Tech has the highest reported SAT scores of the nation’s over 600 4-year public colleges (and, incidentally, tied with Hamilton and Middlebury for 38th overall) seems, by itself, to warrant its inclusion as a Top University.
Please note those lists were created quite a few years ago and haven’t been updated. An inherent problem with lists, of course, is that unless they are based on concrete, undeniable data (i.e. schools with the highest SAT scores or most expensive tuition, etc.) they are open to a lot of subjectivity…and, hence, will be debated quite regularly. No one will be completely happy with the results and will question why this school or that school wasn’t included. To be honest, I believe the original criteria for those “top universities” lists was post and thread activity on CC.
I ended up with fifteen. Cal-Berkeley (the school with the highest scores of the current public Top Universities) would slot in after these colleges, in a tie with another LAC, Reed.
( Source: USNWR Best Colleges, 2015 Edition. Bowdoin College is footnoted as test optional. Washington and Lee required a conversion from ACT.)
These are my suggestions to be included to the “CC Top Universities” listing (no particular order) : UIUC, UWisc- Mad, UTAustin, GTech, SouthernCal, NYU, UCSD.
Other candidates: Penn State, CWRU, W&M, UMinn, BU, OSU, UMD, UCI, UDub
They all have forums out here… no idea why anyone would actually care whether they are on the “front page” or not. One of my kids attends a school that is, and one attended one on the “alphabetical” list. Both found great fit, an excellent education, and were very happy with their choices. The only issue I see is extra clicks to get to the ones not on the “top” lists. Stop worrying about this kind of stuff… worry about fit, cost, academic opportunities, location, size, campus vibe, and ECs available.