Entering Test Scores Rank (compared to all schools nationally)
- Haverford
- Cornell
- Georgia Tech
- Cal-Berkeley
- UMichigan
- UT-Austin
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9
If you choose to look beyond Haverford for schools with cricket programs, this would, in general, lead you – excepting interests in majors that Haverford does not offer – toward some degree of academic compromise.
Wow ok do you guys know if their business program is any good? @merc81 @doschicos @Corbett
They don’t have a business major, typical of many LACs. However, they have many students who go into businesses of some type after graduation. Economics is a very popular and strong major at Haverford.
Well, you might be stuck there. Many top schools – Haverford, the NESCACs, six of the Ivies et al – do not offer business as a major.
So the strength of a school can be quantified by incoming tests scores?
The OP referred specifically to rankings (#17), which correlate strongly with entering scores.
The College of Wooster has club cricket – very popular:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=utp7msFV2cQ
Although not as selective as Haverford, Wooster graduates a proportionately large number of students who go on to earn PhDs in STEM.(link is for physical sciences):
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19188817#Comment_19188817
@merc81 - How is that working for Webb Institute?
And I would hope no students will pick colleges based on incoming test scores.
Ideally, one should also consider other factors. Like cricket, apparently.
We could disregard test scores entirely and go with the Forbes college ranking system – since it doesn’t use test scores at all. In that case, here’s how Forbes ranks the schools mentioned above:
23 Haverford
30 Cornell
40 Berkeley
44 Michigan
89 Georgia Tech
93 Texas
So this approach yields the same general conclusion as one based on test scores alone.
I’m not necessarily endorsing the idea that college decisions should be based on (1) rankings and (2) cricket. One could easily question the value of both criteria (especially if you’ve played baseball). I’m only suggesting that if those are the criteria, then Haverford deserves consideration.
Strong quantitative and conceptual abilities would generally be required for successful ship design, so it should not be surprising that the students at Webb enter with among the highest standardized scoring in the country, @ClarinetDad16.
Fit is personal and factors that enter into it could help narrow which schools are on or off one’s list.
This can include availability of a major, a sport, location, weather, size, etc. This often includes the relative strength of the programs one is interested in. This should place emphasis on outcomes. On opportunities studying abroad, internships, research, etc. Quality of life, student satisfaction, etc.
There are a wealth of factors arguably more relevant than what SAT or ACT scores high school students had. We could list numerous reasons why these scores don’t predict success in college or in life. And absent of GPA test scores alone don’t provide enough data about the student. They perhaps better reflect affluence than aptitude.
And if “rank” is important to the OP’s parents, then simply use rank as part of the criteria. Not a component of it…
@merc81 and the relative strength of their test scores yields Webb how many applicants? Results in what ranking for Webb? Has it helped grow the endowment?
Suppose that you want to demonstrate that a small liberal arts college is a “good school”, comparable to larger and better-known universities – which is precisely the issue that arose in this thread. The problem with the “simply use rank” approach in this case is that the best-known college rankings, from USN&WR, rank LACs and universities in separate categories. So you can’t “simply use USN&WR rank” to make the point.
The alternatives are either to: (1) focus on specific criteria that can be compared across the USN&WR rankings, such as test scores, or (2) reference an alternative ranking that mixes LACs and universities, such as Forbes. I’ve done both of these things in this thread, and they both make exactly the same point. I suggested test scores first, simply because more people are familiar with test scores than they are with the Forbes ranking.
@WizKid123 on another thread you had indicated an interest in sports management. Though Haverford has no such program or degree, it oddly has a lot of grads in front office positions in Major League Baseball.
How many Haverford grads hold front office positions in Cricket?
Wow ok thanks @arwarw . I appreciate the help guys @Corbett @ClarinetDad16 . Both those colleges are nice for test scores and ranking, but I think I’ll just go to a school with club cricket because I don’t even know if I’ll make the team at Haverford :). Thanks though. I honestly don’t care that much about rankings, but my parents do. I’m more concrend about the education I can get at the school and if it fits me or not.