<p>How does Delaware rank against other public universities in the northeast: Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers, SUNY, UConn, UMass Amherst, Vermont?</p>
<p>UD, along with all the colleges you mentioned, are frequently cited as being “Public Ivies” (Greene’s Guide -2001) meaning that the schools provide a quality level of educational experience on par with Ivy League schools but at a much reduced cost (at least for in-state applicants). Each school may be more well known for specific majors that are particularly highly rated. For example, if you were interested in Chemical Engineering, UD would be the school to attend as its Chemical Engineering Program is ranked 10th in the country, above all Ivy League Programs except Princeton. Overall all of these schools are at a very similar level from a academic perspective. You can’t go wrong attending any of them. An applicant should visit the colleges they are interested in to get a feel for which one they best “fit-in” with. It is my belief that as these schools are very similar from an overall ranking/rating perspective. I would not choose one over another based solely on a particular rating/ranking list. I hope this helps answer your question.</p>
<p>Both Maryland and Penn State are higher-ranked in USNWR terms, but ultimately the education you get at any of these schools is going to be based on what the student puts into it, not on rankings. And of course, as Mwallenmd points out, the specific major may also play into it. </p>
<p>(BTW, I think the term ‘Public Ivy’ is an exaggeration here; that’s usually applied to schools like William&Mary, Michigan, and UVA.)</p>
<p>how is the political science program at UD? comparable to…</p>
<p>SUNY is a whole system that ranges from one extreme to the other. Can’t look at them as one.</p>
<p>Helidad…a question I have been asking myself over and over lol…</p>
<p>Here’s Greens list of “public ivies”</p>
<p>Eastern</p>
<pre><code>* Pennsylvania State University (University Park)
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (New Brunswick, New Jersey)
- State University of New York at Binghamton
- University of Connecticut (Storrs)
- University of Delaware (Newark)
- University of Maryland (College Park)
</code></pre>
<p>[edit] Western</p>
<pre><code>* University of Arizona (Tucson)
- University of California (6 of 10 campuses):
o Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara - University of Colorado at Boulder
- University of Washington (Seattle)
o Pima Community Colleige (Tucson, Arizona)
</code></pre>
<p>[edit] Great Lakes & Midwest</p>
<pre><code>* Indiana University (Bloomington)
- Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)
- Michigan State University (East Lansing)
- The Ohio State University (Columbus)
- University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
- University of Iowa (Iowa City)
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
- University of Minnesota (Minneapolis-St. Paul)
- University of Wisconsin (Madison)
</code></pre>
<p>[edit] Southern</p>
<pre><code>* College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia)
- University of Florida (Gainesville)
- University of Georgia (Athens)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Virginia (Charlottesville)
</code></pre>
<p>Here’s a link for the National University Rankings by US News and World Report:</p>
<p>[National</a> University Rankings | Top National Universities | US News Best Colleges](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities)</p>
<p>Of the schools you listed all are considered “public ivies” with the exception of UMass and Vermont</p>
<p>According to USNews and World Report they are ranked in the following order:</p>
<p>Penn State#47
U of Maryland#56
Rutgers#64
UConn#69
UDel #75
SUNY ESF #79
SUNY Binghamton#86
Vermont#94
SUNY Stony Brook#99</p>
<p>*I did not find UMass…but I did not go through the entire list </p>
<p>I hope this helps…unfortunately I did not see these listings until my son put in all of his applications- and I would have encouraged him to apply to a few more… :(</p>
<p>It seems you have lots of great choices…which ones are on the “short list”?</p>
<p>Helidad-</p>
<p>UMass#99</p>
<p>Another factor that one might at least give some consideration to when considering attending a State University is the impact that the poor economic times have had on many of these fine schools. A number of State Universities, due to stagnant or reduced State funding, have had to reduce/cease faculty hiring, have decreased program/majors, and have decreased the number/availability of courses. One result of these problems is that a number of students have found it difficult to be able to complete all the courses they need to finish a major in 4 years. Being from NJ I know this has been true at Rutgers and it looks like with the major budget problems in PA that PSU will also be very negatively impacted in the years ahead.</p>
<p>While UD has certainly also been impacted by the tough economic times it appears that the extent is significantly less than that at many other State Universities for many reasons, not the least of which is that UD has one of the largest endowment funds (over a billion dollars) of all major State Universities in the nation. UD is currently hiring additional faculty members, has been increasing majors/Graduate Programs/Research activities, and has initiated a major building program in the science/engineering areas that, once completed in several years, will be the envy of many other State Universities. All of these things are part of a plan called “Path to Prominence” which has been spearheaded by UD’s relatively new President (3 years), the former Dean of the Wharton School at Penn. UD was identified by USN&WR as #8 in its list of up and coming schools ( SUNY-Binghamton was #11 and UMD-College Park was #20).</p>
<p>As I said in my previous post there are many factors a student needs to consider when looking at State Universities. I believe this issue is one that is often overlooked (especially in these tough economic times that may take some time to resolve). Just my perspective.</p>
<p>Mwallenmd- couldn’t agree with you more…I also saw the “up and coming” school ranking- but my post was so long already, I let it go.</p>
<p>My problem is that I think I’m OVERTHINKING. So many lists - so many statistics - so many opinions. My head is spinning…How much does it all mean anyway? </p>
<p>I think the time has come for me to give it a rest - and just let my son choose on his own gut.</p>
<p>Short list is UMass and Delaware. We are OOS for both, but live closer to Delaware.</p>
<p>In general, do you think it’s possible to get into an Ivy League graduate program after attending undergraduate at UDel?
When I asked this at UConn, people scoffed at me… I’m trying to choose between here and Rensselaer.</p>
<p>what do you mean they “scoffed at you?”</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Of course it is. It’s even possible to go to Oxford: [Delaware’s</a> Matthew Watters named Rhodes Scholar](<a href=“http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2011/nov/watters-rhodes-scholar112210.html]Delaware’s”>Delaware's Matthew Watters named Rhodes Scholar : University of Delaware).</p>