<p>Why or why not?</p>
<p>Why does this matter? It probably should stay the same. Those rankings vary so much given the methodology. We went down b/c they changed the methodology to weight the perception of HS counselors. Many in public schools in the US, hardly have much of a clue outside of Ivies. They probably just look at the rankings and then make judgements/slight adjustments according to who they think is more prestigious as opposed to who educates better. But even then, USNews hardly cares about educational quality moreso than an “experience” (endowment, alumni connections, stuff like that). Given that, it would be weird if HS counselor opinion changed that much, and the SAT scores didn’t change that much, and admit rate for 2014 did not change that much. Basically, it really depends on the school above and below us. Emory will probably get about the same score as always, but a school ahead or below may do worse or better respectively. This is why we dropped, not because of some sudden slipp in quality (maybe the app. numbers/“selectivity” was slightly hurt too). </p>
<p>Emory will not suddenly drop out of the top 25 and that’s what should matter.</p>
<p>good answer and in reality school rankings outside the top 25 rarely matter…most of them are on par with each other on the quality of education.</p>
<p>However I would like to see Emory cracking the upper top 20s again like it has in the past…</p>
<p>We’d all like to see it, but the current methodology doesn’t really favor up and comers anymore like it did in the days where Emory plateaued at number 9. Emory has to work really hard to continue to improve its academics and reputation (the reputation is the hard part. We’re not an Ivy or some place known for lots of excellence in the very distant past, and we don’t have D-1 sports) vs. many peers. It isn’t easy at all. Seems as if current rankings favor some status quo type thing. Basically Emory has to keep improving and letting everyone know that it is improving or doing well. Again, we fail with the latter. Other schools do a much better job touting the benefits and offers that come along with the academics. Emory offers a lot of stuff that most people attending probably don’t even know about.</p>
<p>Sup Bernie - could you just elaborate on when you said:</p>
<p>“Emory offers a lot of stuff that most people attending probably don’t even know about.”</p>
<p>Any insights that you have?</p>
<p>Well Emory has a lot of resources at its disposal…CDC, internships in Atlanta, excellent courses…</p>
<p>Emory also doesnt have a dedicated Engineering school which probably also affects performance on the charts…</p>
<p>Lots of lab opportunities etc…what i found about Emory was that a lot of those things are really accessible to undergrad students…its just that most people dont utilize them…and should i say more accessible than many other universities?</p>
<p>Many don’t utilize the research ops. and they also don’t utilize ops. to attend or participate in symposiums/conferences held outside of Emory (unless they are a part of some club/organization and indeed must attend. Say, Model UN or Debate), and often Emory will find a way to fund/reimburse you for these events. For example, my friend recently gave a presentation on her breast cancer research at a Harvard research symposium and will be reimbursed. Many Emory students seem to think that only higher ranked peers offer such ops. in abundance. However, you’d have to wonder if they truly seek such ops. or are merely complaining, b/c many here hardly seek such opportunities. They often talk as if “students X University do such awesome things” when in reality “they” could be doing awesome things that would easily be facility by a supportive faculty member if they wanted it. However others inclination to complain about what Emory has a “lack of” is the driven/interested students treasure/opportunity. For example, it’s surprising how little people were interested in going the American Chemical Society Conference via Chemory (I went my freshmen year, and it sealed the deal for me as a person interested in scientific research, particularly in chemistry). Many students have a false perception. Emory doesn’t need more opps., they just need a higher level of academic interest to pursue those. Seems as if a lot do take advantage of “resume booster” activities on campus and in Atlanta (sponsoring events, student gov., community service projects, etc), but they shouldn’t dare say that Emory doesn’t offer unique academic opportunities like other schools do. It’s there, and outside of merely working in the lab and maybe presenting research at the Emory level, many don’t want much more than that.
Perhaps Emory should more aggressively encourage/publicize symposiums/academic events of all sorts that take place outside of Emory. And even on campus intellectual events are perhaps poorly attended. Normally, mere attendance at such events may be leads to future ops (for example, events held at the ethics center can lead to an interest that folks in the center could aid you with). At Emory, you can tell who the go-getters are b/c they don’t constantly complain, they get stuff done and take advantage of ops. here that most ignore/pretend to not exist, or neglect. It seems as if those who come in wanting/expecting a humdrum experience w/some useful inflationary grading, get just that. Those who knew/felt that Emory was an awesome school with awesome ops, took full advantage of them and got an awesome experience (they didn’t spend too much time worrying/pondering about what other schools were supposedly doing better). 2 camps:
First camp: “Well It’s not quite an Ivy, and I really wanted an Ivy, but its a top 20, so it’ll at least look Okay getting a degree from here”
Other camp: “I am happy that I got into a great school that I can afford, even if it was not an Ivy. Doesn’t really matter to me, close enough”. </p>
<p>Simply two different mindsets b/c of differing backgrounds. Needless to say, I’m in the latter camp. In fact the fact that I attend a 4-year university is good enough an accomplishment w/my background. Having the second brings so much more optimism and readiness to accomplish things. Whereas the first is almost as if you’re being punished and you are simply tolerating/making the best of your situation (which the average American would consider a great situation). I never knew how different my world was from some of the more well-off families/students, especially those in the NE (or maybe even internationals) where it really was all about the top 10 or so schools, and mainly only those in the NE.</p>
<p>Great comment, bernie12. College really is what you make of it – at Emory and really, at any school. Ratings have nothing to do with what a student makes of his or her own experience.</p>
<p>Very insightful comment Bernie, as always. I did seem to sense the two camps during my visit, I most definitely fall into camp 2, being really happy with being and Emory eagle. I also found myself being with others in camp 2 during my visit…but I did sense that others were at Emory sort of reluctantly.</p>
<p>Here is the dilemma for me… i think i will be overwhelmed with all the opportunities around me that i wouldn’t know where to start…is there like a counselor or someone who can guide me?</p>
<p>@Jason, I have the same concerns. I think there’s so much that a place like Emory has to offer that I wouldn’t know where to begin, in terms of choosing courses, finding research/internships/other opportunities, getting involved in activities. Meeting with a counselor earlier on would really help me out.</p>
<p>A great PR move would be a good D1 basketball program.</p>
<p>@Jason: You will have plenty of advisors, starting with your freshman faculty and peer advisors. The peers know (or can find out about) the classes and profs, while the faculty advisors can give you information about available programs and opportunities.</p>
<p>I think it works pretty well. You can check it out at:
[Pre-Major</a> Advising Connections at Emory (PACE) | Emory College | Atlanta, GA](<a href=“Welcome to Emory College.”>Welcome to Emory College.)</p>