Does Prestige Actually Matter? [UChicago vs Middlebury vs Temple]

College Search & Selection
14

<p>

</p>

<p>See if the following facts are at all helpful in comparing the quality of the 3 schools. If not, maybe someone can share data I’ve overlooked that paints a different picture.</p>

<p>Average Class Size
Chicago: … 75.1% < 20, 20% 20-49, 4.9% >=50
Middlebury: 68.2% < 20, 30.5% 20-49, 1.4% >=50
Temple: … 37.4% < 20, 57.5% 20-49, 5.1% >=50
(source: USNWR) </p>

<p>4 year graduation rate
Chicago: … 86%
Middlebury: 86%
Temple: … 36%
(source: USNWR) </p>

<p>Average SATs
Chicago: … 738CR / 738M / 732W
Middlebury: 690CR / 689M / 700W
Temple: … 551 CR / 564M / 549W
(source: USNWR) </p>

<p>Average FT Faculty Salaries
Chicago: … $140,850
Middlebury: $95,073
Temple: … $94,259
(source: stateuniversity.com)</p>

<p>Endowment per Student
Chicago: … $426,000 ([Reach</a> High Scholars - College Endowments](<a href=“http://www.reachhighscholars.org/college_endowments.html]Reach”>College Endowments))
Middlebury: $351,000 ([Reach</a> High Scholars - College Endowments](<a href=“http://www.reachhighscholars.org/college_endowments.html]Reach”>College Endowments))
Temple: … $8,000 ( [Economic</a> decline creates sobering budget future for Temple | Temple University News](<a href=“http://news.temple.edu/economic-decline-creates-sobering-budget-future-temple]Economic”>Economic decline creates sobering budget future for Temple))</p>

<p>Bachelors to PhD Rank
Chicago: … 7th (national universities)
Middlebury: 28th (LACs
Temple: … 232nd (national universities)
(source: Washington Monthly)</p>

<p>Students whose need was fully met
Chicago: … 100%
Middlebury: 99.8%
Temple: … 24.3%
(source: USNWR)</p>

<p>Library system
Chicago: … 8.5 million volumes (<a href=“https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago[/url]”>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago&lt;/a&gt;)
Middlebury: > 1 million holdings ([Libraries</a> & Collections | Middlebury](<a href=“Collections | Middlebury Libraries”>Collections | Middlebury Libraries))
Temple: … 245,000 volumes ([Temple</a> University Libraries – Temple University [lib-web-cats 2307]](<a href=“libraries.org: an International Directory of Libraries”>Temple University Libraries -- Temple University))
(source: USNWR)</p>

<p>Numbers aside, I think the student should think about the value of spreading her wings in a new environment for 4 years, one she’ll share with students from all over the country (compared to commuting from home for 4 years to a school that draws most students from the local area.) Some people are not willing to make that leap.</p>