Here’s a new college ranking, based entirely on other college rankings

College Search & Selection
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Sorry if I am throwing a wrench in from left field, but I skipped from page 2 (arguing about Duke) to the end. I am the only one surprised that Virginia Military Institute is an LAC? Not that this wasn’t public knowledge, I just never thought about it before. Hmm.

And I also hate Duke, but only because I heart Jim Valvano :wink: :smiley:

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Lol with the Duke hate guys, it is a great school, no matter if it is really top 10 or not, and the campus is very pretty

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@blossom , love post #20. Spot on.

This topic comes up regularly. I looked at rankings from payscale, Forbes, business week, Princeton Review (yeah, I know), and even Buzzfeed, Niche, and so on. The only rankings I never considered were USNWR, though I was aware of it. I didn’t find it useful. We wanted out daughter at a school with a high rate of student satisfaction and the opportunity to earn reasonable money at some point in the future. We wanted her at a college with a strong alumni network and a career center that really helps the students. Those things were what guided our considerations for her. She was guided by professors and campus vibe. I don’t think she ever looked at a list.

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@Lindagaf I wonder what college did your daughter go to?

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@Dalinar , my D goes to Bates. She nearly ended up at Kenyon. They are very similar in many ways. Both excellent LACs with strong alumni networks.

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Here’s a new ranking: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1956644-some-colleges-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60-find-yours.html .

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these rankings really get me worried lol

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@bouncebackman I think it is a combination of the fact that students from more affluent backgrounds perform better in standardized testing and attend better schools that prepare them for top colleges. Also the sky-high cost of college forces many well-off but not rich families to choose honors programs with significant merit aid in good but not elite schools over places at elite colleges.

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Virginia Military Institute is primarily known academically as an engineering school. Should it be on the list of top 50 LACs?

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Here is the Carnegie Classification for Virginia Military Institute. The “Basic” field is typically used for grouping.

http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/view_institution.php?unit_id=234085&start_page=lookup.php&clq=%7B%22ipug2005_ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ipgrad2005_ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22enrprofile2005_ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ugprfile2005_ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22sizeset2005_ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22basic2005_ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22eng2005_ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22search_string%22%3A%22virginia+military%22%2C%22level%22%3A%22%22%2C%22control%22%3A%22%22%2C%22accred%22%3A%22%22%2C%22state%22%3A%22%22%2C%22region%22%3A%22%22%2C%22urbanicity%22%3A%22%22%2C%22womens%22%3A%22%22%2C%22hbcu%22%3A%22%22%2C%22hsi%22%3A%22%22%2C%22tribal%22%3A%22%22%2C%22msi%22%3A%22%22%2C%22landgrant%22%3A%22%22%2C%22coplac%22%3A%22%22%2C%22urban%22%3A%22%22%2C%22community%22%3A%22%22%7D

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@WildestDream

Thanks for that link. It’s like the old BCS Football ranking, but for colleges.

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Thanks for sharing. I really like your post very informative and helpful.