How do you tell whether a department is good or not?

<p>I'm not exactly looking at Ivy League schools moreso schools like Syracuse and Michigan State so I really don't know who's good at what. </p>

<p>I'd like an answer to the question of the thread title for everybody on the forums and an answer for me individually as to which schools are good at English out of schools that are as competetive as schools like Syracuse, Pitt, Michigan State, Iowa, Loyola Marymount, Ohio State.</p>

<p>In a nutshell, any class is the same wherever you take it. Whether you take calc 1 at harvard or community college in alaska you learn the exact same thing (well, depending on if your teacher is competent. But, lets assume they are). What makes a program stands out is the job placement, quality of teaching, and such. It is my opinion that simply looking at rankings on news week puts everything into perspective and gives you a good idea of which programs are good.</p>