<p>As I'm opening a top notch hot dog stand in NYC, I only have 10 openings for staff. Therefore I'm only accepting applications from those with the highest of high SAT scores. I invite Hawkette and others who naively believe that selectivity and small class size primarily determine the quality of education at any given institution of higher learning to apply. Unfortunately, Hawkette and others have bought into this propaganda that the USN&WR has been pushing for years. In fact, Michigan is a much larger school than most of the other institutions ranked in the top 30 of the USN&WR undergrad poll. It also has many, many more programs and offerings than most of the schools ranked in the top 30. </p>
<p>Another fact is that Michigan has relatively strong departments and programs across the board compared to many of the other schools. Yes, many of the schools ranked ahead of Michigan in the USN&WR undergrad poll have much weaker departments and programs overall. Michigan is a "superuniversity" which contributes much more to the international community and has much greater impact on the world than a Dartmouth, Brown, Swarthmore, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, etc. This is exactly why Michigan is more highly regarded in polls of the best universities in the world than the aforementioned schools. </p>
<p>It seems that every time I come to this board, I'm forced to read the same naive propaganda. Sorry, but just because you attended some highly selective, elitist school does NOT mean that you're better educated than those that attended a top public university. As a matter of fact, the guy that graduated last in my medical school class at UVA was a Harvard grad. Yes, the poor guy failed both Steps 1 & 2 of the USMLE on his initial attempts as well. Seriously, I still don't understand how he ever got into UVA medical school. It must've been the good name of Harvard that helped push him over the top. By the same token, it must've been the good name of Yale that helped George W. Bush become President of the U.S. Yale is also the alma mater of one highly enlightened Pat Robertson. </p>
<p>As a Michigan alumnus, I can tell you that Michigan undergrad prepared me very well for medical school. Med school may be tough, but the rigorous undergrad curriculum at Michigan will prepare you very well for any grad or professional program. BTW, those of you who choose to turn your noses up at the top public schools like Michigan need to get over yourselves and get a life. Unfortunately, it appears that you feel the need to put down other schools to help you feel better about yourselves and your alleged "superior" education. Not only are you delusional, but the basis of your delusion is the USN&WR undergrad ranking. Only a naive person would put so much emphasis on one academic ranking. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, people on this board are quoting the USN&WR undergrad ranking as if it's gospel truth or set in stone. It must've driven some of the "elitists" crazy a few years back when Gourman ranked Michigan's undergrad program 3rd in the nation a few years back. It's not like I hold the Gourman Report in high regard either, as I realize that it's just another for-profit publication like the USN&WR. As a matter of fact, the only prestigious academic ranking in existence is the National Research Council Report or NRC Report which only ranks grad programs. However, as any given department is only as strong as its faculty or grad program, it's also accepted by many in academe as a departmental ranking. To my knowledge, it hasn't been updated since '95. However, it remains the gold standard for academe: <a href="http://www.stat.tamu.edu/%7Ejnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc1.html#TOP60%5B/url%5D">http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc1.html#TOP60</a></p>
<p>If you don't think that the USN&WR ranking has its share of critics in academia, you best think again. Further, there are studies regarding class size and learning that refute the Carnegie Foundation's finding that class size is a primary factor in learning. Ironically, large class size doesn't appear to be a major deterrent to learning in Asia. The implication appears to be that bright, motivated Westerners are less disciplined and less capable of focusing their attention in the classroom. Further, Westerners "obviously" require more individualized attention from their instructors. BTW, I found a letter written by former Stanford Univ. President, Gerhard Casper, to the editor of USN&WR in criticism of its undergrad ranking. Of course, this letter was written back in '95. Obviously, there was alot more movement within the ranking and even more controversy back in the 90's: <a href="http://www.stanford.edu/dept/pres-provost/president/speeches/961206gcfallow.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.stanford.edu/dept/pres-provost/president/speeches/961206gcfallow.html</a> </p>
<p>Further "insignificant" polls for your interest or entertainment:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/2006/topresearch.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/2006/topresearch.asp</a></p>
<p><a href="http://mup.asu.edu/research2006.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://mup.asu.edu/research2006.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2004/07/top_research_un.html%5B/url%5D">http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2004/07/top_research_un.html</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.sciencewatch.com/sept-oct/science-watch_sept-oct98_page1.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.sciencewatch.com/sept-oct/science-watch_sept-oct98_page1.htm</a></p>
<p><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/23/pf/richest_colleges_get_richer/index.htm%5B/url%5D">http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/23/pf/richest_colleges_get_richer/index.htm</a></p>
<p>Universities with Highest Number of Programs in the Top 10 according to the NRC Report:</p>
<ol>
<li>Cal-Berkeley</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>Princeton</li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Cornell & Yale</li>
<li>Chicago</li>
<li>Penn</li>
<li>Cal-San Diego</li>
<li>Columbia, Michigan, & Wisconsin</li>
</ol>
<p>Universities with Highest Number of Distinguished Programs according to the NRC Report:</p>
<ol>
<li>Cal-Berkeley</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>Princeton</li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Cornell & Yale</li>
<li>Columbia</li>
<li>Michigan</li>
<li>Cal Tech, UC-San Diego, Penn, & UCLA</li>
</ol>