<p>I don't know how you measure success.
I suppose cash is your measure.</p>
<p>Teaching............umm, nah
caliber of student........umm, nah
Fit...........umm, nah</p>
<p>Cash.
to each his own vice. Now get over on those Stanford, and Duke and Hopkins and MIT and Cal tec and Berkeley and dare I say it UVA boards and give them hell for not being something you think they should.</p>
<p>Gosh, schools like Rice don't have teaching, good students, or fit for anyone! The Lesser Five ivies are the best fit for everyone, right? Right.....</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'll bet god is jealous of you
[/quote]
No, he's jealous of those penniless Brown alumni.... naturally!</p>
<p>The ivies are the best fit for the non-jock-affs who choose to go there.
Rice, I am sure is a great school, at least that's what I hear. Although, I don't think the students who chose to go their are thinking, whoa, look at that endowment money per student thingy.</p>
<p>They probably go because they love the school and were qualified to get in.</p>
<p>Or, maybe you are right, I don't know.
Could be that they saw those figures and went gagah.</p>
<p>What, some people fall in love with a Rice or Duke instead of say, a Brown or Cornell? How did that happen? I thought all those other schools had "Ivy Envy"... wasn't the point of this thread? Oh well, I guess you're right. Top schools like Rice and Duke have many of the very top students who fall in love with them instead of the Lesser Five, for example, and these Rice and Stanford students go on to great careers and give back to their schools in high numbers despite some "jock-affs" who claim they have "Ivy Envy". Good point, Woodwork.</p>
<p>I didn't guess anything of the sort. It isn't relevant. Brown is simply the most comparable "poor man's Rice" based on the size of the school. Dartmouth has a lot of money, not as much as Rice, but a lot more than Brown.</p>
<p>OK, I'm done! This is just a me-and-you conversation now, and I think we've laid everything out that we can. It's been fun! Now for your last word....</p>
<p>I think the preference rankings provide a very good idea of college quality especially for students who are highly accomplished and qualified. But you also have to factor in the fact that many students may have gone to certain schools due to financial reasons or because they fit better at a certain school. </p>
<p>General prestige and recognition shouldn't be the goal of college, but I think that the revealed preference ranking doesn't provide a good picture of prestige when you're considering the general American population. You have to keep in mind that the schools at the top of the revealed preference ranking attract highly qualified students that most likely did a thorough job in researching their colleges. These highly qualified students only represent a small percentage of the millions of other students who are choosing colleges. </p>
<p>I live in the Midwest and I know for a fact that if you ask “average” students, who don’t research colleges beyond the lesser state colleges they have access to, whether they’d rather go to Brown, Amherst, or Dartmouth, they’d have absolutely no idea that you’re talking about very high quality colleges. Even with the University of Virginia, the highest ranked state university on the revealed preference ranking, tons of “average” students in the Midwest would just think of it as some run of the mill state university in the east. They would almost immediately think that the University of Michigan is better than UVA. When you’re looking at what the general population perceives as more prestigious schools, geographic location plays a huge role. The smaller Ivy League schools are totally obscure for “average” students that live in the Midwest and the west.</p>
<p>That said, I think the revealed preference ranking is a good tool for students who want an idea of high quality colleges, but it definitely shouldn’t be used a decision breaker. However, the revealed preference ranking by no means provides a picture of how well known certain colleges are to the general population. But in the end, students should look for colleges that fit them best. So my whole rant on the revealed preference ranking was pretty pointless.</p>
<p>"Even with the University of Virginia, the highest ranked state university on the revealed preference ranking, tons of average students in the Midwest would just think of it as some run of the mill state university in the east."</p>
<p>As a Midwestern, let me agree with you there. Before reading that sentence, I honestly had NO idea what the big fuss/deal was with UVa - I just assumed a bunch of you lived in VA and were proud of your state school. You ask a Midwest kid which school is better, Wisconsin or Virginia, I bet 95% say Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Guys, is it permissible for me to suggest that you let this thread die a quiet death? I just read this thing all the way from OP and can't quite figure out what the point of this thread is.</p>
<p>
[quote]
As a Midwestern, let me agree with you there. Before reading that sentence, I honestly had NO idea what the big fuss/deal was with UVa - I just assumed a bunch of you lived in VA and were proud of your state school. You ask a Midwest kid which school is better, Wisconsin or Virginia, I bet 95% say Wisconsin.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yup, same in the east. If you ask someone from the mid-atlantic whether Michigan or Georgia is a better school, a huge majority would say Georgia.</p>
<p>Mensa - UVa, Berkeley, and Michigan are generally regarded to have the same opportunities as the top private schools. Most public universities, even the good ones, like Wisconsin and Georgia, are not in that category. As evidence, look at the top investment banks. They recruit at UVa, Berkeley, and Michigan but don't recruit at any other publics (and only about 15 private schools).</p>
<p>The top publics compete favorably with 98% of privates. That link provided by Woodwork shows that applicants accepted to UVa and Northwestern tend to choose the top public (UVa) over the private (Northwestern).</p>
<p>Of course, as a UVa grad, I think that all else being equal I might be tempted to go to a private school the second time around. Particularly one of the ones that have all the money: Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Rice, MIT, and Stanford.</p>
<p>By the way, have I mentioned that HYPS owns. </p>
<p>Wait, actually any school where filthy rich, vicodin popping alumni will personally walk on campus and directly donate money to my life savings fund owns. Surely this is the only way to judge the worthiness of a school.</p>
<p>Gosh, you seem a bit upset about the Lesser Five not producing many wealthy alumni. Does it destroy your stereotypes about American business and who does well? Pity.</p>
<p>Lemme guess, you go or will go to Brown, the unknown Ivy.</p>