<p>Does anyone else think its dumb that the Ivy’s aren’t always just ranked 1-8? Any attempt to rank the top 20 universities is just so arbitrary anyway, the differences between them on an educational level are negligible, and every student will fit into a different environment best, so since rankings don’t really say very much, I feel like the Ivy’s (probably the single most well known group of colleges for academic prestige despite the name originating as a sport’s conference) should just take 1-8 every year.</p>
<p>Better yet, if the rankings are so arbitrary, why try to rank schools at all?</p>
<p>I think we’re straying a little bit from the topic here. In a perfect world, there would be no ranking system and everyone would apply to the college they actually like the features of. </p>
<p>But this isn’t a perfect world. This is the real world. So let’s be real for a second.</p>
<p>Ivy League should be 1-8 every year.</p>
<p>Ivy league has only one school with a good engineering program. I am surprised they are even ranked as highly as they are today. It only happens because USNEWS guy went to Penn and so they make them fit in top 20.</p>
<p>Otherwise they are just another mediocre sports league with somewhat ok education and may be superior education in liberal arts.</p>
<p>LetsBeReal:</p>
<p>Could you provide some reasoning behind the Ivys being the top 8 schools in the country? I can think of quite a few places that provide better or at least on-par undergraduate educations. I think that you’re being blinded by a view that tells students that going to an Ivy is the highest achievement, which is emphatically not true.</p>
<p>MIT, Stanford, Cal Tech? In certain areas other schools arguably have “better” programs than the Ivies. If there has to be rankings, then they should change based on what subject you’re interested in.</p>
<p>Well my argument is that nothing in the top 20 provides a better “Education” than any other top 20 school, so since the Ivy’s have the best brand name, that’s really what should determine the miniscule distinctions between “quality” of school in the top 20.</p>
<p>I mean honestly. Washington University in St. Louis can be ranked 13th all it wants to be, but no one who hasn’t JUST seen the rankings will ever have any idea that they’re supposed to consider it ranked above Brown</p>
<p>I disagree with your premise. Most people will agree that the Ivy League is the “most well known group of colleges for academic prestige” but I’d wager that only a small fraction of those people could name all eight Ivies without consulting a list. There’s a good chance that more people recognize MIT or Stanford than Brown or Penn, even if those same people claim to respect the Ivy League brand.</p>
<p>Consider the results of [a</a> 1999 Gallup poll](<a href=“Harvard Tops Gallup Poll List as Best University”>Harvard Tops Gallup Poll List as Best University) on university recognition. The Ivy League dominance you apparently expect doesn’t exist.</p>
<p>Well okay obviously no one knows about Penn</p>
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<p>Hey, isn’t that the school with Jerry Sandusky and that big child sex abuse scandal?
;-)</p>
<p>Haha noooooo Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth are dependent on the fact that they are ivies to give them what little prestige they have. They have good programs but NOTHING special really… Those 3 do not deserve to be part of the top 15 by their own merits. Places like Uchicago and Stanford are quite obviously better universities. Brown has no business in the top 8.</p>
<p>By the way letsbereal21, you are being everything but real. Most people have never even heard of Brown, but have heard of Stanford. If you asked any random Joe to list the ivies, he would probably leave off Brown before he left off UPenn. (okay fine, that might be a stretch but you get my point hopefully) Brown is lucky to be tied at 15 with Cornell, that is very generous. I just don’t get how you can go around telling people how great a school is based solely on the fact that it mingles with some of the giants of higher learning. Brown is just full of HYPSMCCW rejects. And you should be ok with that. 
they threw Brown a bone and put it at 15, you should be celebrating. Throw a party. I can’t stand people like the OP. You are doing Brown a disservice by highlighting the fact that it would be any regular private school if it wasn’t for an athletic confrence. no offense to Brown! My bestfriend’s uncle went to Brown. And he’s awesome!!!</p>
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<p>Oh, goodness, my son must have selected the wrong college! I am so glad to be able to receive this wisdom from a high school senior who has yet to be accepted anywhere. But I’m sure your confident assessment of the way the world truly is will impress adcoms at those Ivy League schools you deem to be worthy of your attention.</p>
<p>I’m using tangible aspects such as job prospects, faculty, and funding for students. No one needs to get their feelings hurt. I didn’t mean to slam Brown, it just so happens that the fact that it is an ivy league school does not make it worthy of a high ranking. I don’t see the problem.</p>
<p>Hi Ivybound13, do you mind take a look of the link, are you smarter than those professors who wrote the paper? be calm and objective —
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1338940-reveal-preference-ranking.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1338940-reveal-preference-ranking.html</a>.</p>
<p>I am objective. Among other issues, my big problem with this list is that it is 7years old. And the professors wrote the paper. That doesnt mean that they agreed with it.</p>
<p>^i think you are simply based on your opinion, not based on any general facts finding. Those prominent professors gathered info from the facts, and doing scientific modeling. USNews ranking and Forbes ranking are based on their methodology, right or wrong, i respect their efforts and positions. But your attacking brown is baseless and biased. Please calm down and go study more.</p>
<p>It’s obvious that ■■■■■■■■ is anything but. LOL.</p>
<p>The title of the rankings say it all. The rankings are based on student preferences. I mean, did you not read the thread that you linked? I’m not attacking Brown. The simple fact of the matter is, Brown being ivy league does not make it any better than any other school. The OP comes off as a tool who is not only insecure in Brown, but is also bitter towards schools ranked higher than Brown although they are not ivies. I’m just having fun making my point. So yeah, let’s be real.</p>