LACs get no respect

<p>This morning on NBC's "The Today Show" they were announcing US New & World Report's College Rankings. They put up a graphic claiming to show the top schools, but it was only the top National Universities, with no mention of the top National Liberal Arts Colleges. This is irresponsible journalism and only serves to perpetuate the myth that you can get a first rate education only at a University. If you believe that the best education can be gained at an LAC, join me and write an email expressing your disappointment with their presentation of misleading information to:
<a href="mailto:Today@NBC.com">Today@NBC.com</a></p>

<p>USNews’ way of dividing the categories has always begged the question, is there no common ground between high-end research universities and high-end LACs? The public seems to think so.</p>

<p>ahh i sent an email (2, actually, because i typoed my subject in the first one…)</p>

<p>As an incoming freshman at a liberal arts college I am extremely disappointed that “The Today Show” failed to show the liberal arts colleges ranking in tandem with the US News & World Reports’ “Top National Universities” rankings. It’s not because I think that liberal arts colleges are superior to universities, but it is because it gives viewers a unilateral view of America’s higher education offerings. Not only are you perpetuating the myth that students can only obtain a top-notch education from a group of 50 universities on a generalized, impersonal list, but your segment also implies that liberal arts colleges do not provide an equal, if not better, education to their undergraduates than those universities.
In the future I hope that your show will broaden its perception of the undergraduate experience in the United States. Instead of focusing on select publications’ narrow definition of “top” research universities and liberal arts colleges you can emphasize that our country has a wide array of educational institutions, varying in size, atmosphere, diversity, offerings, duration, etc., which can provide each individual with an education that’s appropriate to them.</p>

<p>lol.</p>

<p>Did they discuss the latest rankings for Regional Universities (Midwest)? I think I will write and inform them that it is important to give credit to Tier 1 schools like Bemidji State University.</p>

<p>Didn’t you all pick LACs because popular acclaim and commercial appeal weren’t that important to you? Now you’re crying because you’re not getting enough?? I thought you LACers were too “intellectual” to worry about such things.</p>

<p>P.S. You should also mention in your protest letter that Swarthmore has higher per capita PhD production than any of the Ivies. Maybe Matt Lauer will give you guys a shout out.</p>

<p>i’m not sure who you were talking to but nice generalization, really. i must say that i’m really impressed by your ability to stereotype effectively… congratulations!</p>

<p>p.s. glancing through your history, I’m sure everyone across the website, in pretty much every forum, of pretty much every school, appreciates your SUPER relevant comments. i mean really, what would those threads be without your sarcastic asides?</p>

<p>hopefully you feel a bit better about yourself (and slightly more smug!) now!</p>

<p>keep up the good work. <em>thumbs up</em></p>

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<p>Thanks.</p>

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<p>I’m detecting a little “sarcasm” of your own. Am I being oversensitive?</p>

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<p>Hopefully.</p>

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<p>I’ll try.</p>

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<p>Right back at ya, buddy.</p>

<p>P.P. S. Good luck with your “protest” letter. Fight the power!!</p>

<p>i lol’ed…</p>

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<p>Who ever said you Swarthmore dudes and dudettes have no sense of humor? ;)</p>

<p>All kidding aside, the protest letter is a little over the top, don’t ya think?? Listen, I have deep respect for Swarthmore. But come on now. Writing to the Today Show???</p>

<p>Yeah, we don’t care. We take a sort of strange pride in the fact that “nobody” has ever heard of Swarthmore. </p>

<p>I really don’t think it’s a big deal either: people who are in the know about top colleges and universities have all heard about Swarthmore, in addition to other liberal arts colleges. We’ve been ranked very high in many other rankings, so I think our school gets enough recognition.</p>

<p>yeah i don’t really care when people haven’t heard about swarthmore; except for the people who live in my area, which is about 25 minutes away from swarthmore. besides that you can’t really expect the general public to be as well acquainted with liberal arts college as CC lurkers are… </p>

<p>however, as the OP pointed out, the fact that they only show national universities does imply that they’re the be all end all. i think rankings should be done away with all together (or at least, people should stop giving them so much power…) but that’s not happening anytime soon so why not expose the public to LACs. it’s not really a matter of being ‘above’ some concept or ideal here, but for all we know certain students (or close-minded parents) are missing out on a potentially awesome education.</p>

<p>on another note, who’s actually awake during the summer to watch the today show?</p>

<p>Brian Williams mentioned Swat on the evening news (along with Williams, Amherst, Muddleberry)</p>

<p>Was just going to post what SwatGrad said. Last night, on the national evening news, Brian Williams listed the top Universities(HPY) as well as the top 4 LAC’s (WASM) as reported by US News. On the fluffy Today Show segment, Matt Lauer said they were giving the top colleges, and then proceeded to mention only universities. The general public has no idea that there is any difference.</p>

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<p>good one. You Swarthbore (aka Swarthsnore) kids are clever!</p>

<p>Can’t claim credit, Arcadia. My law school roomie who went there coined “Muddleberry.”</p>

<p><a href=“mailto:lol@Muddleberry”>lol@Muddleberry</a>.
The question that arises is, does Swarthmore really need recognition? As far as I am aware (as a prospective student) its one of the most self-selecting institutes… and that’s what I love about it. In the same breath, I must say that LACs and Swat deserve to be on any show where the National Universities are - i’ve always preffered LACs over National Universities.</p>

<p>Sweatmore.</p>

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<p>is it valid to call swarthmore self selecting when the acceptance rate is only 17 pct? Looks like a lot of people were turned down, which implies that they were mistaken in thinking that they had what it takes to be at swarthmore.</p>

<p>I thought self selection is when only people who know the admission criteria well go to the trouble to apply, and therefore , when this happens , one sees a higher acceptance rate since the students sort of weeded themselves out at app time.</p>

<p>[Best</a> Colleges - Education - US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/lowest-acceptance-rate]Best”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/lowest-acceptance-rate)</p>

<p>Around my house both Swarthmore and LACs in general get a lot of respect.</p>

<p>The Today Show…not so much.</p>

<p>“Looks like a lot of people were turned down, which implies that they were mistaken in thinking that they had what it takes to be at swarthmore.”</p>

<p>This is illogical. Students who are qualified get rejected at Swarthmore, the same as at most other very selective institutions. Just because “all” (i’ll use hyperbole for emphasis) of the applicants may be a good fit for Swarthmore doesn’t mean the school can accept them all… Maybe you don’t understand what self-selection means. Just because a certain number of students have been weeded out given the nature of the institution and its appeal doesn’t mean that kids who apply aren’t going to be a good fit in some way or another. You’re defining self-selection as a case in which a school has an application pool as large as their incoming class; because that’s the only way your definition of self-selection works. Because in any OTHER case, in which they’re getting more kids than they can accept (and it’s not as if a school is right only for the number of people they can take on as freshmen) some kids who might do well at the school are gonna get rejected.</p>