<p>^Delaware SHOULD be in the top 25, I didn’t say it was. And that’s why it’s underrated.</p>
<p>Michigan</p>
<p>I agree that U of M is overrated</p>
<p>Underrated: MSU, I’d put it on par with U of M in many areas (not all guys, before you jump down my throat) but many. Kalamazoo College. Maybe Michigan Tech.</p>
<p>New Jersey</p>
<p>Overated: Rutgers
Underated: TCNJ
Best University: Princeton</p>
<p>Illinois</p>
<p>Overrated: Northwestern, UChicago</p>
<p>Underrated: UIUC</p>
<p>This is from what I’ve seen in my particular school; most people in my school seem to love to poke fun at UIUC even though it is a good school. We send so many people to Northwestern and it gets an inflated reputation here.</p>
<p>Idaho (I know, who cares?)</p>
<p>Anyways…</p>
<p>Overrated: College of Idaho</p>
<p>Underrated: Boise State University</p>
<p>petedawg: I think Emory and Georgia Tech are pretty much respected at the same level. In fact, in-state, I think people respect Georgia Tech more even though comparing the two is like comparing an apple to an orange or something. Emory should be compared to UGA as there is more similarity (the only thing Tech and Emory have in common is that they closer in rigor when it comes to the sciences than are UGA and Emory). As an anecdote, I’ll take S. Georgia as an example as I’m from there. More circles here will know about Tech, but many won’t know about Emory, so I don’t know where that comes. Are we too expensive? Sure, but it’s private, so one will have to get over it. Tech isn’t cheap for OOS people either, and at least our fin. aid is super generous. One point of comparison Tech folks like to use is that: “Our alumni make more money”. My response is like:“No sh**, 70-80% of the school is STEM majors whereas ours is more like 20-25%, so which school would you expect to crank out higher payed students?”. Emory students are more likely to become civic-oriented and start careers that won’t necessarily make them the wealthiest. Both schools lead, but in different arenas, so I would say neither is over-rated (although I’ll admit I don’t care for the class-sizes and instruction at Tech. We seem to have a bigger emphasis on good teaching as expected b/c we’re smaller and liberal arts oriented.). The schools’ and their student bodies excel at different things (also, Emory’s financial impact w/in Atlanta, perhaps due to healthcare, is over twice as large as Tech’s)</p>
<p>If you wanna know a place that seems strangely popular, it’s UGA(people at UGA will try to swear up and down that it’s better than say Tech. It’s good, but I wouldn’t go there for undergrad, too large.) or Mercer (the place is okay, but I know so many people that act as if they got into Emory or Tech when getting into it, and it simply in no way measuers up, yet people down here go crazy for it).</p>
<p>In NY </p>
<p>Underrrated Private: Sarah Lawrence. Many kids in New York think of it as just an artsy fartsy school with no rigor, depth, or hard-core academics. But jeez, the place has given us Rahm Emmanuel, Brian DePalma, JJ Abrams, Barbara Walters, Alice Walker, and Clifford D. May – as well as those “Sarah Lawrence” types people think of, like Yoko Ono and Vera Wang.</p>
<p>Underrated Public: Many top students here tend to look down on the SUNY/CUNY system. But I fear that out-of-staters will stoon start discovering our relatively cheap hidden gems en masse–the Sophie Davis program at CUNY, McCauley Honors programs at Queens, Brooklyn, Hunter and CCNY–and leave no room for NY kids!</p>
<p>Overrated Private: By popular consensus, NYU. A better than average school, but no one here would ever conisder this a “dream” school–and not just becuase we live here. Aside from a few specific programs, like math or business (Stern School), you can do better for less money and hassle in a lot of other places. </p>
<p>Overrated Public: Geneseo College. Way out in the middle of nowhere, with little name recognition, little to do there, and, as the Geneseo graduates I have met demonstrated, little to show for four years there. Getting in may be hard. But once your’e there, there’s no there there.</p>
<p>Overrated: University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign and Chicago). </p>
<p>It seems as if these schools seem to be really popular. When people say “Oh, I’m going to U of I”, I always here “Nice!” or “Great Job!”. I feel as if this shouldn’t be the case–so many schools in Illinois are superior. And when people speak negatively of these schools in favor of other Illinois schools (ex. UChicago, Northwestern, etc.), people tend to harp all over the original person. UChicago is ranked 9th in the nation and Northwestern is literally underneath it ([National</a> University Rankings | Top National Universities | US News Best Colleges](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/page+2]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/page+2)). I wish people would show more respect for these schools (Northwestern, UChicago)</p>
<p>It IS better to go to Northwestern/UChicago over U of I. Some people just don’t get that.</p>
<p>This is such a pointless thread. So mnay people with different opinions. There’s a way to solve this.</p>
<p>All credit goes to xiggi and OP of the thread.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/412606-how-calculate-universities-peer-assessment-score.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/412606-how-calculate-universities-peer-assessment-score.html</a></p>
<p>Overrated:
12 Cal—Berk 4.49 4.8 0.31
16 Columbia 4.31 4.6 0.29
18 Michigan 4.24 4.5 0.26
23 Dartmout 4.10 4.3 0.2
10 Cal Inst 4.51 4.7 0.19
5 Princeto 4.78 4.9 0.12
24 Carnegie 4.09 4.2 0.11
11 Johns Ho 4.49 4.6 0.11</p>
<p>Underrated:
21 Notre Da 4.11 3.9 -0.21
1 Harvard 5.09 4.9 -0.19
19 Rice Uni 4.15 4.0 -0.15
14 Virginia 4.44 4.3 -0.14
15 UCal—Los 4.33 4.2 -0.13
20 Illinois 4.13 4.0 -0.13
9 Duke Uni 4.51 4.4 -0.11</p>
<p>“It IS better to go to Northwestern/UChicago over U of I.”</p>
<p>That is arguably true, but they are overrated in my area. Perhaps I have a somewhat skewed perception from my relatively competitive public high school in Illinois, but the people who do get into NU and UChicago seem to give it a higher reputation than they really do deserve. And the same caliber of people all love to dismiss UIUC as a “bad safety school.”</p>
<p>Michigan</p>
<p>Overrated: Michigan State University and Wayne State
Underrated: Kalamazoo College (educational quality is better than UofM in my opinion)</p>
<p>“This is such a pointless thread. So mnay people with different opinions. There’s a way to solve this.”</p>
<p>This thread has become pointless because some people with obvious agendas aren’t following simple instructions. The name of this thread is:</p>
<p>Most OVERrated and or UNDERrated Colleges in your State ?</p>
<p>Home state: Pennsylvania</p>
<p>Most overrated: Penn State. Good school, especially in certain areas, but people think that getting into main campus is equivalent to an Ivy. Most people start at a satellite campus, which doesn’t compare academically to main campus, but people are always impressed. Also Temple, Drexel, and Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>Most underrated: UPenn (everyone thinks it’s penn state), Swarthmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr (no one’s even heard of these 3), UPitt (I’m from the Philly side, so everyone thinks Philly schools are way better than Pitt), Muhlenberg, Gettysburg (hidden gems that no one’s heard of but provide a great education)</p>
<p>I live in New Mexico. Honestly, even many people who live here couldn’t name more than 3 or 4 colleges in the state. I don’t know of any that are very competitive. Our most underrated might be New Mexico Tech. I’m not sure any fit the definition of “overrated.”</p>
<p>@2Chillaxin, I know plenty of kids that go to UDel, and it’s not academically competitive at all. Okay, MAYBE it could be in the top 25 public schools, but to say it’s on par with, or anywhere near Virginia over schools like UNC and Michigan is still plain false.</p>
<p>Obviously, NY has been done countless times but here are my personal views:</p>
<p>Overrated:
SUNY-Binghamton: People [in NY] treat it as though it is some top-notch state school comparable to schools like Michigan or UNC, yet in reality, it does poorly in terms of job placement, and is quite easy to gain admittance to. The only good sector of the University is the business school (for undergrad) IMO, and even that isn’t great.
NYU: It is constantly in the limelight due to its size and location, yet again, it is fairly easy to gain admittance to. Obviously, the business and fine arts/theater programs are fantastic but the rest of the school is rather average, to be honest. </p>
<p>Underrated:
University of Rochester: Not quite as well known due to its size, location and lack of DI athletics, yet it remains towards the top of the list in many big subjects, including economics, pre-med, physics, optics, etc. It has become increasingly difficult to gain admission to, and does well in terms of job placement. Definitely a school that deserves more attention than it receives.<br>
SUNY Geneseo: Often overshadowed by Binghamton, yet it is actually more challenging to get into. Smaller, and more personalized, as well. Though, I will say, it’s really lacking in the business/engineering/sciences department. For a liberal arts degree, it is undoubtedly the best option in New York State (in-state price-wise).
Colgate: It is small and isolated, lending itself to a paucity of attention, but it is a great school, nonetheless. Challenging to gain admittance to, and academically rigorous. It does exceptionally well in terms of placement. Also, has some standout programs such as political science.</p>
<p>Illinois (Underrated)</p>
<p>UChicago: UChicago is such a good school and should be up there with HYP, IMO. Yet not many people I talk to seem to know how good it is. </p>
<p>Wheaton College: This Christian liberal arts college is sometimes overlooked because of its conservative reputation, despite 60% of faculty saying they voted for Obama. It has great academics and is among the top 20 LACs in the number of alumni who go on to earn PhD’s</p>
<p>University of Illinois: Solid state university with great research and faculty. Comparable to Wisconsin-Madison</p>
<p>Overrated (Illinois)
Northwestern: People think this school is so much better than UChicago when it’s not</p>
<p>But according to the data I cited, Chicago (not Columbia, a typo) is the second most overrated university in America. How do you say is it underrated?</p>
<p>UMDCP is underrated with people in state because EVERYONE here has a degree from UMDCP… haha I mean I bet more than 70% of my high school teachers have one.</p>
<p>@CaptnJack</p>
<p>The data that you cited (peer assessment) is essentially a popularity contest. The very definition of “underrated school” to a large degree presumes that people do not know much about a given school. </p>
<p>In this context, I see no problem with exegesis’ comments.</p>