New Forbes 2012 Rankings

<p>GTalum, I think you have misinterpreted my meaning. This is what I posted earlier:</p>

<p>“Because who actually cares about the quality of undergraduate teaching? Chemistry at all schools is still Chemistry. Some schools may have better professors but ultimately, it’s up to the individual to learn the subject.”</p>

<p>What I was trying to imply was that it is up to the student to grasp Chemistry. Professors cannot plant Chemistry (or any other subject) into your head. What I meant by “some schools may have better professors” is that if you are lucky enough to get a professor that communicates very clearly and effectively, that’s great but that doesn’t necessarily mean you now understood Chemistry. In the end, it is up to the individual student to read their Chemistry book, do some problems, and learn Chemistry themselves.</p>

<p>osprey,</p>

<p>Fair enough with regard to chemistry, or any other science for that matter. I think it is a very rare indivdual who can ignite a sudden interest and thirst for knowledge in subjects of diffculty for many. Now, in the humanities a passion for teaching well is immeasurable…</p>

<p>leanid, I’m not talking about students learning Chemistry because they love it. I’m talking about students learning it because they will have a midterm in 3 weeks and if they don’t learn it, they will receive a bad grade.</p>

<p>Yes, I understand the necessity of ‘getting it’ on one’s own, and also of the unfortunate tendency to ‘study to the test’, that has been and still is the MO for the majority of college students. But, boy they really ‘got’ the subject, didn’t they?</p>

<p>Is it just me or is Forbes extremely anti-public school in its rankings.</p>

<p>

Yeah, the guy wants public schools (except military academies) to be abolished. US News is getting more and more anti-public each year, too.</p>

<p>But certainly Osprey, if you have a better professor for Chemistry, or any other class, you have a better undergraduate education as it is easier to grasp and apply the material.</p>

<p>I agree ^^. Just as it is not solely up to the professor it is not solely up to the student…</p>

<p>

Okay, so it turns out, they’re no more anti-public than US News. The thing is, they seem to favor LACs over Universities, and since their lists are merged, it just looks like they hate publics more. I just divided it (well, the top 50 for each), and while it still looks different from US News, and methods still remain inane, public schools aren’t that much different (some are higher).</p>

<p>Forbes Top 50 Universities</p>

<ol>
<li>Princeton University</li>
<li>Stanford University</li>
<li>Harvard University</li>
<li>University of Chicago</li>
<li>Massachusetts Insitute of Technology</li>
<li>Northwestern University</li>
<li>California Institute of Technology</li>
<li>Yale University</li>
<li>University of Notre Dame</li>
<li>Brown University</li>
<li>Duke University</li>
<li>Boston College</li>
<li>Rice University</li>
<li>Dartmouth College</li>
<li>Wesleyan University</li>
<li>Colgate University</li>
<li>Tufts University</li>
<li>Columbia University</li>
<li>Emory University</li>
<li>University of Virginia</li>
<li>Georgetown University</li>
<li>Bucknell University</li>
<li>College of William and Mary</li>
<li>DePauw University</li>
<li>Cornell University</li>
<li>University of Pennsylvania</li>
<li>Vanderbilt University</li>
<li>University of California - LA</li>
<li>Sewanee: University of the South</li>
<li>Lawrence University</li>
<li>St Lawrence University</li>
<li>Santa Clara University</li>
<li>University of California - Berkeley</li>
<li>University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)</li>
<li>Wake Forest University</li>
<li>Furman University</li>
<li>Boston University</li>
<li>Brandeis University</li>
<li>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</li>
<li>Translyvania University</li>
<li>Willamete University</li>
<li>Carnegie Mellon University</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins University</li>
<li>University of Dallas</li>
<li>Pepperdine University</li>
<li>University of Redlands</li>
<li>Denison University</li>
<li>Washington University in St Louis</li>
<li>Saint Johns University</li>
<li>Trinity University</li>
</ol>

<p>Forbes Top 50 LACs</p>

<ol>
<li>Williams College</li>
<li>US Military Academy</li>
<li>Amherst College</li>
<li>Haverford College</li>
<li>US Air Force Academy</li>
<li>Claremont McKenna College</li>
<li>Carleton College</li>
<li>Swarthmore College</li>
<li>US Naval Academy</li>
<li>Wellesley College</li>
<li>Colby College</li>
<li>Pomona College</li>
<li>Vassar College</li>
<li>College of the Holy Cross</li>
<li>Union College</li>
<li>Colorado College</li>
<li>Bates College</li>
<li>Lafayette College</li>
<li>Centre College</li>
<li>Whitman College</li>
<li>Bowdoin College</li>
<li>Middlebury College</li>
<li>Scripps College</li>
<li>Kenyon College</li>
<li>Harvey Mudd College</li>
<li>Bryn Mawr College</li>
<li>Smith College</li>
<li>Barnard College</li>
<li>Dickinson College</li>
<li>Hillsdale College</li>
<li>Davidson College</li>
<li>Connecticut College</li>
<li>Virginia Military Institute</li>
<li>Wheaton College</li>
<li>Grinnell College</li>
<li>Skidmore College</li>
<li>Hamilton College</li>
<li>Oberlin College</li>
<li>Wofford College</li>
<li>Rhodes College</li>
<li>Westmont College</li>
<li>St. Olaf College</li>
<li>Knox College</li>
<li>Trinity College</li>
<li>Mount Holyoke College</li>
<li>Saint Norbert College</li>
<li>Saint Anselm College</li>
<li>Wabash College</li>
<li>Hobard William Smith Colleges</li>
<li>Saint Michaels College</li>
</ol>

<p>I probably made a couple mistakes (maybe skipped or miscategorized one) , but there it is. Looks a little more familiar, but still major differences. Even though I like seeing ND higher, I still don’t think this is any more valid than USNWR, and the methods seem worse, even if the idea behind them is better. </p>

<p>Public universities:</p>

<ol>
<li>University of Virginia</li>
<li>College of William and Mary</li>
<li>University of California - LA</li>
<li>University of California - Berkeley</li>
<li>University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)</li>
<li>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</li>
</ol>

<p>And here they are in US News:</p>

<ol>
<li>University of California - Berkeley</li>
<li>University of California - LA</li>
<li>University of Virginia</li>
<li>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor </li>
<li>University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)</li>
<li>College of William and Mary</li>
</ol>

<p>WM: +8
UVa: +5
UCLA: -3
UNC: -4
UCB: -11
UM: -11</p>

<p>So WM shot up, UVa went up a bit, UCLA and UNC went down a little, and UCB and UM dropped down.</p>

<p>Not exactly a hatred of public universities, just a disagreement with US News on which ones are best.</p>

<p>Public LACs:</p>

<ol>
<li>US Military Academy</li>
<li>US Air Force Academy</li>
<li>US Naval Academy</li>
<li>Virginia Military Institute</li>
</ol>

<p>And in US News:</p>

<p>National
16. US Military Academy
16. US Naval Academy
62. Virginia Military Institute</p>

<p>Regional, West

  1. US Air Force Academy</p>

<p>USAF: +1 Tier, then #5
VMI: +29
USMA: +14
USNA: +7</p>

<p>They really like these.</p>

<p>So no, for all its flaws, the Forbes ranking isn’t “extremely anti-public.”</p>

<p>Oops, put Colgate on the wrong list. Should be in LACs, not Universities (I blame whoever named it Colgate University).</p>

<p>EDITED POST</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Okay, so it turns out, they’re no more anti-public than US News. The thing is, they seem to favor LACs over Universities, and since their lists are merged, it just looks like they hate publics more. I just divided it (well, the top 50 for each), and while it still looks different from US News, and methods still remain inane, public schools aren’t that much different (some are higher).</p>

<p>Forbes Top 50 Universities</p>

<ol>
<li>Princeton University</li>
<li>Stanford University</li>
<li>Harvard University</li>
<li>University of Chicago</li>
<li>Massachusetts Insitute of Technology</li>
<li>Northwestern University</li>
<li>California Institute of Technology</li>
<li>Yale University</li>
<li>University of Notre Dame</li>
<li>Brown University</li>
<li>Duke University</li>
<li>Boston College</li>
<li>Rice University</li>
<li>Dartmouth College</li>
<li>Wesleyan University</li>
<li>Tufts University</li>
<li>Columbia University</li>
<li>Emory University</li>
<li>University of Virginia</li>
<li>Georgetown University</li>
<li>Bucknell University</li>
<li>College of William and Mary</li>
<li>DePauw University</li>
<li>Cornell University</li>
<li>University of Pennsylvania</li>
<li>Vanderbilt University</li>
<li>University of California - LA</li>
<li>Sewanee: University of the South</li>
<li>Lawrence University</li>
<li>St Lawrence University</li>
<li>Santa Clara University</li>
<li>University of California - Berkeley</li>
<li>University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)</li>
<li>Wake Forest University</li>
<li>Furman University</li>
<li>Boston University</li>
<li>Brandeis University</li>
<li>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</li>
<li>Translyvania University</li>
<li>Willamete University</li>
<li>Carnegie Mellon University</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins University</li>
<li>University of Dallas</li>
<li>Pepperdine University</li>
<li>University of Redlands</li>
<li>Denison University</li>
<li>Washington University in St Louis</li>
<li>Saint Johns University</li>
<li>Trinity University</li>
<li>Loyola University Maryland</li>
</ol>

<p>Forbes Top 50 LACs</p>

<ol>
<li>Williams College</li>
<li>US Military Academy</li>
<li>Amherst College</li>
<li>Haverford College</li>
<li>US Air Force Academy</li>
<li>Claremont McKenna College</li>
<li>Carleton College</li>
<li>Swarthmore College</li>
<li>US Naval Academy</li>
<li>Wellesley College</li>
<li>Colby College</li>
<li>Pomona College</li>
<li>Vassar College</li>
<li>College of the Holy Cross</li>
<li>Union College</li>
<li>Colorado College</li>
<li>Bates College</li>
<li>Lafayette College</li>
<li>Centre College</li>
<li>Whitman College</li>
<li>Colgate University</li>
<li>Bowdoin College</li>
<li>Middlebury College</li>
<li>Scripps College</li>
<li>Kenyon College</li>
<li>Harvey Mudd College</li>
<li>Bryn Mawr College</li>
<li>Smith College</li>
<li>Barnard College</li>
<li>Dickinson College</li>
<li>Hillsdale College</li>
<li>Davidson College</li>
<li>Connecticut College</li>
<li>Virginia Military Institute</li>
<li>Wheaton College</li>
<li>Grinnell College</li>
<li>Skidmore College</li>
<li>Hamilton College</li>
<li>Oberlin College</li>
<li>Wofford College</li>
<li>Rhodes College</li>
<li>Westmont College</li>
<li>St. Olaf College</li>
<li>Knox College</li>
<li>Trinity College</li>
<li>Mount Holyoke College</li>
<li>Saint Norbert College</li>
<li>Saint Anselm College</li>
<li>Wabash College</li>
<li>Hobard William Smith Colleges</li>
</ol>

<p>I probably made a couple mistakes (maybe skipped or miscategorized one) , but there it is. Looks a little more familiar, but still major differences. Even though I like seeing ND higher, I still don’t think this is any more valid than USNWR, and the methods seem worse, even if the idea behind them is better.</p>

<p>Public universities:</p>

<ol>
<li>University of Virginia</li>
<li>College of William and Mary</li>
<li>University of California - LA</li>
<li>University of California - Berkeley</li>
<li>University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)</li>
<li>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</li>
</ol>

<p>And here they are in US News:</p>

<ol>
<li>University of California - Berkeley</li>
<li>University of California - LA</li>
<li>University of Virginia</li>
<li>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</li>
<li>University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)</li>
<li>College of William and Mary</li>
</ol>

<p>WM: +9
UVa: +6
UCLA: -2
UNC: -3
UCB: -10
UM: -10</p>

<p>So WM shot up, UVa went up a bit, UCLA and UNC went down a little, and UCB and UM dropped down.</p>

<p>Not exactly a hatred of public universities, just a disagreement with US News on which ones are best.</p>

<p>Public LACs:</p>

<ol>
<li>US Military Academy</li>
<li>US Air Force Academy</li>
<li>US Naval Academy</li>
<li>Virginia Military Institute</li>
</ol>

<p>And in US News:</p>

<p>National
16. US Military Academy
16. US Naval Academy
62. Virginia Military Institute</p>

<p>Regional, West

  1. US Air Force Academy</p>

<p>USAF: +1 Tier, then #5
VMI: +28
USMA: +14
USNA: +7</p>

<p>They really like these.</p>

<p>So no, for all its other flaws, the Forbes ranking isn’t “extremely anti-public.”</p>

<p>i think the forbes university rankings are very accurate. good for Forbes not buying into all the ivy league hype!</p>

<p>DolorousEdd, DePauw University is a liberal arts college. Just saying.</p>

<p>

Quite a few, actually. It’s an understandable mistake given that many LACs call themselves universities despite granting very, very few graduate/professional degrees. </p>

<p>Wesleyan, Bucknell, DePauw, Sewanee, Lawrence, St. Lawrence, Furman, Transylvania, and Denison are all LACs, not universities. One could make a strong argument for Willamette and Trinity U being considered LACs as well.</p>

<p>Incidentally, I strongly disagree with whoever said Kalamazoo had a poor reputation. It’s actually known as a rather good school. Not as good as WUStL, perhaps, but good nevertheless. It’s particularly known for the sciences/premed, an international focus, and service learning. If I remember correctly, it normally does rather well in Fulbright production.</p>

<p>

Thank you, both of you. I’ll realign the rankings accordingly. For the two maybes, I’ll match up with USNWR and put Willamette as a LAC and Trinity U as a university.</p>

<p>Hopefully everything is fixed.</p>

<p>Forbes Top 50 Universities</p>

<ol>
<li>Princeton University</li>
<li>Stanford University</li>
<li>Harvard University</li>
<li>University of Chicago</li>
<li>Massachusetts Insitute of Technology</li>
<li>Northwestern University</li>
<li>California Institute of Technology</li>
<li>Yale University</li>
<li>University of Notre Dame</li>
<li>Brown University</li>
<li>Duke University</li>
<li>Boston College</li>
<li>Rice University</li>
<li>Dartmouth College</li>
<li>Tufts University</li>
<li>Columbia University</li>
<li>Emory University</li>
<li>University of Virginia</li>
<li>Georgetown University</li>
<li>College of William and Mary</li>
<li>Cornell University</li>
<li>University of Pennsylvania</li>
<li>Vanderbilt University</li>
<li>University of California - LA</li>
<li>Santa Clara University</li>
<li>University of California - Berkeley</li>
<li>University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)</li>
<li>Wake Forest University</li>
<li>Boston University</li>
<li>Brandeis University</li>
<li>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</li>
<li>Carnegie Mellon University</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins University</li>
<li>University of Dallas</li>
<li>Pepperdine University</li>
<li>University of Redlands</li>
<li>Washington University in St Louis</li>
<li>Saint Johns University</li>
<li>Trinity University</li>
<li>Loyola University Maryland</li>
<li>Villanova University</li>
<li>Colorado School of Mines</li>
<li>Southern Methodist University</li>
<li>Lehigh University</li>
<li>Clark University</li>
<li>University of California - Davis</li>
<li>University of Rochester</li>
<li>University of Washington - Seattle</li>
<li>Loyola Marymount University</li>
<li>University of Florida</li>
</ol>

<p>Forbes Top 50 LACs</p>

<ol>
<li>Williams College</li>
<li>US Military Academy</li>
<li>Amherst College</li>
<li>Haverford College</li>
<li>US Air Force Academy</li>
<li>Claremont McKenna College</li>
<li>Carleton College</li>
<li>Swarthmore College</li>
<li>US Naval Academy</li>
<li>Wellesley College</li>
<li>Colby College</li>
<li>Pomona College</li>
<li>Vassar College</li>
<li>College of the Holy Cross</li>
<li>Union College</li>
<li>Colorado College</li>
<li>Bates College</li>
<li>Lafayette College</li>
<li>Centre College</li>
<li>Wesleyan University</li>
<li>Whitman College</li>
<li>Bowdoin College</li>
<li>Middlebury College</li>
<li>Scripps College</li>
<li>Kenyon College</li>
<li>Harvey Mudd College</li>
<li>Bucknell University</li>
<li>DePauw University</li>
<li>Bryn Mawr College</li>
<li>Smith College</li>
<li>Sewanee: University of the South</li>
<li>Barnard College</li>
<li>Dickinson College</li>
<li>Hillsdale College</li>
<li>Davidson College</li>
<li>Connecticut College</li>
<li>Lawrence University</li>
<li>St Lawrence University</li>
<li>Virginia Military Institute</li>
<li>Wheaton College</li>
<li>Grinnell College</li>
<li>Skidmore College</li>
<li>Hamilton College</li>
<li>Oberlin College</li>
<li>Wofford College</li>
<li>Rhodes College</li>
<li>Westmont College</li>
<li>St. Olaf College</li>
<li>Knox College</li>
<li>Trinity College</li>
</ol>

<p>And to redo my public school exercise:</p>

<p>Public universities:</p>

<ol>
<li>University of Virginia</li>
<li>College of William and Mary</li>
<li>University of California - LA</li>
<li>University of California - Berkeley</li>
<li>University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)</li>
<li>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</li>
<li>Colorado School of Mines</li>
<li>University of California - Davis</li>
<li>University of Washington - Seattle</li>
<li>University of Florida</li>
</ol>

<p>And here they are in US News:</p>

<ol>
<li>University of California - Berkeley</li>
<li>University of California - LA</li>
<li>University of Virginia</li>
<li>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</li>
<li>University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)</li>
<li>College of William and Mary</li>
<li>University of California - Davis</li>
<li>University of Washington - Seattle</li>
<li>University of Florida</li>
<li>Colorado School of Mines</li>
</ol>

<p>CSM: +30
WM: +11
UVa: +7
UNC: +3
UF: +3
UCLA: +1
UCB: -4
UM: -2
UCD: -7
UW: -7</p>

<p>That’s a net gain of 32 ranks for public schools inside the Forbes Top 50 Universities.</p>

<p>Public LACs:</p>

<ol>
<li>US Military Academy</li>
<li>US Air Force Academy</li>
<li>US Naval Academy</li>
<li>Virginia Military Institute</li>
</ol>

<p>And in US News:</p>

<p>National
16. US Military Academy
16. US Naval Academy
62. Virginia Military Institute</p>

<p>Regional, West

  1. US Air Force Academy</p>

<p>USAFA: +1 Tier, then #5
VMI: +23
USMA: +14
USNA: +7</p>

<p>That’s a net gain of 44 ranks for VMI, USMA, and USNA, and a whole tier for USAFA.</p>

<p>I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: undergraduate teaching quality is largely irrelevant. Students can and should learn the material before they come to class, then after hearing the lecture, if they don’t understand something, they ask in office hours or discussion. Lectures are not supposed to be the time that you first learn material. Rather, lectures serve mostly to structure the knowledge: telling students what’s important and what’s not, how some concepts are related, what additional concepts are relevant and not discussed much in the reading, etc. But even then, the value added is minimal. If you need someone to get in front of you and teach in order for you to learn, you have much bigger problems than whether the undergraduate teaching is quality.</p>

<p>The role of the professor in lecture-style classes is 1) to choose appropriate material and topics related to the subject at hand, 2) to structure the material in an appropriate way (i.e. make the curriculum), 3) to come up with reading and assignments to facilitate independent learning, and 4) to institute methods of evaluating students (projects, presentations, exams, etc.). The ‘teaching quality,’ interpreted as the ability to communicate material clearly, is largely irrelevant. But a professor does 1-4 far more expertly than, say, a TA.</p>

<p>In seminar-style classes, in addition to the above, the professor’s job is to facilitate student learning, discussion, and debate. Here the ability to communicate clearly becomes more important - not to teach (since professors relay little material in seminars anyway), but rather to facilitate communication among the students.</p>

<p>It’s difficult for many to admit that teaching ability is not terribly important, because it runs counter to intuition. But as far as I’ve seen, the tangible benefits of teaching ability are few. You could say that there are intangible benefits, like ‘inspiring students,’ but those have little to nothing to do with the quality of the education itself. If you want to make sure you have a good teacher, then look for a lecturer or an adjunct.</p>

<p>Funnily enough, almost every professor I had at Stanford was amazing, both in their ability to run a class/seminar and in their teaching. There were two instructors that I had who were absolutely terrible, and they were actually a lecturer and an adjunct who couldn’t communicate material at all. Regardless, students still learned the material well, because they had a strong curriculum, appropriate materials to supplement it, and support set up to make sure we understood it (office hours, TA hours, discussion sections). But these two instructors were the ones who were hired specifically to teach, and yet they were the worst ones at it.</p>

<p>^ I 100% agree with the above poster. In the end, students are the ones who learn the material. The professors are simply there as a guide/re-enforcer. Sure, some professors can do a little more than that but not by much. The professor cannot place knowledge into your brain. You have to place knowledge into your own brain.</p>

<p>You know how you know these rankings are flawed?</p>

<p>Clemson #384 :)</p>

<p>also looking in the same area
College Of Charleston #386
RPI #370
Michigan state #348
Pittsburgh #336
Wisconsin #316
Purdue #311
Minnesota #306</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I totally disagree. Of course the students need to learn the material which requires a good deal of outside study. But, the professor/instructor can make a big difference beyond rote memorization of the material. A good education helps the student critically think about the material in order to apply it. Since the student learns the material, the classroom experience helps build connections and should allow for a deeper understanding of the subject. It sounds like some of you should save money and just do on-line study. </p>

<p>Of course, lecture classes at a school like Williams are few. The students work very hard outside the classroom and the professors work very hard in the classroom creating a cooperative learning environment which allows all parties to look at the material in new innovative ways. Yes, even their (Williams) intro to Biology course is conducted in such a way. The multi-variable calculus class I sat in on was amazing and helped me appreciate math in ways I never have been able to before (even though I’m old). I’m a bit surprised that many think this doesn’t make much of a difference. Such a learning/teaching environment should be the goal of all college education. </p>

<p>Yes, a Williams education (or Swarthmore, Haverford, Amherst, Wesleyan, Welsley…) is qualitatively very different than the typical “big box” university education. IMO it’s worth it if affordable. Fortunately, many of the best have great financial aid.</p>

<p>

I strongly disagree. As a TA for the past couple years, I’ve had the opportunity to see the same course taught different ways by four different professors. One of them was absolutely excellent, with predictable results - the class was always engaged, they brought up interesting points in their papers, etc. One of them was an absolutely abysmal lecturer, and scarcely anyone paid attention or even made the effort to stay awake. As a result, I got papers and quizzes that made me want to beat my head against the nearest wall. The other two were somewhere in between. </p>

<p>It’s true that a lecture should not be the sole source of a student’s knowledge, yes. I’d be thrilled if my students actually read their books before class, though if more than 1/3 of them do, I’ll eat my favorite hat. I vehemently disagree with the notion that a lecturer’s purpose is simply to explain or regurgitate what students read in their textbooks; bringing in extra material and knowledge is, as you briefly touched upon, essential for a good lecture, as is presenting it to them in a relatable way. </p>

<p>I’ve noticed that students in the sciences tend to have far more tolerance for poor lecturers; goodness knows most of mine in college were pretty bad. This may be a disciplinary divide. I do disagree with the idea that LAC professors are automatically better professors; I think both LAC and university professors can vary immensely in quality. Being dedicated to teaching is not quite the same as being good at teaching, though there is definitely a lot of overlap.</p>

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<p>I agree and I’m sorry if I implied that. I can only attest to Williams which has, across the board, excellent teaching. I was inferring that other elite LACs also have excellent instructors as it seems to be the cultural norm at Williams. Certainly my S, at a large state University (often the 4th or 5th ranked public) has also had, for the most part, excellent teachers, but not always. Excellence in teaching is not a given at a LAC.</p>