<p>Can anyone give me their impression of each of these public schools and how they stack up to each other? Looking for a school with a good business program, and with good job placement. (I went to a public school myself, and found that job placement was an issue...I'm wondering if this is the case at all public schools, and even if it is still the case now versus 20 years ago!)</p>
<p>University of Michigan (I know this is probably the strongest, so it will help me understand where the others fit.)</p>
<p>1)University of Michigan
2)College of William and Mary
3)Penn State University Park
4)University of Maryland
5)University of Indiana
6)Boston University</p>
<p>For business, I’d rank them as jec did except inverting Indiana and Maryland –</p>
<p>Michigan
W&M
Penn St.
Indiana (I put this above Maryland b/c of their very good MBA program filter down effect)
Maryland</p>
<p>BU is private.</p>
<p>Your best education overall will likely be at the smallest school (or program) of that bunch… so either the Honors college at Penn St., or William and Mary.</p>
<p>I’ve been to IU and W&M, and I live in Indiana. It is known as a party school around here, but there Kelley business school is most definitely their strongest and most well known school. W&M seemed more focused on humanities. W&M has more of a private school feel to it, it seemed kind of boring and all the kids were very intelligent. Obviously, at the other big Us, not everyone is so smart, but you can find these people easily. Also, BU is private. Michigan is still the best in this group.</p>
<p>University of Michigan
University of Indiana
Penn State
College of William and Mary (haven’t really heard much about their business program and probably has the smallest alumni base out of these)
University of Maryland
Boston University (this is a private school)</p>
<p>I think that the answer varies greatly, depending on who is asking the question and where it is being asked. </p>
<p>In the Mid-Atlantic states, folks know the reputation of W&M which is that it is an exceptional school that graduates highly prepared, grounded individuals that work well with others and don’t have an inflated view of themselves or their college. U Maryland is seen as improved over the past few decades and has a large, influential local alumni base, but its overall student/graduate strength is seen as a step or two below that of U Maryland. </p>
<p>In the middle states like Pennsylvania and Delaware and New Jersey and, to a lesser degree, New York, Penn State has a strong presence and its top students do very well, especially those coming out of Schreyer and Smeal. Like W&M, there is a humility and good work ethic with most Penn State grads and which translates well to the workplace.</p>
<p>In the Midwest, U Michigan’s rep would almost certainly trump Indiana U although the IU’s Kelley business school is very well regarded. Within Indiana and less so throughout the rest of the Midwest, IU’s placement is fine. </p>
<p>Boston University is fine, but suffers from the fact that it sits in a very competitive location with some of the finest colleges in the USA. As a result, its prestige and placement impact is diminished out of scale to the quality of students that actually attend and graduate into the workplace. </p>
<p>Overall, I would place the national strength of graduating students as:
1a. William & Mary
1b. U Michigan</p>
<p>ucb,
The OP asked about the schools’ undergraduate business programs and how that connects to the matter of post-graduate job placement. </p>
<p>IMO, W&M is very, very underrated by the academics who offer their opinions which is the entire basis for the rankings you quote. I am more interested in the quality of the student body and my perceptions of how employers view this. Statistically, W&M’s student body would arguably be the best of this bunch and this reputation would certainly be a boost to W&M in the eyes of employers.</p>
<p>In creating their rankings such as USNWR Peer Assessment scoring, the priorities of academia are often out-of –sync with what employers are looking for and thus I would discourage comparisons on this basis (unless a student was hoping to pursue a career in academia). Furthermore, W&M is a school well-known for its undergraduate classroom teaching and its commitment to undergraduate education, not research.</p>
<p>I stand by my comments on the placement strength of these schools and how it varies as you move around the country.</p>
<p>Oh, this thread amuses me. First off, this is presumably for ReadytoRoll’s son. A quick glimpse through her past posts reveals that she and her husband are both Michigan MBAs. They’re obviously familiar with large public universities. </p>
<p>“Can anyone give me their impression of each of these public schools and how they stack up to each other? Looking for a school with a good business program, and with good job placement.”</p>
<p>That does not mean to specifically reference the undergraduate business rankings, as that was not the question. Hawkette was correct in her placement of the universities.</p>
<p>^ I’m just giving a published ranking which is composed of the opinions of numerous people that supposedly have more expertise than the anonymous opinion of one person on an internet message board.</p>