<p>Just thought I'd start a thread to see which schools you lot think are fast rising to move from second to first choice schools.</p>
<p>As a prospective engineering student, ones that I can think of are:
1. Rensselaer Poly
2. Virginia Tech
3. U Washington(Prestigious enough already actually, just that the location's an issue for most people ...)</p>
<p>USC? I know it has been rising, but its probably peaked at its current posis.</p>
<p>NYU seems to be moving fast. Tufts is starting to be more of a first choice school. However, it'll never break into top 20</p>
<p>NYU, USC, University of Washington, University of Maryland</p>
<p>A lot of people actually like the idea of going to school in Seattle...
I personally don't get it...but that seems to be the main reason for OOSers.</p>
<p>true...seattle sucks</p>
<p>Does it? I've heard it's an amazing town. Just that its in the northwest corner of the country and not usually a first choice for OOS students...</p>
<p>My daughter is a sophmore at RPI and is very happy there. It is still big in engineering but has been branching out under the leadership of Shirley Ann Jackson. The campus is a nice mix of old brick and ivy, modern and a couple under construction. Their computing center is a restored former seminary church. An engineering grad I know has done very well work wise. Certainly check RPI out.</p>
<p>yes, yes, USC, NYU</p>
<p>University of Maryland</p>
<p>One number that some associate with increasing demand for a college is the school's acceptance rate. Sure, there is lots more to it than that, but this is a pretty good indication of what is going on with interest in the school.</p>
<p>I don't have data for all of the schools mentioned in this thread, but I do for USC, Tufts, and NYU. Below is their acceptance rate in each year from 2007 and stretching back to 1998 (data drawn from USNWR and I did not have it for 2005). On this metric, USC is the clear winner, but it is a good question of how much further it can carry this momentum.</p>
<p>College , 2008 USNWR Issue , 2007 , 2006 , 2005 , 2004 , 2003 , 2002 , 2001 , 2000 , 1999 , 1998 </p>
<p>USC , 25% , 27% , 27% , na , 30% , 32% , 34% , 37% , 45% , 46% , 72% </p>
<p>Tufts , 27% , 28% , 27% , na , 27% , 23% , 26% , 32% , 33% , 32% , 32% </p>
<p>NYU , 36% , 37% , 35% , na , 33% , 29% , 29% , 32% , 35% , 40% , 44%</p>
<p>Just based on what I have heard from the grapevine as I travel in and out of different high schools here in Virginia and from what I hear from a close friend who is a high school guidance counselor in North Carolina, I would definitely agree with you about Virginia Tech. (disclaimer: I am very biased as my high school senior just was accepted there :)) With the way that the students, faculty and administration handled themselves after the April 16 tragedy, coupled with the academic excellence of many of its departments, VT is the number one choice for many, many high schoolers in our state and along the East coast right now. (And it doesn't hurt that their sports teams: football, soccer, etc. are in at the top nationally as well!)</p>
<p>villanova is also on the rise. same with carnegie mellon.</p>
<p>What happened between 1998 and 1999 where USC's acceptance rate lowered 26% in a single year?</p>
<p>walt99-
I have noticed the weird drop in acceptance rate at USC too. It is suspicious. It defies nature. USC is tacky. It still has a lot of part-time faculty, I believe.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon comes to mind, as does USC. I know Ohio State is definitely on the rise, but it'll never break the top 30. The biggest problem with this is that it requires a few schools to drop out of the top 20 as well. Looking at the current "Top 20," that doesn't seem likely, though.</p>
<p>UChicago seems to have risen from first choice school to the level of HYMPS in that it is even above first choice for most, as in, "I'll just apply here for the heck of it, but I won't get in."</p>
<p>definitely UW... seattle is an awesome city</p>
<p>i would NEVER go to uchicago. hella Wildcats!!!</p>
<p>Oregon to me seems very underrated. Might be just me though, a lot of California kids seem to go there, thus the label "University of California Eugene".</p>