<p>Washu, besides for pre-med, really isnt that strong in other areas. its a nice pretty school but there is a great sense of inferiority on campus since it is used as the ivy league-back up and i know many people who have ended up there who really did not want to be there and end up entering in the fall very bitter about life.</p>
<p>I know Boston U over all may not be a very prestigious school but i do know that a biomedical engineering degree from BU is more prestigious than a BME degree from even Columbia U!
So we just cant go on continuing with prestige threads.</p>
<p>in STARS the dean of administration from washu talked about what she looked for in an applicant, and how been a student at washe premed really helps with the medical school...which is prestigous. if anyone needs this information...i have it...since you all seen to like wasu sooo much</p>
<p>Interesting that you should make that comment, bruno; I'm planning to apply to both Boston and Columbia for BME in the Fall...</p>
<p>and then if you get into both, i know it'll be a tough decision about where to go! BU is set to move up further in BME rankings as it has just purchased a multi million dollar life sciences building with state of the art labs for BMEers, EEers etc. The reason why i chose BU for BME over other more prestigious schools was BU's faculty and the BME day that BU celebrates annually. that kinda spirit was lacking in the other univs.</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins and Duke have the best BME programs, arguably.</p>
<p>sure, but BU is in the top 10 in BME rankings, and that ain't bad at all!</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is "regional prestige". For example, a lot of people in my state (Washington) haven't heard about a lot of the East Coast LACs. However, they all seem to know Whitman and Reed just due to location, with Whitman being more well known than Reed. We also get a lot more of the CA schools represented here. <em>shrugs</em></p>
<p>Who knows how one defines prestigious? Rankings? Academic reputation? Overall image in the public eye? % of grads who earn PhDs. Subjective.</p>
<p>Let's focus on prestigious schools in Ohio. Lol. Why? Ohio has given the U. S. seven Presidents. Only one StateVirginia, with eighthas done better. Ohio has 37 colleges. Only two States have morePennsylvania with 59. New York with 52.</p>
<p>In Ohio, the prestigious liberal arts colleges have already formed their own group years ago and have formalized it in a consortium called The Ohio Five:</p>
<p>Oberlin College
Kenyon College
Ohio Wesleyan University
Denison University
College of Wooster</p>
<p>They are too small too attract the same attention as big schools in the Northeast but their academics and their national reputation are enough to render them prestigious. </p>
<p>There is an interesting article that one of my friends in the admissions office at Kenyon has pointed me to. It is called the Ohio Six...written in 1957! It focuses on the history of liberal arts colleges in Ohio with a main point "Of the survivors, educators often group six together because of their high academic standing...Oberlin, Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan, Denison, Wooster and Antioch".</p>
<p>Take with a grain of salt but a lot of people will agree that these are the leaders among private liberal arts colleges in Ohio.</p>
<p>Let's focus on Virginia, which has produced the most presidents.</p>
<p>The BEST
university of virginia
William and mary
Washing and Lee University</p>
<p>Excellent
University of Richimind
James Madison University
Virginia Tech</p>
<p>Very good
Virginia Commonwealth University
Christopher Newport University</p>
<p>GMU is pretty decent for econ/cs i think.</p>
<p>i think boston the city has better schools than many states. you got harvard,mit, bc, bu, and im probably missing a couple.</p>
<p>wesleyan is a very competitive college, its high ranked among LACs, and most competitive students will know about it, but to the average american, it is not "prestigious", but still a good college</p>
<p>Four pages into this thread (and from all over this site) I'm still wondering about the constant reference to and definition of prestigious in the context of all this and its importance as a factor in choosing where you'll get your college education. It's just a "beauty in the eye of the beholder thing" when all is said and done.</p>
<p>Is it that someone at a party will say oooh and aaah when they hear the name of the school? Is it because everyone you know has heard of the school? It is because US News and World Report says it is so? Is it a common knowledge type of thing? Is it dictated because the school is very selective? Is it perceived because a school does a good job of marketing itself, has a great football team, is in a Bowl game every New Year's Day?</p>
<p>Trouble is that one person's treasure is another's trash.</p>
<p>Great post above about buying a prestigious car. If it won't start and doesn't work for you, what's the point. Sorta "all dressed up with nowhere to go".</p>
<p>Funny thing is I think that an "archaic" definition of prestigious was: of or relating to illusion, conjuring or trickery.</p>