<p>Of all the college grads I know, those from University of Wisconsin, Madison speak with the most pride and nostalgia about their undergraduate experiences.</p>
<p>You don't hear about any school unless you know alums. I'm in a Notre Dame family, so I know a lot about it, but I don't live anywhere near Indiana. I think that ND counts as one of the proudest schools since the students are bound by more than sports. They have a faith that sits much deeper than simple enthusiasm for a sport's team, and I think that's what makes the students and all associated with the school a family--which is how they refer to themselves.</p>
<p>As far as national schools go I'll say PSU, but the Ags and the Horns have got to be in there, too. (In their region I'll say Clemson, but then I'd have to open things up too much - to the OU nation etc.)</p>
<p>Definitely U of M (Michigan of course), you should see the alumni crowds in LA that gather at 9 AM in the morning or whatever time it is out there when the games start in Ann Arbor. I hear from the kids that they are admitting "tons of kids from New York" these days so for those in the east....the alum and their sea of maize and blue are coming. Although I'd give a nod to any of the Big 10 schools. My Dad is an engineering school alum and at 86 he still flys the Michigan flag on his flag pole and sports the maize and blue. I'd guess Texas might have a few schools that inspire that enthusiasm and maybe USC, UCLA and Notre Dame, but I can't think of many more with that kind of national alumni base.</p>
<p>I don't know about the right hand side of the country, but west of the Mississippi it would be Texas A&M hands down. Aggies define school pride. I'm surprised to see anyone mention UDub. When I was in school eons ago it was quite the opposite. Cougs, on the other hand, still win any state-wide competition of alumni pride despite their smaller numbers. See entry under last year's crimson and gray Space Needle for the UW/WSU game.</p>
<p>Saying you have school loyalty is one thing, but in the end, are you willing to put your money where your mouth is?
One has to look at alumni giving rates for that answer.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>One has to look at alumni giving rates for that answer.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Not necessarily. There was a big article in the Wall Street Journal about this two or three days ago. Colleges have learned to game the giving rates in order to boost their USNWR rankings. They gave the example of a school where if seniors give a modest amount to the alumni fund as they graduate, the school will distribute that gift over the next four or five years and count that individual as a full donating alum for the next four of five years even though not another cent has been given. It was a very eye-opening article.</p>
<p>Edit: Link to thte article:</p>
<p>One school, an Ivy by the way, once considered soliciting a gift from an alum in the 6 figur range. There plan for this relatively modest gift was to use it to mail every living alumni $1 and request that they give it back to the university. In this way they hoped to boost their alumni giving rate and move up in the USNWR rankings. They did not go through with this plan but did consider it.</p>
<p>BTW since all of the info USNWR uses and all the data in the Common Data Set are self-reported and unaudited it should probably all be taken with a grain of salt. This is especially true since even a very small movement in the rankings can represent millions of dollars in revenue even at the allegedly need blind schools. Seems if you drop a place or two in the rankings you need to become more "sensitive" to the need of good students if you still want to matriculate them.</p>
<p>Sometimes I think the stench that comes out of our most elite ivory towers isn't much different than what I smell down at the cow barns during the county fair.</p>
<p>As for the original point of this thread - VMI grads are among the most loyal.</p>
<p>what a ridiculous thread. whichever school gets the most alumni contributions obviously has the "proudest" students. you don't give money to a school you didn't like.</p>
<p>Some schools have students who are the most likely to become lawyers or go into business, while other schools have students who are the most likely to continue on to grad school and stay in academia. Some schools get a few large donations, while other schools get many very small donations. Some schools attract students from well-off families, while other schools get many struggling students from working class families. Though it does say something, I don't think you can get a full picture from looking at alumni contributions.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>what a ridiculous thread. whichever school gets the most alumni contributions obviously has the "proudest" students.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Not if the school is fiddling the figures. See post #27</p>
<p>So far, what I am seeing is school spirit based on football and other athletics. That isn't all that there is to a school. School pride is more than just school spirit. That same spirit can be had for your local sports team. What defines pride to me is someone who revels in all the opportunities the school offers, the academics, and yes, the sports - the whole package. The school with the most pride is the school that has the most kids with the perfect fit, and it doesn't matter how big or small the school, and it isn't just the giving of money, which is important, but many alums who want to give and are proud, can't for financial reasons. I think it's the percentage of alums who stay active in the school, then it wouldn't matter how big or small - percentages mean that these people feel proud enough to do more than just write a check, but to continue to come to Homecoming, volunteer and work on the alumni committees, etc.</p>
<p>Colgate seems to have a lot of loyal alums, which is especially noticeable considering it's not a huge football/sports school</p>
<p>"Not if the school is fiddling the figures"</p>
<p>Fiddling with figures may be practiced by some, but when you have a high rate of giving, supported by major dollars, you have a WINNER ! What better proof is there?</p>
<p>^^ That' s just the sort of thinking that the schools are hoping for. It's clear that a claim of a high giving rate, no matter how bogus the school's method of calculating it, will impress the likes of you.</p>
<p>Since my father doesn't hang out at CC, here's his vote: FLORIDA STATE!
Otherwise, we're a maize and blue family, despite having lived in Ann Arbor for four years and never attended a game at that big round thing on the way to the mall.</p>
<p>More than one educational consulting firm uses a school's giving rate as a proxy for school spirit. Does anyone know of a better measure?</p>
<p>^^ The problem is the giving rate can be manipulated. Some schools have huge alumni fund drives focused not only on raising money (although the money is very nice), but also on pressuring alums to give <em>something,</em> anything, so that their percentages will be high and thus boost their USNWR rankings. </p>
<p>A school with a low-pressure alumni fund drive may actually have more "school spirit" (whatever that is) or more loyal alumni than another school with a big high-pressure drive designed to inflate the apparent donation rate, but the respective giving rates won't show that.</p>
<p>Another problem is that "school spirit" is an abstraction in the first place. So we are left with giving rate as a phony and highly manipulated "proxy" for an abstract concept. How valuable of a measurement is that? </p>
<p>In my experience, many state schools, even those with huge athletic programs and rabid alumni, are much more low key and less aggressive about soliciting alumni donations than are most private schools.</p>
<p>From the Wall Street Journal article:</p>
<p>"Forget grades. At a growing number of schools, the greatest inflation is occurring with their alumni-giving rate, an obscure data point measuring the percentage of alumni who donate in a given fiscal year. The chase has gotten so extreme that officials at some schools worry more about the alumni-giving rate than the amounts being given.</p>
<p>Some colleges beg alumni for a dollar, since the size of the gift doesn't matter in figuring the rate. Others, taking advantage of the fact that the calculation excludes alumni for whom the school lacks valid contact information, don't try to track down lost alums. The rationale: Graduates who didn't update the school with their whereabouts are less likely to donate, dragging down the school's percentage."</p>
<p>Not true jags. You can donate but not be a vocal supporter. </p>
<p>As others have mentioned, geography is going to be a big factor in appearances. Big schools with prominent sports teams also have an advantage. I mean really, if you went to a Division 3 school what's even the point of wearing you're alma mater's paraphernalia? Plus, at least in my med school class, the people that did go to smaller schools (including many schools popular on CC) still retained their loyalties to Division 1 schools they grew up supporting.</p>