<p>Got to love SEC academic smack talk!</p>
<p>Something that kills Arkansas is the low 6 year graduation rates of 60% (UA is 67%, while AU is 68%). It’s the grad rates that’s keeping all three schools down in the ratings.</p>
<p>A higher % of degrees awarded at Arkansas are in STEM (19.2%) than at UA (13.3%) and Arkansas has higher R&D expenditures (about 2X UA’s). Then again AU has 25.5% STEM grads and about a third larger R&D expenditures than Arkansas…</p>
<p>If you are talking academics the rankings are Vandy, TAMU and then everyone else in some order y’all can fight about. </p>
<p>I met a kid who was cleaning tables in one of the AU dining facilities who had to drop out for a few semesters and work to make enough to pay for tuition and books and food - great kid, had a plan, figured it would take him about 8 years but he was going to get his degree from AU. I think some of us middle income folks forget that not everyone has our ability to foot the bill for our kids. Even on full tuition - several thousands of dollars is a lot of money for room & board and meal plan and books if you have no money. X year graduation rates doesn’t mean a lot without looking at the details. Kids like that impress me a lot - there are a lot of kids in Alabama who could use some financial aid help.</p>
<p>It’s easy to have a higher graduation rate when the poorest students are effectively barred from attending Alabama’s flagship campus because the school offers them no financial aid other than Pell Grants and loans.</p>
<p>Some of the poorer students in AL attend a CC or a closer University - if they have housing already covered, it greatly reduces their COA.</p>
<p>Some states are not populated with a system of CC and in-state universities.</p>
<p>I was very impressed with an AA UA student who had a partial scholarship. He is pursuing a music degree with the intention of composing and working as a musician/director/faculty. He cobbled together several part time jobs, had a lot of positive energy and drive. He was at the right school for his career goals - launching place for him to go OOS with his future degrees, and I believe he was going to do the graduate assistant-ship and master’s degree at UA. Preparing himself for PhD OOS.</p>
<p>The link I posted earlier compares the % of pell grants by school. It also list the average net price after grants. UA is the 2nd highest in the SEC at $18,462 per year (while Vanderbilt is number 1 at $19,667; Vandy does a great job with FA). AU is at $15,092 and Arkansas is at $11,496 (the lowest in the SEC).</p>
<p>I read somewhere that UA was starting a new FA program for low SES students…</p>
<p>Some info passed on from my husband, 70’s Ole Miss grad (fraternity brother too) - Auburn campus is prettier than Ole Miss, Mississippi State is a better school academically than Ole Miss and not just for engineering, but you’ll have more fun at Ole Miss than you will at Auburn or Mississippi State combined. Don’t know if it is still true but he said Ole Miss attracted the families w/ money, business and political clout (he laughs at how many are now in politics or indicted for something) - a lot of the studious kids went elsewhere for undergrad and moved on to Ole Miss for Law or Medical. </p>
<p>The National Average graduation rate at four-year colleges is 59 percent, so all of these schools are above average. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, the average student at Arkansas scored a 26 on their ACT and posted a 3.60 GPA. This from their official website. It has very high standards. </p>
<p>“Auburn campus is prettier than Ole Miss”</p>
<p>Wow, that’s not my take, but of course it’s a matter of taste. I thought Ole Miss felt like a private school, which I liked. Auburn is a lot more spread out. I’ve said it before, but the loving care of the old buildings and sense of history and specialness at Ole Miss reminded me of Harvard.</p>
<p>The whole conference gets way more crap than it deserves. We’re not the Ivy League, but I’d choose any of the SEC schools over any Ivy League school because they combine quality academics with student experience. Some people love the Ivy Leagues and think they’re fun and that’s fine, but for my personal taste, the SEC is king when it comes to enjoying college and getting a respected degree in the process.</p>
<p>US News already ranks the schools. Why would you even ask?</p>
<p>If you want opinion or general sentiment;</p>
<p>1- Vandy
2 - Rest</p>
<p>Because U.S News is composed of Ivy League graduates, who clearly have an anti-Southern bias when they rank schools like the University of Iowa (who accepts almost anyone) above University of South Carolina? I’ve visited UI and couldn’t believe the number of idiots there. South Carolina scores higher across the board for our incoming freshman, yet for whatever reason Iowa ranks in the Top 80. </p>
<p>Even the person I know that goes to Iowa said it’s a joke. </p>
<p>Mmm…just an observation. You have a LOT of school pride, lol. Enough that you’re willing to post on an anonymous college forum about how your school is better than all the other ones in its tier, despite what test scores and rankings might say. I honestly have no idea about most of these schools, but I’m not sure by what metric you’re trying to place USC ahead of everyone else in the SEC. Are you trying to get everyone to say 1. Vanderbilt 2. Florida 3. South Carolina? And even if they did…would it really change anything in the long run? </p>
<p>Sorry if this came off as nitpicky or anything. It’s just that I even recognize your username now because most of your posts eventually delve off into something super pro University of South Carolina. Which isn’t a bad school-- I don’t think anyone said it was? I don’t know anything about UI either, but bashing it doesn’t make others agree with your standpoint any more.</p>
<p>If you’re unhappy with the way US News ranks its colleges, there are always others out there. Just don’t refer to any Cooley-esque ones! </p>
<p>Basically what coriander said. It’s clear that you have a strong preference for southern schools and a strong bias against ivies and other top schools. Your personal preferences do not make the schools any better or worse objectively, only for you.</p>
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<p>I think if you really look at what you said, your preference for the southern schools is pretty clear: you want a party/sports/large type school and a good job after. And that’s perfectly fine. But, for other types of people, thats the exact opposite of what they want. Your definition of enjoying college isn’t the same as everyone. For many who are primarily academics or intellectuals, the northeast and CA are much bigger draws than the south, and its for the exact same reasons you would choose them over the ivies.</p>
<p>Rankings are all about the criteria you use to judge, and that’s why your ranks are much different than others.</p>
<p>I was (and remain) convinced that the OP was trolling, but was quite concerned that so many people seemed to seriously engage with this notion of what is the “best” school until Coriander and Pengs came to the rescue. Despite having to wade through sometimes a lot of silliness (no harm in that) and a lot of meanness on these forums, it is the constant refrain that the best school is what is the best FIT for a particular student that is the touchstone I find most valuable in coming here.</p>
<p>@rrobb </p>
<p>You can tell the OP is serious if you look at other posts, and its not like there isn’t merit in his view for those who have similar priorities for college selection. But yes, the lesson here is that same refrain. Is that a sticky thread yet on that?</p>
<p>Rankings are subjective, and everyone has their own system. However, lets take a look at how US News does it’s ranking, and then we can explain why University of Iowa (UI) is ranked higher than USC (University of South Caroline).</p>
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<p>Now, while USC may do better in student selectivity, that’s only worth 12.5%, while UI likely does much better in Faculty resources, which is worth 20%. UI also does better in Financial resources (another 10%). Finally, where USC likely falls short, is in Undergraduate academic reputation (everyone hates this measure). Perhaps there is an anti-south effect, but it’s more likely a pro-Big10 effect. UI has been a member of the AAU (as are most of the Big10 schools) since 1909. It simply has a better academic reputation. </p>
<p>One reason the SEC Presidents chose to add TAMU and Missouri, where that both schools are members of the AAU. These schools raise the acadamic reputation of the SEC, which helps the reputation of all schools. When other SEC schools climb the rankings, it also indirectly helps the other schools. For this reason, we (SEC folks) should be happy when any SEC school earns a higher ranking, or even gets an invite into the AAU (something 3 or 4 schools are busy working toward). </p>
<p>I’m not trolling and I did not make this thread to brag. I just can’t understand why a school that accepts 78% of applicants, has lower ACT/SAT scores, and lower admission standards ranks 30-40 ranks above USC and Arkansas. It doesn’t make any sense at all and the only logical conclusion is that these Ivy League graduates have an anti-southern school bias or believe the Big Ten is just better. I don’t buy this. I think ‘academic reputation’ is based on stereotypes and completely baseless. </p>
<p>If you stack up the high school resumes of USC and Arkansas students, they are better than Iowa who commonly accepts people with sub 24 ACT’s. </p>
<p>I don’t think anyone thinks you are bragging here, and you missed gator’s point then: Ranking is not based on selectivity alone, nor even significantly on selectivity. Iowa probably accepts more students because fewer apply. After all, it is Iowa (bring on the Iowa hate lol). Check the 4 year graduation rate, its an abysmal 47%. That usually signals that the students aren’t up to the level of the program, and that the program is not lowering itself to the students. The rankings in other areas support that hypothesis.</p>
<p>I’m no UI expert though. Point is, rankings are subjective, it is what it is.</p>