<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Where do you think UW-Madison will rank in the 2013 edition of US News Best College Rankings (currently #42)? How selective do you think UW-Madison is this year in comparison to the past? Thanks.</p>
<p>With all due respect, in the grand scheme of things, the USN&WR rankings are a bunch of hooey. That being said, #42…#46…#39…I suspect UW-Madison will clock in somewhere around there–my guess is they will stay in good stead with those folks because of the capital improvements at the construction level & retaining/hiring new faculty. </p>
<p>If you’ve visited, if you’ve been accepted, that’s your hurdle. And if it’s affordable to you or your parents. FYI, one of my D’s was accepted at UIUC but chose UW-Madison instead.</p>
<p>UW-Madison is always ranked way too low in US News. Does anyone know why?</p>
<p>Top 50 for national schools is not low. Reasonable people could bicker about exact rankings, but being top 50 year after year is a good showing.</p>
<p>I disagree that USNWR rankings are “a bunch of hooey” – they’re far from perfect but by and large do a good job of providing a picture of what the nation’s best colleges are – but that’s another issue.</p>
<p>UW is definitely ranked too low, but it’s not so much something against UW as it is with the USNWR rankings, which tend to favor private colleges (just look at where Berkeley is ranked, in the 20s).</p>
<p>I’m guessing that with UW’s sports success (Rose Bowl and Sweet 16 again) along with the lowest acceptance rate in the history of the school that UW will’s ranking will increase slightly. Selectivity is one of the measures used in the calculation, and sports success should increase awareness of the school with fickle high school guidance counselors whose opinions make up a small part of a school’s overall score.</p>
<p>@badger2012 or anyone: what do you think the acceptance rate will be this year?</p>
<p>High 40% range.</p>
<p>UW is accurately ranked IMO. If anything, it is overrated as it is really no better than PSU, Texas or UIUC</p>
<p>And that’s not a shot at UW, but rather a statement about the quality of the other 3.</p>
<p>Of course its a small-time shot, Dan. You’ve were postponed at UW.</p>
<p>I don’t think he was giving a shot at UW. Just because he was deferred (if he was) does not invalidate his opinion. If you take that stance, one could conversely argue people who hava been accepted or attend/attended UW overrate the school.</p>
<p>Arguing about one magazine’s rank is silly. You will always have a group of Ivy League type private schools at or near the top like Harvard, Yale, Penn, Princeton, etc. The is University of Chicago, Northwestern, Wash U, Georgetown, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Duke, MIT, and others that most consider to be around top 20 or so. You will always have a group of top public schools ranked around 20-50. From the Big 10 that would include Michigan, Penn State, Illinois, Wisconsin. There are other fine public schools outside of the Big 10 like UCLA, USC, Berkley, Washington, Texas, North Carolina, just to name some. </p>
<p>A rank of 42 for Wisc is a damn fine ranking given the number of great national schools. Some would put it higher, some would put it lower…which is why more or less it is a fair ranking. That ranking shows that UW is one of this country’s great public universities…which almost everybody agrees that it is. No shame in that at all.</p>
<p>In scholarship, research, and overall faculty achievement UW is very much ahead of UT, PSU and others. The only ones in the same ballpark are UCB, UCLA, UM, and UWashington. Those are based on research rankings, faculty awards rankings and other factual data. Not the whims of 18 year olds. That’s why UW does much better on the various international rankings which emphasize faculty over students. Been that way since the 1920s when first ever rankings came out. See: “The Rise of American Research Universities.”</p>
<p>Postponed and later accepted. Not going to any of the other schools listed either. Wisconsin is a great school, but no schools above it are definitively overrated and a lot below it are in a similar class.</p>
<p>And I could care less about rankings, I am likely to turn down UCLA for UMiami.</p>
<p>“The only ones in the same ballpark are UCB, UCLA, UM, and UWashington.” And University of Illinois?? Seems to rank pretty high in one of the world rankings you posted…25th in the world I believe. [|United</a> Universities in Top 500 - 2010](<a href=“http://www.arwu.org/Country2010Main.jsp?param=United]|United”>http://www.arwu.org/Country2010Main.jsp?param=United) States</p>
<p>I understand that you love U Wisc., but you seem to cling onto whatever stats and rankings that favor it. For example, many people feel that research institutions are not the best places for undergrad, as the professors may be more dedicated to research than teaching (in fact, many have TA’s teaching). Many other things go into what makes a good school than how decorated a professor is. After all, the point of going to college is, hopefully, to learn from superior teachers, not to worship their credentials.</p>
<p>You seem to want to discard the US News rankings part based on the “whims of 18 year olds.” I’m not sure what that means, but the US News rankings are generally the ones relied upon, for whatever reason. The world ranking places Arizona State over schools like Rice and Emory and University of Illinois of Chicago over Notre Dame. Most people would not agree with that.</p>
<p>The point is it is pretty petty to get hung up on rankings. They are a good general guide, but whether Wisc. Madison is 20th, 40th, or 50th, the point is the rankings recognize it is among one of the top national schools and one of the top public schools.</p>
<p>When you are talking UW, UM, UCLA, add Illinois, etc and the like they are all very similar in makeup. Not debating big versus small here. That’s why I compared like to like. In those circles UW is very near the top and higheer than in places like US News which really does not consider the quals of the staff versus the students. Why should it matter more that some other student got a 35 on the ACT while in HS than if my biochem prof is internationally highly regarded and has taught at Harvard and Stanford and leads a ground-breaking research lab?</p>
<p>A few profs recently passed away. Reading their bios gives an idea of what type of people they have there.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.news.wisc.edu/20193[/url]”>http://www.news.wisc.edu/20193</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.news.wisc.edu/20492[/url]”>http://www.news.wisc.edu/20492</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.news.wisc.edu/20484[/url]”>http://www.news.wisc.edu/20484</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.news.wisc.edu/20277[/url]”>http://www.news.wisc.edu/20277</a></p>
<p>You dont have to sell me on Wisc…personally, I would put it in my top 5 schools that I would attend if I could chose any and do it over again. Between the academics, the campus, and Madison, it defines what college life should be. My only point was given the number of great schools in this country, top 40ish is wonderful, and at that point, it is almost just a matter of opinion.</p>
<p>Ranking school is a matter of art, not a science. In addition, “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. If you wish to be on the Wall Street or to sit on the Supreme Court, going to Harvard or other Ivy schools, is better. If you wish to get into Stem Cell research, UW is the best choice.</p>
<p>…asked how many applications they had received for Fall 2012. Answer: 37,000 - up 12% from last year. It will be interesting to see how this affects the Admission rate.</p>
<p>I agree. Rankings are subjective and are different for everyone. Some people are better off at a lower ranked school than a significantly higher ranked one, (me for example). Harvard would not be a top-10 school for me, but Miami, USC and Tulane would.</p>