<p>“None of the academic rankings of are widely followed and have nothing to do with the reputations of those schools domestically or abroad.”</p>
<p>Yet you put credence in only one ranking by foreigners who probably think the school in Ann Arbor is called Michigan (State) University. Naturally if Duke were rated above Michigan in most of the other “academic rankings” listing you so easily dismiss, you’d be the first to point it out to us.</p>
<p>I much prefer this survey of college graduates who actually speak English as their primary language"</p>
<p><a href=“Harvard Number One University in Eyes of Public”>http://www.gallup.com/poll/9109/harvard-number-one-university-eyes-public.aspx</a></p>
<p>From that same poll:</p>
<p>"What about post-graduates themselves, who might be expected to know better than others what schools are prestigious, given that they applied to schools at least twice (for undergraduate and graduate work) and most likely spent a good deal of time evaluating schools? Here’s the list of schools most often mentioned by college graduates with at least some post-graduate education:</p>
<p>Harvard
29%
Stanford
27%
Yale
14%
MIT
11%
Berkeley
7%
Princeton
7%
Michigan
7%"</p>
<p>Look at this one! Not a mention of Georgetown or Duke. :-)</p>
<p>“None of the academic rankings of international universities are widely followed and have nothing to do with the reputations of those schools domestically or abroad. Otherwise, UCB would be seen as superior to Princeton, UCLA as better than Yale, Wisconsin as better than Duke or Penn, basically every state flagship as better than Brown or Dartmouth, etc. etc.”</p>
<p>That’s news to me. All the high schools I go to in Paris, London, Beirut, Berlin and Dubai preach the Times rankings like it were the gospel. It is no coincidence that in Europe and the Middle East, Michigan is considered one of the top 10 US universities. According to university experts in China, Michigan has a similar reputation there. The only non-top 20 US schools in those international rankings that seem to break the trend are Brown and Dartmouth, primarily thanks to their Ivy League status. Georgetown also is given special allowance thanks to its DC location and IR program. </p>
<p>As for the NYT International Corporate ranking, clearly MSU was consfused for Michigan and PSU for Penn by many executives. This does not make Michigan or Penn less prestigious, only more confusing due to having another university with a similar name. Several other international rankings have made similar mistakes in the past.</p>
<p>Nice try rjkofnovi! That survey is completely inconsistent. Here is the 1999 version: [Harvard</a> Tops Gallup Poll List as Best University](<a href=“Harvard Tops Gallup Poll List as Best University”>Harvard Tops Gallup Poll List as Best University)</p>
<p>Here’s what postgrads say in that survey:</p>
<ol>
<li>Harvard: 22%</li>
<li>Stanford: 7%</li>
<li>MIT: 6%</li>
<li>Princeton: 4%</li>
<li>Notre Dame; 3%</li>
</ol>
<p>How can a ranking that changes so much in 4 years be trusted? Did Berkeley, Yale and Michigan get a lot more prestigious at the turn of the century while Notre Dame had a fallout?</p>
<p>I’m not sure why you keep mentioning Duke in the conversation.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure why you keep mentioning Duke in the conversation.”</p>
<p>You’ve go to be kidding. A Dukie who constantly trolls the Michigan boards wonders why his school is being mentioned. Geez.</p>
<p>“I would never claim Duke or Chicago or whatever was with such authority either.”</p>
<p>I could claim that Chicago was a top ten university. I do agree with you that I would never claim that Duke was one.</p>
<p>“Michigan State University sounds nothing like the University of Michigan.”</p>
<p>Yeah, right.</p>
<p>“Alexandre, Michigan doesn’t even rank in the top 10 US universities in the Times ranking though LOL! It is ranked 13th this year and has ranged anywhere from 11-20 among US universities in the past.”</p>
<p>Try again goldenboy. This is the list that most people look at when the consider the Times rankings:</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2011-2012/top-400.html]Top”>World University Rankings 2011-12 | Times Higher Education (THE)]Top</a> 400 - The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011-2012[/ur</p>
<p>I particularly like the listing for top universities by reputation:</p>
<p><a href=“World Reputation Rankings 2012 | Times Higher Education (THE)”>http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2011-2012/reputation-rankings.html</a></p>
<p>Michigan is ranked 12th here and Duke is way down the list at 33rd. :-)</p>
<p>Those are the same high school counselors who rated IUPUI in Indianapolis higher than either Purdue or Indiana. They must be as well informed as those Europeans who know the difference between U-M and MSU. At least many of those guys have the excuse of not knowing the language that well. LOL</p>
<p>The real PA scores, you know that ones that really matter, say:</p>
<p>Chicago 4.6
Michigan 4.5
Duke 4.4</p>
<p>“Unfortunately, the vast majority of educated people here and abroad don’t believe that Michigan is on par with Chicago, Duke, or Georgetown at the undergraduate level.”</p>
<p>Oh goody. In the meantime:</p>
<p>Michigan is ranked 12th in world for prestige</p>
<p>Duke is 33rd.</p>
<p>Do you know what’s the average size classroom in a Ross school? And I probably can have a double degree in International Relations and Business, can’t I? Would it be still possible to graduate in 4 years?</p>
<p>Class sizes at Michigan overall are almost always reasonable. Seldom will a class be too large. Ross is known for having an intimate setting because it is a relatively self-contained college within the university. </p>
<p>Michigan does not have IR as a major, although Michigan’s Political Science department is considered one of the top 5 in the US. Michigan also has an excellent school of Public Policy. Double majoring in Business and Political Science in 4 years is possible. Majoring in Business and Public Affairs in 4 years is probably unrealistic as both programs have a long list of requirements.</p>
<p>Michigan offers a major in International Studies in LSA
[International</a> Studies Program](<a href=“http://www.ii.umich.edu/cics/academics/internationalstudiesprogram]International”>http://www.ii.umich.edu/cics/academics/internationalstudiesprogram)</p>