<p>Shanghai Jiao Tong U's ranking is NOT a ranking of prestige.<br>
[quote]
We rank universities by several indicators of academic or research performance, including alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, highly cited researchers, articles published in Nature and Science, articles indexed in major citation indices, and the per capita academic performance of an institution.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Id go to Vanderbilt over Chicago ANY day of the week.</p>
<p>================</p>
<p>Chicago --- Magic the Gathering Tournaments, Lord of the Ring Marathons, Cold Weather, Angst Poetry, Emo Music, Not Tight-Knit Community, Video Games, Sketchy Frats, Awkward and socially isolated, Nosebleeds, Loners, Mostly Work/ Little Play, etc.</p>
<hr>
<p>Vanderbilt --- Beirut Tournaments, Attractive and Gregarious Student Body, Preppy, Beautiful Campus (National Arboretum), Work Hard/Party Hard, Warm Weather, D-1 Sports, Girls sunbathing on lawn, excellent club sports (lacrosse/squash), Work Hard/Party Hard, Constant Theme Parties, Rites of Spring (3 Days/2 Stages/60 Bands), Small Classroom Sizes, Accessible Professors, Top Degree with complete college experience</p>
<p>Here is an analysis done by the University of Texas using an index of excellent faculty, access to faculty, and excellent students. It is a couple of years old, but it come from the South...</p>
<p>Top 20 Universities That are Not Primarily Science/Engineering Schools</p>
<ol>
<li>Harvard University </li>
<li>Princeton University </li>
<li>Stanford University </li>
<li>University of Chicago </li>
<li>Yale University </li>
<li>Columbia University </li>
<li>University of Pennsylvania </li>
<li>Brown University </li>
<li>Cornell University </li>
<li>Duke University </li>
<li>Emory University </li>
<li>Johns Hopkins University </li>
<li>Northwestern University </li>
<li>Rice University </li>
<li>University of California, Berkeley </li>
<li>Washington University, St. Louis </li>
<li>Brandeis University </li>
<li>Dartmouth College </li>
<li>University of California, Los Angeles </li>
<li>University of Michigan, Ann Arbor</li>
<li>University of Wisconsin, Madison</li>
</ol>
<p>15 is too short a list. I can give you the top 5 or the top 20, but not the top 15.</p>
<p>TOP 5:
Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Princeton University
Stanford University
Yale University</p>
<p>GROUP II
Brown University
California Institute of Technology
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Johns Hopkins University
Northwestern University
University of California-Berkeley
University of Chicago
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Pennsylvania</p>
<p>OTHER VERY PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITIES (those schools are more prestigious than the school above in many circles):
Carnegie Mellon University
Emory University
Georgetown University
Rice University
University of California-Los Angeles
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Texas-Austin
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Vanderbilt University
Washington University-St Louis</p>
<p>SOME OTHERS:
Boston College
Brandeis University
College of William and Mary
New York University
Tufts University
University of Rochester
University of Southern California</p>
<p>Chicago is more presetigious than Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt may be more fun, although Chicago blows Nashville away, but from an academic point of view, Chicago is generally considered more prestigious than Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Idad, do you have a website address for your list?</p>
<p>I believe this will work: <a href="http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/Undergra2001.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/Undergra2001.html</a></p>
<p>What else confers prestige if not:
"... alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, highly cited researchers, articles published in Nature and Science, articles indexed in major citation indices, and the per capita academic performance of an institution."</p>
<p>And if it is anything else, why bother. If it's simply notoriety, then my guess is USC, Notre Dame, Michigan, & the Univ. of Miami would all be in the top 10.</p>
<p>Chicago dominates Vanderbilt like no other. Seriously, how many people have heard of Vanderbilt? Coming from the SF area, no one knows what Vanderbilt is.</p>
<p>I live in Southern California and Vanderbilt is a very popular name here. Many people who consider USC (by FAR the most recognized and prestigious school 'round these parts, with UCLA and UCSD) also consider Vanderbilt because they are similar in many ways, socially and in terms of atmosphere and location.</p>
<p>I had never heard of Chicago until I joined these boards. And that was even after I started my college counseling and college search process. And those that have heard of it usually laugh or grimace upon hearing the name because it conjurs images of Magic: The Gathering touraments rather than parties.</p>
<p>A good deal of "prestige" does depend on where you live. I was SHOCKED to find USC so low, relatively, on the USNews rankings because all I ever hear is SC, SC, SC. I go to a feeder school and we send maybe 5 or 10 people there every year out of a class of only 90-100! Probably 1 out of 10 cars has an SC plate or sticker of some sort--and the ones that don't sport UCSD or UCLA. One of my best friends is from Texas and down there, a degree from UT-Austin is way more likely to land you a top job out of college than one from Harvard due to immense and impressive alumni connections. So in short, to some degree, prestige differs depending on where you live.</p>
<p>Vandy and Chicago are both very well known in academic circles. However, when it comes to social life Vanderbilt is one of the best and Chicago is one of the worst.</p>
<p>idad,</p>
<p>Prestige is much better reflected in "peer assessment" in the US News than the Shanghai ranking. Trust me, I am from China and nobody there really thinks UCSD and UCLA are more prestigous than Penn; nor do they think Wisconsin, Washington, and UCSF are more prestigous than JHU and Michigan!</p>
<p>semiserious,</p>
<p>Maybe at your school, Vanderbilt is more popular than Chicago (hard to believe actually) and I agree that prestige can be dependent on where you live. However, I think your view shaped by your experience is hardly representative of what most "educated" people think when it comes to Chicago vs. Vanderbilt. I used "educated" because many people, particularly in our part of town (I live in So Cal also), care absolutely nothing about academics. When people live in the vicinity of a place where movie celebrities earn thousand times more than an average Harvard grad, people get rich by speculating California housing marking, and bartenders on Sunset Blvd make more than typical professionals, they probably care less about academics. I also heard many people in LA earn their living by doing porns, escorting, and drug dealing. In other words, you can make more $$ easily without hitting any book than well-read persons in LA. This applies to other places (I grew up in HK and had lived in northeast, midwest, nor cal before) to certain extent but not at the level of Los Angeles. </p>
<p>However, if you are well-read, you'd notice Chicago definitely has bigger name. For example, if you read about economics, you'd come across the term "Chicago school of thought". Many theories and ideas of modern economics came from researchers/professors in that school. Chicago's b-school and physical sciences are also very solid and known for their highly quantitative and theoretical approach.</p>
<p>My ranking, from a British/Indian perspective:</p>
<ol>
<li>Oxford
= Harvard</li>
<li>Yale
=Stanford
=MIT</li>
<li>Princeton</li>
<li>Cambridge</li>
<li>Caltech</li>
<li>Cornell</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins</li>
</ol>
<p>Vanderbilt? Are you people serious? Social life has absolutely nothing to do with prestige. Academically UC blows Vanderbilt out of the water</p>
<p>"Vanderbilt is the 'Harvard of the South'."</p>
<p>I always thought that Duke was.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt over Chicago? Are you people drunk?</p>
<p>if you read my post carefully, I only said I would personally pick Vanderbilt. Social life obviously doesn't make a school prestigious. But when comparing two top-20 schools it comes down to fit. Chicago probably has more Nobel-Prize winners or whatever, but you can obviously get a great job as a Vanderbilt grad. If I was an introverted-nerd I'd pick Chicago in a heartbeat. But since I want a solid undergraduate education with a thriving social life, Vanderbilt would be the clear choice between the two.</p>
<p>Chicago's academics are head and shoulders above Vanderbilt's. Chicago boasts a handful of #1 programs in the world (economics, for one) and has more nobel laureates on its faculty than any other school. Whether this equates to prestige is up for debate. Personally, I think it does. Simply because Vanderbilt can promote itself more so to the point where more people have heard of it doesn't mean it is more prestigous. Is Ohio State more prestigious than Chicago?</p>
<p>Prestige can be argued back and forth, but a picture is worth a thousand words. I went to Webshots and typed in both schools. Here is what I got:</p>
<p>Vanderbilt:</p>
<p><a href="http://community.webshots.com/photo/255941298/255941298KuDIuF%5B/url%5D">http://community.webshots.com/photo/255941298/255941298KuDIuF</a>
<a href="http://community.webshots.com/photo/228438870/228438870KBWIZB%5B/url%5D">http://community.webshots.com/photo/228438870/228438870KBWIZB</a>
<a href="http://community.webshots.com/photo/275290401/275297908WdFpHN%5B/url%5D">http://community.webshots.com/photo/275290401/275297908WdFpHN</a></p>
<p>University of Chicago:</p>
<p><a href="http://community.webshots.com/photo/322660871/347974312slkCzu%5B/url%5D">http://community.webshots.com/photo/322660871/347974312slkCzu</a>
<a href="http://community.webshots.com/photo/185865242/185865242qFbbnG%5B/url%5D">http://community.webshots.com/photo/185865242/185865242qFbbnG</a></p>
<p>================
People are forgetting college is four years of your life and you must choose wisely. I think Chicago is a little more prestigious, but none of my friends would be caught dead there. Schools like Vanderbilt or Duke offer more of a complete social life with solid academics. Obviously, Vandy isn't more everyone. If you are socially awkward, you probably shouldn't fill out the app. But social skills are very important in life and it gives you the environment to improve them while getting a degree from a top institution. But to each his own.</p>