<p>The WSJ Rankings are seriously flawed in that the author randomly and without explanation selects 5 graduate schools from each discipline. Great for Chicago grads, but not so great for NYU, Northwestern, Stanford, etc. Tracking only the past years graduates also skews the rankings away from professional schools, such as Northwestern University School of Law, which usually prefers a year or two of work experience after college graduation (this is atypical for law schools). I enjoy the WSJ articles on education, but the methodology used is seriously flawed without legitimate reason for failing to do a more comprehensive and fairer study. The same WSJ writer "ranked" prep schools based on college placement, but handpicked a few colleges that heavily favored certain prep schools over other far more successful schools. This suggests that the author may have an agenda other than an altruistic ranking based on fair and reasonable factors. For example, re: MBA placement, including the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, but excluding NYU's graduate school of business substantially skews the study results to favor Dartmouth College. The author also ignores the fourth ranked NYU School of Law, a favorite of NYU grads, to include the slightly lower ranked law schools at Chicago and Michigan. The author's methodology assures top rankings for Chicago, Dartmouth and Harvard grads, as well as for Phillips Exeter Academy grads in her other study.</p>
<p>If you don't like frats, don't consider Northwestern.</p>
<p>Northwestern University is unusual in that while there is a very healthy frat life on the North part of the campus, it does not dominate the social scene as it does at schools like Colgate, Bucknell and Dartmouth. The South end of Northwestern's campus merges with the upscale business district of Evanston and is closer to public transportation to Chicago. One can attend Northwestern and have a healthy, active social life without ever attending a frat party; this would be very difficult at Dartmouth, Colgate or Bucknell. In my experienced opinion, Northwestern offers the best of both worlds, whereas you either fit in with the frat life at the other listed schools or your social life is likely to suffer. Schools have different cultures, Northwestern, however, is a school that offers a healthy mix. On a recent visit to Dartmouth, I sat in on a prospective student presentation by the admissions staff. The main speaker, a very attractive female graduate of Dartmouth, stressed the "country club" atmosphere at Dartmouth; I found this to be a bit unusual, but also a refreshingly honest presentation encouraging prospective students to make sure that the school culture is a good fit. Dartmouth, Colgate and Bucknell all have gorgeous campuses, while Northwestern enjoys a magnificent setting. All great schools for the right person.</p>