<p>What schools are known for having extremely strong undergraduate programs?</p>
<p>Perhaps 1,000 colleges in the United States. Can you narrow it down a little?</p>
<p>I want a school with very rigorous academics. I’ve noticed that many of the schools with great reputations such as Harvard are somewhat lacking in the undergraduate focus.</p>
<p>If you’re alright with a small college, try the top LAC’s – Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Pomona, Claremont, Haverford, Carleton, Bowdoin, etc.</p>
<p>nyu2013, also add Hendrix, Muhlenberg, Lafayette , Davidson and Ursinus College!</p>
<p>I was kind of curious if there was a list anywhere similar to the USNWR list which was based entirely on undergraduate education as opposed to reputation and prestige. I know these lists aren’t perfect but I’ve found they’re usually a good place to start.</p>
<p>You’re asking the right question. Unfortunately, the answer is “no,” there’s no such list. Perhaps what comes closest is the Colleges That Change Lives list, based on Loren Pope’s book of the same name. Don’t have the link at hand, but try Googling it.</p>
<p>Um if you’re just looking for education you definitely want the top LAC’s. Every LAC in the top 30 offers a top notch education (obviously the higher the better) so take a look at those. Us news also has a list for top undergrad education. I think the top school is Princeton which seems to be the only internationally renown school near the top of that list.</p>
<p>Oh and the list for undergrad education is outside the LACs. You can’t beat those in undergrad focus by faculty. What they lack in though is research so if you’re willing to forgo top notch research I think the place for you is a LAC.</p>
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<p>I have no doubt that is true. </p>
<p>But the same can be said about a couple thousand other colleges and universities in the United States. </p>
<p>A motivated student can get a top-notch education at almost any college.</p>
<p>You want to get into the highest ranked school you can.</p>
<p>Best student body usually means most challenging. I don’t care if your 30 ranked LAC is rigorous academically, but if your peers score on average 200-300 points lower on the SAT than a top 10 National University student, then your school is non-competitive by comparison.</p>
<p>Big fish in a little pond holds true here. You want your peers to challenge you. Don’t want to go to a place where you are the smartest, brightest and most hard working.</p>
<p>tl;dr
Top 10 LAC, Top 20 National University.</p>
<p>“I don’t care if your 30 ranked LAC is rigorous academically, but if your peers score on average 200-300 points lower on the SAT than a top 10 National University student, then your school is non-competitive by comparison.”</p>
<p>Maybe so, if that were in fact the case, but students at the top LACs have grades and test scores comparable to those of students at the top universities so this isn’t relevant.</p>
<p>Except, of course, that rankings have ZERO correlation with anything except prestige. If you, like PizzaGirl, consider college to be mainly a luxury item, then follow the advice to go to the highest-ranked (and probably most expensive) college you can get into. But if you’re mainly interested in education and career opportunities, you can safely ignore rankings.</p>
<p>I never said “mainly.” i think there are real differences. Don’t misinterpret me.</p>
<p>I know a lot of people don’t think too much of the Undergraduate Origins of PhDs [nsf.gov</a> - NCSES Baccalaureate Origins of S&E Doctorate Recipients - US National Science Foundation (NSF)](<a href=“http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08311/]nsf.gov”>http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08311/) but it seems to me to be at least as useful any of the other rankings. And there are some LACs on the list that don’t show up in US News top 50. <a href=“http://oberlin.edu/instres/irhome/assessment/phd.html[/url]”>http://oberlin.edu/instres/irhome/assessment/phd.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the help!</p>