US News 2015 Rankings - UA top university in Alabama

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>@Atlanta68 UA is doing its best to balance the needs of its Alabama citizenry without excluding many of them from attending UA just to appease the USNWR rankers. UA has decided to use the Honors College to address your concern of higher standards. USNWR doesn’t distinguish a college from its Honors College, which is unfortunate because UA has one of the largest honors college in the nation at over 7000 students with students who have ACT scores over 28 and by my estimates with a middle 50% ACT scores between 30-33. As I have stated in prior threads, the profile of UA Honors College students is much like those of students at top/elite colleges but students would not know this because the likes of USNWR and other ranking entities do not make a separate note of a schools honor college for ranking purposes.</p>

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<p>Just a quick comparison to those schools that are ranked higher shows a 4 yr graduation rate higher and a faculty to student ratio lower. The low 4 yr graduation rate to me is concerning especially when you compare it to similar schools acceptance rates. The argument that it has something to do with southern schools must not take into consideration University of Georgia (ranked 20) which has similar acceptance rate to UA but higher 4 yr graduation rate and lower faculty to student ratio. If I was the University I would be trying to figure out how to encourage students to graduate in 4 yrs. My question becomes are they not offering the classes needed to graduate or does it become a financial hurdle for scholarship and grant money past the first year? </p>

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<p>Azsun3, UGA has a lower percentage of African American students, in a state with a greater number of more affluent Whites and Blacks, AND it is able to draw from one of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. </p>

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<p>LucietheLake, Thanks for the info. But its sort of circular don’t you think? An AAU member has greater opportunities to conduct research BECAUSE of that status. All I am calling for is an objective standard for entry into the AAU. </p>

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<p>@azsun3 I don’t believe acceptance rate is a relevant basis to compare graduation rates. University of Georgia has a higher requirements for admission than UA and it shows in its general student profile. UG has a middle 50% ACT of 28-32 but its even higher for its Honors College which is 32-34 ACT.</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/first-year-class-profile.html”>https://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/first-year-class-profile.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>UG’s HC is only a quarter the size of UA’s. UA is trying to walk a fine line building a school that has many high achieving students but still service its instate students. My guess is the graduation rate is pulled down because lower achieving instate students are not graduating at a high rate but that is the price to pay for keeping UA a school accessible for many Alabama’s high school students.</p>

<p>Compare other colleges with similar ACT test scores and you will see similar graduation rates. The higher the test scores, the higher the graduation rates. I don’t know if graduation rate data is available for UA’s Honors College but my guess is that graduation rate of those in the Honors College is near 90%.</p>

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<p>I just looked up data for UGA, and found out that UA is now larger than UGA, by several hundred students. Interesting. </p>

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<p>UGA also superscores.</p>

<p>Packer, I appreciate your PM.</p>

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<p>I understand that you can’t directly compare UGA and UA because there are other stats that play a roll but my main thought was not to assume that UA received a lower ranking based on “being a southern state” and the bias that goes with it as some stated. </p>

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<p>bamagirls, All’s good.</p>

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<p>@azsun3 I agree with you UA did not receive a lower ranking from USNWR because it was a southern school. UA is beating at the beat of its drums and not that of USNWR. If UA wanted to game the USNWR rating system, it would first superscore, go test optional, defer admission to all low scoring students to Spring, reduce all classes with 21 or more to a maximum of 20, send all remaining students into super large 50+ class size, recruit more students to lower admission rates, require higher ACT minimums etc.</p>

<p>Want the full playbook, just go and ask Northeastern University.</p>

51

<p>BTW although I do not put much into rankings, I do like the NICHE rankings since it factors in much of the college experience that isn’t just academics such as campus life, sports, campus quality, food, dorm room quality, diversity, student opinions, safety and a host of other factors. Here is a link to Niche College Rankings for 2015.</p>

<p><a href=“https://colleges.niche.com/rankings/best-overall/?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=View+the+Ranking&utm_content=2014-09-02&utm_campaign=Everything+you+need+to+know+about+College+Rankings”>https://colleges.niche.com/rankings/best-overall/?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=View+the+Ranking&utm_content=2014-09-02&utm_campaign=Everything+you+need+to+know+about+College+Rankings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>UA ranks 48 in this ranking nudged between Barnard College and Swarthmore</p>

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<p>The other issue that lower test scores and gpa for admission causes limited financial aid for all students enrolled. A high school student at my son’s school bragged how he received a free ride to a state University because of income. He graduated from high school with a low gpa, lower test scores and failed out after the first year. This situation can’t be helpful for anyone involved. It has to effect the stats of the school not to mention the effect it had on the student. Had the University required higher admission requirements, this student probably would have started at the community college first allowing him to have smaller class sizes and personal attention that he needed to succeed. I am all for allowing states to encourage their in - state students to apply, but we are not doing them a favor if the student is not prepared to be there.
I can see how Universities want to accept state students but it does have a effect on the rankings and the perception of the college.
This is a issue at most state universities the delicate balance of supporting the incoming students access to college and determining the drive of the students to succeed. </p>

53

<p>I don’t believe that UA will abandon its instate students by raising the minimum ACT score. I have heard Dr. Witt (then UA President, now The Chancellor) speak. My interpretation is that he is highly committed to both Alabama and Alabama’s students. I believe that he expects that here at the University of Alabama, these students will not just get by but that they will achieve and thrive. That is beneficial to the state and the nation as a whole. </p>

<p>Yes, rankings unfortunately are important, but perhaps there are other ways to get the word out about the value of UA as a whole. I believe that many of our students will do just that… as they emerge into the work force and the academic arena, word will spread of the intrinsic value of an education at The University of Alabama. This will take time, and perhaps the university will have to tweak some things but I certainly think that as long as we have someone like Dr. Witt at the helm our chances are great.</p>

54

<p>Voiceofreason, The ACT stat you cited for UGA doesn’t really give us a good idea of the typical middle percentile entrance exam score at UGA because very few UGA students submit the ACT for admission. When you look at the middle percentile of SAT I scores and convert them to ACT scores, the middle percentile for UGA students is only 26-30 , which is still better than UA’s, but not quite 28-32. </p>

<p><a href=“SAT to ACT Conversion Chart: Convert Your SAT Scores to ACT Scores”>http://www.studypoint.com/ed/sat-to-act-conversion/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“https://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/first-year-class-profile.html”>https://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/first-year-class-profile.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>azsun3 you hit the nail on the head and that is why we have community colleges. UA is showing too large a gap between their lower scoring and high stats kids. </p>

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<p>@LucieTheLakie</p>

<p>That “New AAU” article was a hoot. </p>

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<p>The only thing missing from the description was the “twirling of mustaches” and the maniacal laughter echoing from the corridors of power… >:) </p>

57

<p>Has there ever been a meaningful discussion about funneling the lower achieving students to the other UA schools like UAB and UAH with the intention of matriculating to UA if they can prove themselves in a college setting. UA could raise its minimum ACT acceptance to 25. Anyone with 23-24 would be admitted in the spring after taking prerequisites. Those with an ACT lower than 23 start at one of the colleges in the UA system.</p>

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<p>Dr. Witt is a visionary for whom I hold tremendous respect.</p>

59

<p>Exactly @Gator88NE! Do you kow if that New America Foundation policy paper ever got much press? If it did, I missed it, but I was deep in getting my kid off to school around that time!</p>

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<p>You’re absolutely right about that, @Atlanta68. But that’s the reality of what we’re dealing with. That’s why that “New AAU” the New America Foundation is now proposing is so encouraging. There are a lot of folks who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. But the NAF is pretty influential. Time will tell!</p>

60

<p>@Bigdaddy88 Keeping every other factor the same, raising the requirements will reduce overall enrollment. UA isn’t denying an OOS student to make space for a less qualified in-state student.</p>

<p>To become more selective, UA has to increase the number of applicants, and/or increase the quality of applicants. The significant OOS (and in-state) scholarships help in both areas. Other than increasing the funding for these scholarships, UA is going to have to find another way to boost interest.</p>

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<p><a href=“60 percent of freshmen out-of-state – The Crimson White”>http://cw.ua.edu/article/2013/11/60-percent-of-freshmen-out-of-state&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;