<p>I am aware that both Williams and Amherst are LACs. But we were not discussing about school classifications – we were discussing undergrad schools, in general, of which both Williams and Amherst are undergrad schools (only without postgrad). </p>
<p>I was trying to make willmingtonwave explain to me why USNews did not discriminate (isn’t biased against) Williams and Amherst when both schools don’t offer postgrad programs like Wisconsin, Penn State, UFlorida, Purdue and the like do. His claim was that–USNews is biased against schools that offer postgrad. I want him to prove that, because personally, I have not seen that happening. In fact, I thought what’s has happened was the other way around. Look at the bottom of the league table-- they’re universities offering postgrad programs across major fields. </p>
<p>If I would want to become a mechanical engineer, for instance, I don’t see a strong argument for going to Dartmouth or Brown and the like than going to MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Caltech, Michigan, Northwestern, JHU, CMU, or even a school like Georgia Tech. I am not convinced that I would learn more and become an efficient mechanical engineer if I’d attend Dartmouth or Brown than MIT, Stanford, Berkeley and the like.</p>
<p>Thank you for explaining that more flamboyantly. </p>
<p>Students at State Us, in general, don’t have the culture and tradition of giving back to their alma mater schools no matter how great their experience would have been for them. For those students, the taxes that their parents pay, etc… are what sending themselves to university. On the other hand, private schools couldn’t operate without the money from their students and alumni. That knowledge has been ingrained to the minds of the people (educated or not).</p>
<p>I graduated from a large state university decades ago and I give to the annual fund every year. I do not live in-state but even if I did I would still make a donation; it is a sign of support for a school that I enjoyed very much and that provided me with an excellent education. The small amount I give goes to support things that taxes would not be supporting. I do think percentage of alumni support is a valid measure of a school’s success in bonding with its students and graduates, which in turn reflects both teaching quality and overall experience. I would also consider good outreach to alums (that is development, or fund raising), a good indicator of a school’s self-image and administration.</p>
<p>like you, I am also in favor of alumni giving. However, that is isn’t the issue here right now. The issue here is, is it appropriate to use that as one of the measures in assessing undergrad schools (to bolster their ranking…) whilst neglecting the fact that state universities do also receive funding from the government and most private schools don’t. My point is, if USNews think that that is an important measure because the money that’s generated from alumni would in turn be use for instructional material/operation, how is that any different from government support??</p>