Us news rankings 2011

College Search & Selection
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<p>"I think the USNWR gradually intends to drop all public universities from the top 30. It will tweak its formula to make it happen in the next 4-5 years. "</p>

<p>Au contraire, mon cher Alexandre. </p>

<p>Despite his best efforts, Bob Morse is simply running out of reasonable tools (aka intangibles) to “level” the playing field. The combination of the public revolt by school officials who decried the questionable reliance on a survey and the public embarassment caused by dishonest respondents at Wisconsin and Clemson forced Morse into a corner. Tweaking the methodology is the only alternative to save the PA and its huge impact on the final rankings. </p>

<p>If Morse wanted to drop the public schools from the top 30, all he needs to do is reduce the current PA to less than 25%. The reality is that he is probably trying to find a way to introduce new mechanisms to further bring the reputation of the graduate school into the UG equations. Hence the recently introduced asinine world rankings. </p>

<p>In conclusion, Alexandre, rest assured that Bob Morse is still your best friend, in terms of supporting your beloved Michigan, that is!</p>

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<p>xiggi, the PA itself is fine. What needs tweaking is the method in which it is administered. Like every single variable in the USNWR ranking, the PA should be properly audited. As it stands, there is an element of dishonesty in every single facet of the ranking, whether it be the PA, Financial Resources, Faculty Resources, etc…</p>

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<p>UCB, while I doubt you did forget the previous discussion on the proposed changes in the 2011 USNews, I am happy to provide a new link that contains the response of Morse to the readers’ suggestions. Fwiw, his response can be summed up as “I don’t really care what you think, this is what I think, and that is my story.”</p>

<p>[Your</a> Thoughts?and Our Responses?on College Rankings Changes - Morse Code: Inside the College Rankings (usnews.com)](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2010/06/10/your-thoughts-and-our-responses-on-college-rankings-changes.html]Your”>http://www.usnews.com/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2010/06/10/your-thoughts-and-our-responses-on-college-rankings-changes.html)</p>

<p>And, yes, there will still be a PA. The only difference is that the dishonest are now joined by even more clueless respondents. You can fully expect the surveys to reflect a higher correlation to the sports results. Well, that should be quite positive for Alexandre’s beloved Big 20, or whatever number that conference will end up with.</p>

<p>PS Alexandre, as you know, my beef is only with the current version of the PA. I would support a drastic expansion of a better and audited PA as much as I pray for the elimination of the current disgraceful tool. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, from the recent blog entries by Morse, it is obvious that honesty and transparency are still foreign terms at the USnews.</p>

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<p>I totally agree xiggi. And it is only a matter of time before the USNWR rankings are properly audited. For now, we will have to accept all of its flaws.</p>

365

<p>Vassar moves to top 10 in LAC</p>

366

<p>UC Berkeley. #1!!!</p>

367

<p>As it stands, there is an element of dishonesty in every single facet of the ranking, whether it be the PA, Financial Resources, Faculty Resources, etc… === Alexandre of Arabia…er…Dubai.</p>

<p>Truer words have never been spoken. Its a fatally flawed system, unfortunately the sheeple either don’t care or are too stupid to realize it, and place inordinate emphasis on rankings. Kids often reject colleges simply because they are lower ranking than another college they were accepted to, without so much as ever having visited either college. </p>

<p>Truth is there is no perfect system for applicants/parents nor for colleges in selecting admitted students. But that does not mean we should roll over and give up. </p>

<p>I used USNWR as a general guide on selectivity, by groupings (in groups of say…25-30 schools) and as a starting point. But it had zero emphasis once we got down to the final 5 schools and then the very, very final three (accepted) and when we had to make a binding decision on or before May 1. </p>

<p>And finding the “right fit” is harder than it seems because it is a leap of faith that what you saw/perceived is the real deal and NOBODY knows until they get there, move in, start taking classes and realize who their neighbors in the dorm are. And none of that has to do with USNWR peer review rankings or anything else in USNWR. </p>

<p>Jerks, aholes, b-females, weirdos, drunks, druggies, whores, pigs, clowns, goths, moodswingers, goofballs, whiners, babies, mommas boys, sheltered kids, narcissistic, ratings obsessed kids, all the negative attributes you can think of exist at even the very top schools. Just as warm, endearing, caring, sharing, clean, moral, sober, hard working, independent, respectful, cooperative, sensitive, supportive, loyal, even tempered, quiet, well mannered kids exist at all schools…including third tier schools. </p>

<p>A lot of kids/parents incorrectly think that only the top schools get the smart kids. Wrong! There are plenty of kids with VERY high stats who are brilliant students at schools in the top 100 and sometimes lower schools. And they also think that the quality of education plummets below the top 25. Nothing could be further from the truth. </p>

<p>For some going to a small liberal arts college would be hell. For others, going to a massive state school where you are a number would be sheer hell. For some being in a bucolic rural setting is ideal and for others being in an urban setting is ideal. USNWR doesnt measure any of that.</p>

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<p>“As it stands, there is an element of dishonesty in every single facet of the ranking, whether it be the PA, Financial Resources, Faculty Resources, etc…”</p>

<p>Exactly! All of the numbers at USNWR, subjective and objective, should be questioned for accuracy and authenticity. Those here on CC that ONLY complain about the PA scoring are just fooling themselves about the other so called objective numbers that can be so easily manipulated to make a school appear higher in the ratings. This is particularly true with private universities who don’t have to report to the state.</p>

369

<p>the UGA president hates Duke (“good”) and Brandeis (“adequate”) lol he loves universities like Miami-Oxford (“strong”). At least, Emory got “strong”.</p>

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<p>alex,
Re your comment, </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>you have it exactly backwards. </p>

<p>USNWR is tweaking its methodology specifically to include metrics that will boost the standing of the publics. The whole point of the heavy PA weighting has been to accomplish this. However, as the chasm between top publics and top privates has widened on nearly metric from student quality to classroom size to financial resources, USNWR needs to further tweak in order to perpetuate their long-running (and false) narrative about the proper place for publics among top undergrad destinations.</p>

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<p>^^ On this occasion, I would tend to concur with Hawkette, but note that “on nearly [other] metric”, finances are paramount in scoring high. Thus, by design, private colleges have a huge leg up in the USNews ratings game. But it wasn’t this way at The Beginning. The initial USNews release had several high-ranked publics, including (gasp!) a top-10 public. Of course, that could not stand on Madison Avenue – not good for magazine sales – ipso facto, change the ranking criteria and the Blue Blood are back on top of the philistines (and all is well with the world). :D</p>

372

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<p>You want to check ALL the data for accuracy and authenticity? Great! Now how do you go about doing that for the PA? Do you agree that all survey should be made public and that the respondent should guarantee he or she read the survey and attempted to answer to the best of their knowledge and integrity? How many surveys do you think USnews would receive back after imposing a MODICUM of control and PUBLISHING the survey on the web? By the way, do you believe that the students’ newspapers who found out that the schools cannot hide the surveys from public scrutiny will stop using thir rights for information? After all, there ARE good reasons why Morse implemented the changes this year … he KNOWS his model of relying on fabrication and manipulation has become untenable in a world that screams for transparency. The more data that becomes available, the more it becomes obvious how little the people who participate in such boondoggle care about the public and their customers.</p>

<p>By the way, could you please explain the relevance of reporting to the state? Does Michigan ONLY have to report to the state? Are there any bodies that require both Michigan and say Harvard to report? Here’s hint: think federal government.</p>

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<p>hey…what’s with the complaints about the USNWR rankings?</p>

<p>I thought that all Harvard and Princeton people love those rankings.</p>

<p>ha!</p>

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<p>I think the ranking has profound impact to both incoming students and aluminis. The school are vie for ranking not only to get the best possible students but also the big money from alumnis. Super Wealthy in the Bill Gates and Warren Buffet level certainly will think twice if the school they supported drop in ranking. Think what will happen if Harvard drops to rank 3.</p>

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<p>Im fairly certain that Bill Gates would not give two sh*&s if Harvard dropped to drank 3…</p>

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<p>“Think what will happen if Harvard drops to rank 3” - absolutely nothing.</p>

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<p>According to the official USNWR website’s countdown clock, the 2011 ranking for the best colleges should be released on Monday, Aug 16th!! bump</p>

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<p>Thanks Sherlock Holmes!^</p>

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<p>my predictions:

  1. Harvard
  2. Princeton
  3. Yale
  4. Caltech
  5. MIT
  6. Stanford
  7. Chicago
  8. UPenn
  9. Columbia
  10. WashU
  11. JHU
  12. Darthmouth
  13. Duke
  14. Northwestern
  15. Cornell
  16. Brown
  17. Rice
  18. Emory
  19. Vanderbilt
  20. Georgetown</p>
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<p>Emory and Rice were the only two top 20 schools in USNWR’s schools on the rise list. I think both might move up a spot or two this year</p>