<p>I was hoping Fordham would go up in rankings. Slipped only one spot, TG, to 58. Just felt with its stronger freshman class, it would have gone up a bit....</p>
<p>First, its a ruse to sell magazines and has as much relevance as eggplant economics. Second, its a game and some schools play the game and some schools dont. Third, too much emphasis on this is not good for the school or its constituents…for obvious reasons. Fourth, its as much about endowments and other wealth forms as anything. Fifth, this years ranking for 2015, is based on 2013 numbers. They look backwards one year and project forward one year. So 2014 numbers will be used next year. </p>
<p>We all look for a check on how well we do. I do. :-)</p>
<p>But in the end, it matters very little unless its a gigantic slip and fall or a gigantic leap forward. And we are fairly ranked it seems to me. Its a very very tough neighborhood in the national universities. Very competitive.</p>
<p>Prestige is fleeting. Fordham is a top tier catholic school and near the very top of the Jesuit schools. </p>
<p>mexusa I was hoping for the same. Rankings are here to stay and they can play a role in a student’s college decision. I think Fordham is trying hard to gain national recognition. Perhaps others can provide some information? </p>
<p>As the mom of a D who is starting her junior year, all I can say is that she is getting a great education. If the rankings were based solely on the quality of the education that my D has been receiving, the fact that she has never been in a lecture hall sized class, and the interest that the faculty has taken in her development, Fordham would be ranked much higher than it is.</p>
<p>Rankings and prestige mean a lot less in the real world (ie outside this website). My favorite example is my friend, who is a Computer Science major at Fordham. Fordham is nowhere to be seen in Comp Sci rankings and has no prestige in the field. In fact, it’s one of the very few Bach of Science degrees the school gives. However, that did not stop my friend from doing winning a Google hackathon and a Google scholarship. I’m assuming a lot of the kids that competed against him were from “better” schools, but like I said, that doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Good point Matachines. Yes, FU did drop one; it is super competitive in the top 100 and the new additions of the new dorm at Rose Hill and the new dorm and new law school at Lincoln Center have not been counted towards this tally. When it does count, I expect it will move us back up. Also keep in mind there are many ways to evaluate a school. As I have noted on other posts here at CC, a good measure of how well a school does is in the success of it’s graduates. The Paris School of Mines’ listing, which reviews over 3,000 educational institutions around the world, selects some 700 schools and ranks them according to their ability to place their graduates in Fortune 500 CEO and leading positions. The University appeared 63rd on the list in 2009 but the research has been updated and Fordham is now listed as 16th. 16th in the world is really quite an achievement.</p>
<p>Also take note that USN&WR changed its criteria 2-3 years ago. Things like what other educators think, endowments, corporate and alumni gifts, endowments etc. all factor into the rankings. Fordham is not a rich school with a huge endowment. Many schools “Game” the info given to falsely improve their standings. Some schools have gotten caught and the results have ranged from a year’s banishment in USN&WR to no action taken. I am proud that Fordham does not do such things; there is a lot of integrity and ethics in place. </p>
<p>WHOA! I just came across this thread here in the Parents Forum. I copy a part of it here to illustrate how a school can Game USN&WR:</p>
<p>08-29-2014 at 5:29 am in Parents Forum
“Northeastern University executed one of the most dramatic turnarounds in higher education. Its recipe for success? A single-minded focus on just one list.”</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2014/08/26/how-northeastern-gamed-the-college-rankings/print/#gallery-1-1”>http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2014/08/26/how-northeastern-gamed-the-college-rankings/print/#gallery-1-1</a>
"(President) Freeland swept into Northeastern with a brand-new mantra: recalibrate the school to climb up the ranks. “There’s no question that the system invites gaming,” Freeland tells me. “We made a systematic effort to influence [the outcome].” He directed university researchers to break the U.S. News code and replicate its formulas. He spoke about the rankings all the time—in hallways and at board meetings, illustrating his points with charts. He spent his days trying to figure out how to get the biggest bump up the charts for his buck. He worked the goal into the school’s strategic plan. “We had to get into the top 100,” Freeland says. “That was a life-or-death matter for Northeastern.”</p>
<p>Years ago NEU was ranked in the 70’s Last year they were 49th and this year 42nd. Makes you wonder if it is a legitimate rank…</p>
<p>I guess if other schools continue to game and/or misreport, the USN&WR rankings, long held as the gold standard of college rankings, will lose credibility. </p>
<p>Thanks RamRay for the research! Yes, I am glad Fordham does not game the system, but they are so deserving of more recognition (had not heard of Fordham until extensive east coast college research two years ago). Perhaps strategic marketing? </p>
<p>There has been many famous Fordham grads in the media, Fordham seen in the movies (see Wiki site) but that is not enough. The president has worked hard to improve the quality of life and academics. His goal is to raise the standing of Fordham to match it to schools like Boston College, NYU and Georgetown. Reasonable goals but never would he or the Board of Trustees ever compromise the ethics and moral values that earmark Fordham as a top tier Jesuit institution. It is easy to not know of a fine school until you hear of it or do the research. Will it ever be the equal of a Georgetown or NYU? perhaps, perhaps not but the effort can only improve the school in the face of such intense competition even with funds that cannot compete with billion dollar endowments.</p>
<p>A famous Fordham alum once said; “Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence” -Vince Lombardi</p>
<p>Visited DD this weekend and took a tour of her class buildings. We were still amazed how many beautiful nooks and crannies there are on campus, and this is after seeing the campus various times. DD seems happy and is taking advantage of NYC and went down to Ground Zero on 9/11. If RH starts to feel small, the city is right there…
</p>
<p>Yup. My favorite was the center area of Keating Hall…it was truly like being in a mid evil castle. Also I loved the old Duane Library Gothic rooms (DYK that Duane was used in the opening of the movie “Love Story”?). Then there is Queens Court that has a Harry Potter Hogswort feel. Ask you DD if she has heard of the tunnels that run underground between some buildings…I think they closed them off in the 80’s as too many kids were taking the dare.</p>
<p>When we were wandering around Keating at 8:30pm on a Sunday, a singing group was practicing in that hallway. Great acoustics! We live 10 minutes from Yale and I think there are more architectural similarities than differences between the two. DD took a film class at Harvard and learned that Fordham is the most common place to shoot when needing an “ivy” feel… </p>
<p>For those interested in this topic, I copy this from the Wiki site (and has nothing to do with rankings, but fun none the less):</p>
<p>Fordham’s campuses have been featured in a number of films, including the following: The Adjustment Bureau, Awake, A Beautiful Mind, Center Stage, Cheerleaders Beach Party, The Exorcist, Fair Game, The Gambler, Godspell, The Iron Major, Kinsey, Love Story, Quiz Show, Solitary Man, The Verdict, and Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. The 1993 crime drama A Bronx Tale is set in the Belmont neighborhood adjacent to the Rose Hill campus.</p>
<p>Television programs filmed at Fordham include Shattered Vows, a 1984 television film starring Valerie Bertinelli, which portrays the true story of a young nun in the 1960s who goes to Fordham for her master’s degree and falls in love with a priest; White Collar; Naked City; Saturday Night Live; Chappelle’s Show; and the 2009 U2 performance on Good Morning America. The music video for the single What’s Luv? by Fat Joe and Ashanti was filmed in the gymnasium at the Rose Hill campus.</p>
<p>Fictional Fordham alumni include the title character of Michael Clayton, Ray Brocco of The Good Shepherd, Michael Patrick Flaherty of Spin City, Jacob Moore of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Annie Norris of Life on Mars, Vinnie Terranova of Wiseguy, Nick Rice of Law Abiding Citizen, Bruno Tattaglia of The Godfather, The father of Gabe Burton in Little Manhattan and Dave Norris of The Adjustment Bureau. Sonek Pran of Star Trek: A Singular Destiny is an alumnus of Fordham University in the 24th century.</p>
<p>The campus has also been the backdrop of Tommy Hilfiger’s Fall Fashion campaign.</p>
<p>Interesting! I thought I recognized the Rose Hill building from somewhere. Now I know it’s because I saw it in a Beautiful Mind!</p>
<p>My son is at Northeastern and they make no secret of their desire to rise in the rankings. I do think the rise in ranking does reflect what is going on there though-the school gets better every year. I think they push the envelope-but I don’t believe they are doing anything unethical.</p>
<p>My daughter wants very much to go to Fordham. If she gets in and gets enough aid to make it affordable I would love to see her there-it is a great school and people who know what the great schools are know Fordham. </p>
<p>Rankings are really marketing more than anything in my opinion. </p>
<p>Northeastern is a fine school and has improved many programs. It does however admit students for second semester freshmen year with lower stats which are not reported and give them a glow of selectivity that is somewhat untrue. </p>
<p>I dont bash schools. Every school has a purpose and a constituency. No school is perfect and no school is perfect for everyone. Each student decides for themselves, as they deem what is important. Its their first decision as an adult which affects their lives. Live and learn so to speak. </p>
<p>That being said, if someone wants Fordham and gets in, then great! If they arent enamored with Fordham at either campus, then fine…let them find their dream school and go there. Ideally Fordham wants people who truly want Fordham and will be happy. Nobody wants anyone to be unhappy or out of place anywhere.</p>
<p>Boston and New York are very different. Philly and New York are very different. DC and New York are very different. And isnt that wonderful to have so many choices in our fabulous country? I think so.</p>
<p>Best of luck to all.</p>
<p>This issue of some schools lying and gaming to get better rankings is starting to have some backlash. I think this article is eye opening on many levels. Worth the read.</p>
<p><a href=“The US News rankings are terrible for students. Why don't colleges stop them? - Vox”>The US News rankings are terrible for students. Why don't colleges stop them? - Vox;
<p>The article didn’t mention the fifth school caught lying it was Tulane. The tweaking suggested by the NEU president to benefit Northeastern was to ask the school not be so penalized for graduation rates since it is really a 5 year school-nothing sinister there. I know kids that got into NUIn who had better stats than kids that were fall admits. This article is very slanted and if the subject interests you I think a better thread is over on the NEU forum 
</p>
<p><a href=“"How Northeastern Gamed the College Rankings" - Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1681335-how-northeastern-gamed-the-college-rankings-p1.html</a></p>
<p>I do not like rankings but the reality is they are highly sought after-so they must be worth something. My son didn’t chose NEU for the ranking-it was the lowest ranked school of his final three-he picked it for coop and location. It was a great choice for him-it is not a school my daughter is interested in. </p>
<p>I really encourage anyone with issues about NEU ranking to go on that thread it’s very civil and very informative.</p>
<p>My daughter loves Fordham-I would love to see her at Fordham next year. I know it is a great school-I would love her to have a Jesuit education and I hold this school in very high regard. I would pick it over BC in a second-Georgetown would be a flip of the coin. I haven’t even looked at the rankings until I read this thread-do I think BC and Georgetown are so much better because they are higher ranked-no way!</p>
<p>
That’s because it was for the MBA program only. It was one employee that was only assigned to that admissions team that cheated. Not excusing that Tulane didn’t have something in place to catch it, just clarifying why it wasn’t in that same article. Tulane has never been accused of gaming anything for the undergraduate rankings, and in the wake of the issue for the MBA program the undergrad program was audited as well, and there were no issues. As I said, this wasn’t something from the executive portion of the administration, but was one rogue employee in the Graduate Business School. In fact, that is how it got caught. When that employee left to take a job elsewhere (UC Davis I think) and the next person did the same calculations for the next class, the statistical drop was noticeable. They went back, found the cheating, and self-reported.</p>
<p>It is generally better if you present the entire set of circumstances, instead of making it sound like it was the same as the other 4 schools in the article. The fact that Tulane wasn’t mentioned might have been a clue to you to check further.</p>