<p>Over in the College Search Forum, I started a thread questioning the USNWR rankings as I believe that they consistently underrate the top schools of the Midwest and the South in favor of the more prestigious schools on the coasts, particularly those of the Northeast and the Ivy League. </p>
<p>IMO, Northwestern, Rice, Emory, Vanderbilt, and Notre Dame are all excellent schools that provide an undergraduate experience arguably superior to that offered by several higher ranked Ivy institutions. I attribute this under appreciation to a) much greater (and more fawning) media coverage of the Ivy schools; b) the Ivy schools having much greater proximity to major population centers which leads to greater numbers of applicants and higher selectivity statistics; and c) the ranking systems that perpetuate the status of the Ivy League. </p>
<p>Now, a few questions for this forum:<br>
Do you agree with this premise that the Midwest/Southern schools are underrated and deserve to be ranked more highly than many of the Ivy schools?<br>
If Northwestern were located in a major northeastern city rather than Evanston/Chicago, how do you believe its ranking and public perception would change?
If Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Penn or Columbia were located in Evanston/Chicago, how do you think their ranking and public perception would change?</p>
<p>Interesting that you bring this up. Hailing from the East coast, it's amazing how few people really understand how difficult it is to get into NU and what a great place it is! Having said that, anyone who really knows anything about colleges and universities knows that it a first rate institution with a lovely campus and much to offer. If you go to the Ivy forums and look at the stats posted for early decision, many kids at NU could have gone Ivy (except maybe Harvard/Yale?). Some students overlook the Ivies based on specific program offerings which, in my opinion, is a pretty important reason to pick a college! </p>
<p>Wash U is another school that has the same issue. Great school, lower name recognition so you miss out on the "wow" factor which is important to some. </p>
<p>If NU was in the northeast, it's public perception would soar as would its name recognition.</p>
<p>There's a poster on the market that depicts a graphic of the United States and profiles the Northeast. The rest of the poster shows nothing, implying that there is nothing worth bothering with outside of the northeastern corridor. (Other regions have since copied this idea, but this was the first one). There is this feeling in northeast that any place else is slightly inferior and this carries over to colleges and universities.</p>
<p>This is not to take away from the Ivies. They have lovely campuses, are rich in history and are excellent places whose reputations carry weight - no doubt. Having said that, may other colleges/universities are not appreciated because they are not on one coast or the other (Stanford, UCLA, USC).</p>
<p>Great questions. I'll be interested in the responses.</p>
<p>I would definetely agree that the midwest schools are very underrated. If you look at the Big 10, NU and Mich are both strong, well-rounded schools. Ill and Purdue are top tier in teh country in terms of engineering, Iowa and Wisc are good in sci/medicine, Indiana is business, etc. Wash U is also on the rise. U Chicago is world famous (Econ especially), yet I've seen many posters on CC put it on a level with NYU, etc. </p>
<p>I don't know the exact reasons for the lower ranking/reputation in midwest schools. As the above poster said, many of the east coast schools have much more history, whereas many of the midwest schools are either (relatively) newer or public schools. There are also a lot more media and pop culture refereneces to the Ivy League and such, so that shapes peoples' perceptions. Also, schools like Gtown and Harvard and Columbia are located in media hubs like DC and Boston and NY, so that plays a big role.</p>
<p>I'd guess the culture of the east coast vs. the midwest also has a lot to do with it. Here in Iowa, not many of my classmates know anything about selective colleges. In the NE, there are many more competitive high schools, prep schools, etc., where this college business has a lot more emphasis (not to say it there isn't any in the midwest). This might explain the greater selectivity (though NU and Wash U get a bunch of apps from Chi and St. Louis).</p>
<p>I am surprised that many MW schools don't get the credit they deserve; and I'm guessing history and tradition plays a big role in determining why. Still, many employers/recruiters/etc. hit up schools like Mich and NW hard, and they are the ones that really count.</p>