<p>ozym,</p>
<p>thats okay. and yeah it's fine for people to disagree with methodology. </p>
<p>the website downgraded in quality compared to last year's though haha.</p>
<p>yea, the website really blows</p>
<p>Any system that attempts to rank colleges as wholes in any way using any methodology is sickening.</p>
<p>Down the lines of the OP, I think it's a great point that schools need to be looked at more objectively from an individual's values/needs for selection. USNews is great, but it can be short sighted when it comes to selecting a college, if used as the only resource.</p>
<p>Based on my reading of the Washington Monthly rankings, I view it as an attempt to evaluate how well colleges teach their students basic skills (that college students need in today's job market), and how well colleges prepare their students so they can be gainfully employed. I don't know whether these colleges are the best given these criteria - for instance, much of the preference to California and Texas colleges could be due to the fact that the data is more readily available and thus easier to evaluate. In addition, not every student goes to college solely to learn basic skills or to be assured of gainful employment.</p>
<p>However, I do believe that these are valid societal goals for college-educated students. Gone are the days when a college education was a mind-expanding experience reserved for the wealthy and privileged. Today, most people need a college degree or at least some college education in order to do basic jobs. Rankings like this tell us which colleges are best able to educate the masses. Many CC parents may aim for something more than a basic education for their children but if we want a successful society, we should all hope that the vast majority of colleges are providing the skills and employability measured by this ranking.</p>
<p>I think I love US News.</p>
<p>SOUTH CAROLINA STATE AS NUMBER 9?Im pretty sure thats about the 7th best college in South Carolina alone</p>
<p>10 more days till US News rankings come out...</p>
<p>Daaaaad (enough a's?). Go Ball State!!! I have loads of relatives who went there, and boy do they love it. Yes, they have an excellent Architecture School and I'd forgotten about that 'til you mentioned it. It has been highly regarded for many years, and I know that anecdotally from a close friend who went to U. Miami architecture and worked for many years as an architect in Miami, Fla. </p>
<p>Ball State is, as you say, highly regarded by those working in the field on a national basis. They have great facilities, an enthusiastic and highly supportive alumni assoc., lots of money donors and they have won awards for both their technology on campus and their entrepreneurship program. If your D goes there, she will have a great time. Good luck in the hunt!</p>
<p>w00t go UCR hahahahahahaha</p>
<p>Bull ****!!!!</p>
<p>This has to be the stupidest ranking I have ever seen.</p>
<p>Don't give me that "oh it's only because you're used to US news" BS.....</p>
<p>this is stupid. Anyone should be able to tell. Just look at the top ten. </p>
<p>Do you really think you'll find more brilliant people and professors at UC riverside than at Harvard?</p>
<p>uhhhh no.</p>
<p>They should be very clear on WHICH factors they are emphasizing....as it's clear academics and student talent aren't.</p>
<p>edit:///ehhh...i guess i should read the methodology before posting this. Eh, whatevs.</p>
<p>One more thing: </p>
<p>California Institute of Technology #109.....ONE SPOT AFTER MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY???????</p>
<p>What. the. ****.</p>
<p>"1) MIT
2) Texas A&M
3) Penn State
4) South Carolina State U.
5) UC SD
6) UC Davis
7) ITT Technical Institute
8) Taco Bell U. (El Pollo Loco Campus)
9) K. Federline Vocational School
10) U Got Punked U. (Pimp My Ride Campus)"</p>
<p>Priceless post. ITT tech...hahhahah</p>
<p>I mean, my problem is, if they use "service" as a criteria, it makes little sense as Tufts sends more people to the Peace Corps than just about anyone, oh well...not going to let it worry me when CalTech is like 20943433334, weird ass ranking.</p>
<p>BU is 60(10char)</p>
<p>Daaaaad, you might consider looking at UVA for your daughter. That comes from a non-practicing 1976 graduate of their architecture school, but I know they're gung-ho on sports since I still live nearby. My middle daughter would love to go there but isn't considering it because she grew up here. Oh well. So much for in-state tuition perks!</p>
<p>So let me get this straight,</p>
<p>South Carolina state is ranked better than HYP,
Princeton is basically tied with New Mexico State University,
and Cornell is the best Ivy school.</p>
<pre><code> What did they base this on?
</code></pre>
<p>This seems like a sad gag to attract some attention for the paper</p>
<p>Service is an interesting perspective on how to rank the universities but it only lists government service. What about a school like Holy Cross that sends a significant number of its students into the Jesuit Volunteer Corp? Those service roles are not counted as service. Then again, it would be hard to total up all the outside service organizations, i.e. Habitat for Humanity, etc., in order to compile the rankings.</p>
<p>I believe that is why US News does not include service as a metric, it is too hard to quantify.</p>
<p>all i really want to know is why johnson c. smith wasn't included? my friend there says they are far better than south carolina state, and as such should be ranked no lower than second on the planet. and he's cancelling his subscription to washington monthly for this obvious snub.</p>
<p>Haven't you ever heard you S/D draw out the middle vowel of Mom or Dad when they are aggravated with you so that it becomes Moooom or Daaaaad? I hear it often so it seemed an appropriate handle.</p>
<p>Thanks for the kind words on Ball State. We intend to visit soon to check it out. After my D heard these architects rave over Ball State grads, my D insisted on checking it out.</p>
<p>And for the later poster, who mentioned UVA, I wish that UVa was an option for my D. It is an absolutely beautiful place and a great university. But for some reason my D doesn't like the East Coast. California, however, is still a viable option.</p>