<p>Of the 10 member schools, Northwestern and Michigan are the only top tier schools, or amongst the very best in the world, academic reputation-wise, though the rest have solid postgrad programs.</p>
<p>Michigan isnât as good as Northwestern but I agree with the rest of the analysis bclintonk. Very insightful!</p>
<p>Excellent analysis bclintonk. I would add Chemistry, Economics and possibly even Engineering to Northwesternâs truly elite programs. </p>
<p>I would also rate IU slightly higher, possibly tied at 6 with OSU and PSU. </p>
<p>Otherwise, you are spot on. The top 2 universities in the Big 10 are NU and Michigan, closely followed by Wisconsin and UIUC. Those 4 universities are truly excellent.</p>
<p>Excellent list, bclintonk. :)</p>
<p>U-M very well might be âthe ultimate backup schoolâ for kids at top high schools OOS. </p>
<p>U-M offers the kinds of things that make it a great choice for the whole package: Respected academics and the full traditional college scene with big time sports, rah-rah atmosphere, campus resources galore. But it may not be the first choice school for a population that is seeking ivy-style prestige, and its OOS tuition means itâs not enough of a âbargainâ to vault it very far above its private competitors. U-M may not be your first choice, but you can go to U-M and not be âsettlingâ because it has a lot to recommend it. </p>
<p>For that reason, U-M has done perfectly well being a âback upâ school for some folks. </p>
<p>Itâs also a first-choice destination for many, and thatâs fine too.</p>
<p>Almost forgot the thing for which Indiana is most famous (after basketball): The Kinsey Institute.</p>
<p>I didnât know that was at IU.</p>
<p>Makes me wanna go to IU.</p>
<p>Illinois has a supercomputing center and HAL from 2001 was built there in âUrbana Ilâ. stellar computing and engineering at UIUC. and check out the krannert center - it is acoustically perfect place to listed to music.</p>
<p><a href=âhttp://www.ncsa.illinois.edu/[/url]â>http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu/</a></p>
<p>The Food Science Dept at Wisconsin has the worldâs best ice cream at the Babcock Hall Dairy Store (though I hear Penn State has their own version of this); Wisconsin Memorial Union has a great outing club, the Hoofers, and a Rathskeller in the basement.</p>
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<p>I would also add Art History, Materials Science, Sociology, Education and Music (performance, not theory).</p>
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<p>Very insightful, esp. since Duke fits the same mold (heck, I would even add Penn even tho it is an Ivy, since it is similar in its pre-professional focus; and if we are talking âacademicsâ as in the no. of top depts as it seems to be the case here - then Ivies like Brown and Dartmouth are actually behind these schools).</p>
<p>I am surprised that none of you guys mentioned the âNuclear Physicsâ program at MSU which is currently ranked #2 by the USNews only behind MIT. The Facility of Rare Isotope facility at MSU sponsored by the Department of Energy would be the most advanced and powerful in the nation if not the world once built. For details: [FRIB:</a> Welcome to FRIB](<a href=âhttp://www.frib.msu.edu/]FRIB:â>http://www.frib.msu.edu/)</p>
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<p>Frib Dedicated at MSU</p>
<p>Comments 0 | Recommend 1
June 12, 2009 - 4:54 PM
Stacia Mullaney</p>
<p>Local officials and others gathering in East Lansing Friday, celebrating as work on Frib gets underway at MSU.</p>
<p>Senator Carl Levin spoke about the new facility for rare isotope beams Friday which will bring hundreds of jobs right here to Mid-Michigan, he says as work on the facilty gets underway our area has a lot to be proud of.</p>
<p>âThis is a special moment, its a further step on a road to a major improvement for not just Michigan State, the State of Michigan and the nation but truely for mankind itself,â says Levin.</p>
<p>Researchers say Frib will allow them to do experiments never before possible.</p>
<p>There are only three labs like it in the world.</p>
<p>At a dedication ceremony held Friday for the new Frib project, state and university leaders say the the facility will generate millions of dollars for Michigan.</p>
<p>The Anderson Economic Group recently performed a study of the potential economic impact that Frib would bring to Michigan and the numbers speak for themselves.</p>
<p>Frib is finally making its way to the crib and with it nearly one billion dollars in economic activity.</p>
<p>âMore jobs, more jobs, more research and more education opportunities,â says Senator Debbie Stabenow.</p>
<p>MSU President Louanna K. Simon says Frib is expected to bring in around 400 new jobs for the State of Michigan.</p>
<p>âIts a half billion dollar project that will require lots of people to build things to make things just in the phase of getting the project ready to go and that will create jobs,â says Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon.</p>
<p>And Simon says the increased budget for the Cyclotron lab will bring a boost to the state as well.</p>
<p>âThe operating budget of the lab moves from about 20 million dollars to about 60 million dollars a year so think about the multiplyers that that mean in terms of all of the other kinds of jobs in terms of traditional economics,â says Simon.</p>
<p>And while the economic impact is important, Senator Stabenow says shes also excited about the research that will be done here in Michigan.</p>
<p>âThose to come, those students that will be signing up for MSU will come here will be the ones of the future that are creating the discoveries that we cant even imagine,â says Stabenow.</p>
<p>Simon says that with all the new opportunities Frib will bring to Michigan its clear why the the Anderson economic groups is calling it a home run for MSU, in a league they rarly even get to bat in.</p>
<p>The project is currently in the the design stages with construction expected to begin in 2013.</p>
<p>News Link: [Frib</a> Comes to MSU | frib, msu, isotope - News Express - WLAJ ABC Channel 3](<a href=âhttp://www.wlaj.com/news/frib-15871-msu-isotope.html]Fribâ>http://www.wlaj.com/news/frib-15871-msu-isotope.html)</p>
<p>The Big Ten is FAR from the worst sports conference. We are rock solid in the two most relevant sports. In basketball, our RPI was 2nd best, behind only the ACC last year. And in football, we only bow down to the SEC.</p>
<p>I would argue that the Big 12 is better than the Big 10 in football, and maybe in basketball too.</p>
<p>Having UM in a down cycle for football hurts the B10 in footballâbut UM will be back shortly. Same for basketball.</p>
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<p>Iâd agree with you.</p>
<p>âThe Food Science Dept at Wisconsin has the worldâs best ice cream at the Babcock Hall Dairy Store (though I hear Penn State has their own version of this); Wisconsin Memorial Union has a great outing club, the Hoofers, and a Rathskeller in the basementâ</p>
<p>Hey!! Michigan State has a dairy store too!!! With fantastic ice cream. </p>
<p>And I canât help but argue that MSU has some premier academic programs that other schools in the big 10 cannot stand up to. i.e. packaging. supply-chain management. Agriculture. Nuclear engineering/physics among others. We also have residential colleges (for Arts/humanities, natural sciences, and international/public policy) that distinguish us from other big 10 schools. And ohhhhhhhhh #2 basketball in the country. Not too bad, can I say myself? (soon to be #1 next year, possibly?)</p>
<p>Okay, so I admit, academically overall U Mich, Northwestern, and Wisconsin have us beat. Penn State and UIUC may have a few more notable programs than we do. But as for the others? OSU, Indiana, Purdue, Minnesota, and Iowa have nothing on us!! </p>
<p>My general impression of other big ten schools (because obviously I am biased!!! 
Needless to say, I LOVE my school)</p>
<p>u mich: a lot more hippy, activist atmosphere than Michigan state. More nerdy, better academics, not as exciting parties but nice college town. Once mighty sports teams have recently become disappointing. </p>
<p>Northwestern: great school academically. more noticeable frat/sorority scene. Town not so nice, but close to Chicago!!! Sports teams not as good.</p>
<p>U Minn: more urban city atmosphere than the rest of big ten. Overall good school, but not spectacular sports. Havenât heard too much about this school</p>
<p>Purdue: good engineering. Pretty good basketball. Thatâs about it.</p>
<p>Iowa: Rural, cornfields. Not much to do but party. Good nursing program though (among othersâŠdonât know much else)</p>
<p>U Wisc: They like beer, a lot. Great parties, good academics, decent sports teams</p>
<p>OSU, Penn State: Huge schools, but havenât heard much in particular about them.
Indiana, Illinois, : ehhh. Know very little about these schoolsâŠ</p>
<p>Overall I couldnât pick a better conference of schools though. Even with each uniâs specific stereotypes/strengths/weaknesses, big ten is bad-ass!!! Sports, rah rah school spirit, great college towns, good academics, great atmospheres overall.</p>
<p>penn state has really good ice cream</p>
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<p>Perhaps you ought to look at your bowl record in recent years, as well as how well your teams have fared against the Pac-10, and then revise that statement accordingly.</p>
<p>Weâll see how USC does this year at TUOS. You do realize that almost every single game the trojans have played against the better teams from the Big Ten have been at home.</p>
<p>The driver at Iowa is the medical school. Everything on that campus responds to it. Shoot, half the campus is taken up by the ever expanding medical complex.</p>
<p>I spent my first two years at Iowa and now live about 45 minutes from the college. Iâll tell you the same thing that I told everyone else about going to college at Iowa.</p>
<p>Everything that youâve heard about Iowa is true. The state is one enormous cornfield with two interstates that meet in the middle.</p>
<p>I didnât care for the school. I transferred out after two years and was much happier for it.</p>