@Lindagaf If you read the thread I was responding to a post on SU. So there.
Burghdad, I created the list by downloading data from the IPEDS web site maintained by the US Dept of Education. It was in response to a request from isoinfo in post #260.
I completely understand this. I am just not sure how you fix this. Some schools promote their middle 50th’s (and other data) based on applicants, not on matriculated applicants, to get a boost. There are other schools that do the “send them abroad” thing too so NEU isn’t unique there. My point is if the school fits your kid, the budget, and the outcomes are what you want, then forget about the rankings. If you feel the data manipulation has crept into the soul of the school and will rear its ugly head in other places, then maybe your daughter needs to look elsewhere.
We have visited numerous schools over the last seven years and UNL was impressive. I definitely think it’s on the way up and my D will be attending this fall. The brand new business school is first rate.
UNL?
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
@moniconners , check out my post #203, and get ready for bclintonk to weigh in with an overreliance on barely relevant USNews stats (e.g. minor differences in class size) and a bunch of out-of-date stats re enrollment. From both big-picture stats and anecdotal evidence, UNL is increasingly popular with people in other Big 10 states…offering an extremely well-organized, minimal-red-tape, moderately sized (under 20k undergrads), affordable option in a safe & interesting mid-sized city. If you compare UNL to, say, Michigan, it will of course lose. But compare the current UNL to what it was when it joined the Big 10 7 yrs ago, & it has made impressive progress.
LOL, did someone page me?
According to its own Common Data Set, UNL has boosted OOS enrollment from 17% in 2007-08 to 23% in 2017-18. And it’s increased applications over that same period from 9,598 to 14,947. So there’s something to what moooop says. But unlike most other Big Ten schools it hasn’t parlayed that into higher admission standards. Middle 50% ACT scores were 22-28 in 2007-08 and 22-29 in 2017-18—essentially unchanged. This gives UNL the distinction of having the lowest admissions standards among Big Ten schools, along with Iowa, which might account for some of the uptick in interest from OOS students who can’t get into other Big Ten schools.
Between the two, though, Iowa seems to be preferred by many, with an OOS enrollment of 37% in a similarly sized undergraduate student body, and nearly twice as many applications. In fact, there’s not a single Big Ten school that doesn’t get twice as many applications as Nebraska, or more. That’s understandable, given the state’s small population. But it suggests students from other Big Ten states aren’t exactly clamoring to get into UNL.
And it didn’t help that UNL got kicked out of the Association of American Universities a couple of years ago—the association of the nation’s top research universities, of which all the other Big Ten schools are members. Apparently a majority of AAU members felt Nebraska’s research output wasn’t up to snuff. Some have suggested Nebraska would never have been admitted to the Big Ten without AAU membership.because of the academic mismatch.
Look, I don’t mean to trash UNL. It’s a solid, middle-of-the-pack state flagship, and judging from the undying loyalty it engenders among Nebraskans, I have to presume it’s serving the state well. I just don’t see much evidence it’s either “underrated” or “on the way up.”
The Aau thing was all about excluding the med school funding/research, not substandard research, as I recall.
Again, you can’t resist comparing UNL to other B1G schools, as opposed to improving over its past performance. And nobody’s claiming people from out of state are “clammoring” to go there. You’re going to get a hernia throwing around so many strawmen
When Nebraska was in the Big 8, it was more like other Big 8 schools (Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State). At the time, Colorado was smaller too.
I don’t think Nebraska is a good match for the Big 10, athletically or academically. But what’s done is done.
Point Loma Nazarene seems to be growing in popularity (at least for CA kids). I definitely agree with Oregon State, a lot of their programs seem comparable to Oregon and other major PAC-12 schools, especially the business school.
Northeastern University - without a doubt. Just ten years ago, it wasn’t even in the top 100 colleges! Now, it is in the top 40 and seems to be gradually moving up.
American University… A few years ago, it had an acceptance rate of over 50%. Now, it is only around 25%. Many qualified students choose AU, even despite its current lower ranking. Personally, I know several people who got into BostonU, Brandeis, and UMiami but ended up leaning much more towards American.
NC State, University of Florida, Virginia Tech, UMass Amherst, and Drexel - at least in the most recent year
Possibly, also Clark University in Worcester, MA and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
@Kate0615 I admit, I had him apply to Clark early action as a confidence builder but he ended up seriously considering them. While they are not a full need school, we were shocked that with merit and financial aid, they came in the same numbers as the full need schools. He liked the school when visiting and they have a lot to offer. The 5th year free master program is pretty great for those that want it. In the end, he went in a different direction but I could see Clark becoming more of a player the more competitive schools get.
@turtletime I couldn’t agree more. Clark’s merit scholarships are absolutely amazing. The school is beautiful, and the people are super nice. The same thing happened to me… I first applied to Clark as more of a safety school but then ended up looking at it more seriously. In the end, I too decided against it - mainly, due to their not very nice location. But a friend of mine (who also got into BU and NEU) is still considering Clark very seriously. They gave him pretty much full ride. I frankly won’t be surprised if he ends up at Clark in the fall.
Regarding Nebraska and the AAU, the situation was not sub-standard research. The issue was that both the medical school research and the agricultural research through the USDA were excluded in their numbers. Consequently the amount of research appeared to be lacking. Being an agricultural state, the agricultural research is significant. So in reality, the research was there (and still is), just under a different umbrella not counted in their stats.
Just noting that some of the schools in that impressive list, above, are schools that are “scores optional”. I’m wondering how that came into play in terms of their rise in scores? Scores-optional schools would see a rise because students with low scores would not submit them. Only the students with high scores submit, and the low-scoring students do not submit, but rather use their GPA alone.
Muhlenberg has been getting a word-of-mouth bump at least on this forum. I’m not surprised to see its leap.
AAU membership isn’t 100% based on research funding levels. If it was, USF would be a member. Georgia Tech only joined in 2010. It’s an interesting subject, because several of these “underrated” research institutions have a goal of being invited into the AAU, and in many cases it drives their behavior (for example, starting a college of engineering or recruiting faculty with membership in the National Academies).
Florida Atlantic University
I’ll jump on the Richmond bandwagon. S was admitted but chose another school. However, we all thought UR was amazing and the staff was just incredibly friendly. Outside of providing a stellar education, they really understand “customer service”. I was blown away when I received an email from the President’s office asking me to briefly describe why I thought S was a good Spider candidate. It was part of their admissions process (I’m sure not heavily factored, if at all). The President’s note stated something like. “When my kids applied to selective schools, I know it would have made a difference if the school got to know them the way I do, so I want to give you the opportunity to express some points that don’t necessarily jump off the application page”. So classy. Their Fin Aid office was very helpful answering questions regarding potential appeals process, considering additional tax information, etc. Literally every communication with them was handled efficiently and with care. To the point, when S was admitted, I took the time to write the Admissions Dean, letting him know as a business owner how much I appreciated their approach, comfortable touches, etc. I made it clear that S hadn’t decided and was likely leaning towards a bigger school and he responded with tremendous class, wishing S the best regardless of outcome. Almost made me sad S decided to go elsewhere (but he made the right decision for him.) Great school in a very cool city!
My daughter personally knows 4 or 5 kids going from NY to Loyola Marymount Univ in Los Angeles. I didn’t know it was that popular with east coasters. She also knows a bunch of kids going to a variety of schools in Great Britain. It seems to be more popular these days to go abroad.