@lindagaf…UC Merced basically a brand new school and already ranked #87 (US News Public Schools) after only 12 years of existence! Most colleges not ranked that high so quickly. Will move up a lot more though.
@twooninanddone…growing up in coastal OC I understand that most want to be by the big city or beach. Great programs, personal touch, and massive growth has UCR positioned nicely for long term future gains!
^^UC Merced is ranked #165 if only looking at National Universities (e.g. Oregon State, Oklahoma State were ranked higher) and when looking at ALL colleges, Niche has them ranked #490. They have a long way to go but I do think they will move up the ranks fairly quickly when all of those UC applicants get snubbed from the UCLA, UCB’s and 2nd tier UCs but want to stay in-state and cannot afford OOS or privates.
A quick google image search 'UC Merced aerial view" is enough to explain why most CA kids choose not to apply.
@socaldad2002…US News has Merced #165 Nationally which includes Public and Private colleges.I know you like Niche Rankings…US News seems to be the “holy grail” for most. #165 is a great ranking for a new, 12 year old college. I guarantee you Oregon and Oklahoma State much older than that!
I just have to admit it’s really difficult not to take the bait and point out flawed reasoning and confounding variables… (sigh)
At least I can use it in future classes as an example.
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I find it interesting that several of the lower-tier Ivies have been on the rise and will probably be among the most sought-after schools in the future. These include Cornell, Penn, Brown, and Columbia. They were underrated in the sense that they were the non-HYP Ivies. Kind of second class citizens of an exclusive neighborhood. At times, I’ve sensed that some turned up their noses at these “lower” Ivies on College Confidential.
There are actually quite a few top schools that have become even more desirable.
I find the term, “lower tier ivies” funny. There is no place for Cornell, Penn, Brown and Columbia to go. They are already way, way, way up there. For example, Columbia is ranked #5 in US News rankings.
The term “lower tier ivies” is an oxymoron.
The Ivy tiers exist true when you leave the college-educated bubble. Everyone has heard of HYP and probably MIT and Stanford, but Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth and Cornell get a response of “oh, yeah, that’s a college” in my blue collar neighborhood. You’re more likely to impress getting in to a school with an impressive football or basketball team or into a service academy.
^ Then we should label that as what it is - a perception issue, not an issue with the colleges themselves. Colleges aren’t responsible for making sure Aunt Jane or the postman knows they’re one of the top, most respected programs on the planet. Instead of labeling the colleges in a way that implies they are somehow lesser than, let’s put the label where it belongs - on the people who are ignorant.
Prestige is more than name recognition.
@Milee To be honest, the problem is in the term “underrated.” Underrated by who? Are we going soley off rank? Which ranking system? Are we going off acceptance rate? What is the cut-off?
I get your frustration but I also understand why people bring up these schools as underrated. My kids go to U Richmond that has been brought up here several times as NOT being underrated. It’s true, it’s ranked pretty high on different measures. On the West Coast, however, it’s either not heard of, which is totally expected, or treated like a safety, which is annoying. It is looked down on by the local population of people that know anything about out-of-state schools and so of course we would see it as an underrated school. Brown has some of the same issues.
I would agree though that it’s not particularly helpful to bring up these schools as underrated gems on the way up because they are already difficult to get into. A place like Clark with a 50+ acceptance rate would be more beneficial to people searching for an accessible.
This thread has gotten derailed. When I saw someone say that Bowdoin is a lesser school because it’s test-optional I realized that the original point has completely vanished.
I find it interesting that the small higher ranking regional CA privates get so little attention. For example Cal Lutheran offers top students $25000 to full tuition scholarships, a 4 year grad guarantee and very small class sizes. Profs rather than TAs teach the classes and are very accessible during office hours.Students can do research as undergrads. There is so much emphasis on the UCs that these gems are overlooked. The full price tag is high… but the grants/merit scholarships and 4 year guarantee can make it cheaper than a UC . Also noteworthy is that they will match the COA of any 1st or 2nd tier UC if an applicant has been accepted at one of those universities.
What do you guys think of Loyola Marymount University in LA? I know it’s not a top-tier school; just curious as to how it’s perceived. Thanks!
@SabPardo … Loyola Marymount is highly regarded locally. I believe that their freshman merit scholarships are good… not as generous with transfer scholarships. Definitely worth a look.
@calmom17 I should have also added that I committed to LMU already. I also received a transfer merit scholarship. It was an okay amount. Thank you so much for your input!
@SabPardo Good school, good network for connections. Lots of opportunity to establish mentoring relationships with professors. Best friend’s kids graduated from there (as did the parents) both had excellent opportunities after graduating in last couple years. LMU grads look out for each other in real world. They are trying to up their science game with new facility that opened in last couple years. Gorgeous views and set in nice safe area. Super easy to airport and convenient to very good parts of SoCal. Excellent choice, good luck!
In California, way back in the day, I have known fellow students that went to Occidental, Harvey Mudd, and Santa Clara (Law School) which were very challenging and underrated. Know others that have attended Loyola Marymount University (Law School), Chapman, Cal-Lutheran, and University of Redlands…all are doing well. These schools were all Private, or LAC’s and very expensive…not sure how much aid (if any) they received, but the parents were all financially well off. I took the public University of California (Riverside) route since no scholarships and much more cost effective on the financial end. A number of even more affordable Cal State Universities out there now as well that are impacted in many majors/locations…lots of choices in California!