<p>I'm sorry but Wake Forest and USC? come on. Imo, Michigan belongs with UVA and UCLA. And how did Columbia get so high?</p>
<p>I completely agree. US News keeps getting worse and worse ranking the publics. I went to Ohio State for 2 years and still think Michigan (along with most Big Ten schools/big publics, really) is underappreciated by US News. It definitely deserves to be ranked a bit higher.
But the Columbia thing doesn’t bother me too much–just a bit of reshuffling, it’ll probably go back down a few slots next year.</p>
<p>If I am not mistaken I think the only Big Ten schools to rise is Purdue and Minnesota (maybe another one), every other one has dropped or stayed in the ranking. My favorite part of the ranking is US News’s “Up and Coming” which Ohio State was ranked in the top ten(2010), but it fell 3 spots. How is a school up and coming if it falls down three spots?<br>
I may have a biased opinion being an incoming freshman at Ohio State but I think the ranking has lost it’s credibility.</p>
<p>UC davis isn’t on the list and rose 3, I think UCI rose 5 and wasn’t on it either. UCSD is on the list and it stayed at 35. They just don’t know what they’re doing.</p>
<p>Michigan will always be seen as an academic powerhouse by academia. US News and World Report will not have an effect on Michigan’s prestige. Over $1 billion spent on research, world class faculty, world class facilities, world class sports program and thousands of organizations on campus for any student. Access to graduate school classes and other research opportunities. One of the best college towns in the U.S.; Ann Arbor. Michigan’s rank in USNWR is an insult to how great the University really is. Michigan has its own share of problems, for example, # of students admitted and resources to accommodate the significant rise in the student population. It’s a large school, people will feel lost…and feel like a number. But if you choose to attend a large school you know what you are in for.</p>
<p>People say its 50% acceptance rate impacts undergraduate education negatively. I disagree. Many of these students are in the top 10% of their class and have generally good test scores. Michigan is a very important economic tool to the state. Michigan public schools aren’t that great and Michigan serves its residents well even though they receive little public aid. </p>
<p>Every University is trying to game the rankings. I think Michigan is not one of them. Michigan has consistently been moving down in the Rankings and that has not hurt the prestige of the school in anyway. I’ve talked to graduate students and professors from Yale, Harvard, etc. They think that Michigan is an elite University and the students that represent Michigan are brilliant.</p>
<p>It’s really messed up how even though it gets smacked in the face year after year, it still has to report this data to usnews since it’s a public university. It’s a tough pill to swallow.</p>
<p>Yea I agree, but Michigan has to start getting competitive. It shouldn’t game the US News system, but it should compete in order to attract the best students. 50-60% of high school students make their college decisions based on rankings, their parents, friends, counselors, etc.</p>
<p>When students don’t look at the “big picture” of a University they have to rely on rankings.</p>
<p>I just clicked this thread to see for my amusement. I can say I am amused. I really have zero interest in UMichigan thanks in part to your famous alum, rjkofnovi.</p>
<p>
It’s this exact attitude I harass rjkofnovi of. What’s wrong with Wake Forest and USC? USC is an excellent school, and I see no reason why your superiority has to vent on these excellent world class universities. And who are you to question Columbia’s rank?
That said, maybe Michigan is going through problems. What you can do to make it a better place is by, first of all, dropping the superiority/inferiority complex attitude. Be more like Alexandre, the kind Supermoderator of CC. Michigan is a good school. I just wish you guys chilled out more.
/rant. I’m out of here.</p>
<p>If Michigan wants to become an elite school, it needs to privatize. It’s as simple as that. If the university wants to instead expand enrollment, increase its acceptance rate and decrease its selectivity year in and year out, then it will have to deal with the reality that its reputation as a quality undergraduate institution will fade into oblivion.</p>
<p>Michigan used to be the #8 school in the country. Now its #29. Berkeley used to be #5 now its #22. The obvious bias against the nations top public schools is so apparent in US News. [U.S</a>. News Rankings Through the Years](<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20070908142457/http://chronicle.com/stats/usnews/]U.S”>U.S. News Rankings Through the Years)</p>
<p>Having publics near the top doesn’t sell magazines ClutchEngineer. It just doesn’t appeal to most of the people who actually go out and purchase these popularity contests. USNWR found that out years ago. It’s just good business practice.</p>
<p>That’s sort of a silly rationalization. Michigan is about 3-4 times too big. If it had 1/4th the undergrad population it would be a top 10.</p>
<p>Yet Michigan’s faculty still puts Dartmouth’s to shame.</p>
<p>[World’s</a> top 500 universities in 2010 announced - China.org.cn](<a href=“http://www.china.org.cn/world/2010-08/15/content_20713359.htm]World’s”>World's top 500 universities in 2010 announced - China.org.cn)</p>
<p>
I too have been pondering this question. I was admitted at Wake several years ago and very nearly chose it over Chicago, Hopkins, Duke, and several others. I was extremely impressed by Wake Forest and remain convinced that its students are by far the friendliest of the top 30 universities.</p>
<p>Wake is not and does not really claim to be a major research university, nor does it attract students interested in such universities. Its offerings are remarkably good for a school of its size - it offers everything from Akkadian and Ugaritic to marine ecology - but it can’t hope to match a school several times its size and therefore splits more applicants with Duke, Davidson, W&M, and the like than with UNC and UVA. What it can and does claim to provide is a solid education with great professors, a beautiful campus, nice weather, and decent athletics and school spirit. None of these can be ranked, of course - but consider them perks. ;)</p>
<p>“That said, maybe Michigan is going through problems. What you can do to make it a better place is by, first of all, dropping the superiority/inferiority complex attitude.”</p>
<p>TheSaiyans666, Michigan is not going through rough times. In fact, Michigan has improved more than most universities over the last two decades. The only reason Michigan (and other public universities) have dropped in the USNWR rankings in recent years is because its formula has become increasingly hostile to them. </p>
<p>And defending one’s school is not a sign of an inferiority complex. On the other hand bashing other universities is.</p>
<p>The problem I have with rankings in general is exactly this kind of arguing. TheSaiyans, I’ve sided with you before because it annoys me when people talk down on other schools - just in general. But I feel like this is getting a little ridiculous.</p>
<p>Is there honestly no reason why we can’t all just respect good schools for being good schools? Michigan is a great school. As is Berkeley. As are USC and Wake Forest. Just as a general note, why do people feel the need to disrespect perfectly good institutions because a magazine ranks one more highly than another?</p>
<p>I’m conflicted on this particular instance only because I really, really like Michigan - my dad’s a Ross School alum - and I also have the utmost respect for Wake (my best friend goes there, and it’s a fantastic place). On the one hand, I honestly feel like Michigan shouldn’t have dropped - at all. But I also don’t feel like it’s in any way better or worse than Wake or USC (to be fair, I don’t know much about USC, but it has a good reputation). What I do agree is that the US News system effectively diminishes the value of public schools, which is pretty ridiculous considering that they offer an affordable and often high-quality education.</p>
<p>Michigan is a fantastic institution, and to be honest, if the rankings reflected my opinions it would be higher. But then, the rankings themselves are - in my opinion - arbitrary enough that essentially all of the top 25 schools will provide you with a fantastic education. What difference really separates #1 from #2 - or more importantly, #25 from #27?</p>
<p>Not to mention racing at Bowman-Gray Stadium. That was something to see.</p>
<p>Faculty quality is less important than faculty attention and resources given to undergrads Barrons.</p>
<p>Michigan’s grad programs are so great, whining about undergrad ranking is kind of silly.</p>
<p>Slipper, first of all, faculty quality matters more than faculty attention to many of us. It certainly does to me. I expect to be taught by the best and will never compromise where that is concerned. I took mainly advanced level courses in college. In many instances, I took graduate level courses. I expected my professors to be authorities in their respective fields. </p>
<p>Secondly, faculty attention and resources devoted to undergraduate students is not a problem at Michigan. I was almost always on first name basis with my professors and I always had access to them at a minute’s notice.</p>