Why does SUNY Geneseo get such awful rankings?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Geneseo's admission stats:
Percent applicants admitted: 36%
57% in top 10th of graduating class
Middle 50% SAT Critical Reading: 620 - 700
Middle 50% SAT Math: 630 - 690
49% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher</p>

<p>These numbers may not be great, but they don't justify the school's abysmal US News ranking. US News ranks it as #11 on the "Universities–Master's (North)," which ranks Villanova as #1. </p>

<p>Compare Villanova's admission numbers to Geneseo's:
Percent applicants admitted: 42%
54% in top 10th of graduating class
Middle 50% SAT Critical Reading: 580 - 680
Middle 50% SAT Math: 610 - 700
53% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher</p>

<p>Clearly Geneseo has superior numbers. Although admissions data are not the only criteria used in rankings, the numbers decrease fairly expectedly as you go down the list. Could being a public school actually inflate Geneseo's numbers that much? </p>

<p>Sources:
College</a> Search - Villanova University - At a Glance
College</a> Search - State University of New York College at Geneseo - SUNY Geneseo - At a Glance
USNews.com:</a> America's Best Colleges 2008: Universities-Master's (North): Top Schools</p>

2

<p>Well, you're using undergraduate statistics for a graduate school ranking, so that might be one thing....</p>

3

<p>No, "Master's" is a category US News uses. Notice how these schools aren't ranked as national universities or liberal arts colleges.</p>

4

<p>Villanova has a more national reputation. Geneseo has a local reputation.</p>

<p>The quality of the faculty at Geneseo has not kept pace with the increase in the quality of the students.</p>

<p>Geneseo has become the SUNY school of choice. It is a great school.</p>

5

<p>...just follow the numbers. </p>

<p>geneseo ranks 160 among NORTHERN MASTERS UNIVERSITIES in faculty resources. there are only 175 or so schools with data.</p>

<p>why? one, the class size data is really, really bad. 25% of classes smaller than 20 and 9% over 50 is about as bed as it gets. two, faculty salaries are even worse. per the aaup salary data on cohe, the average full professor at geneseo made $77,600 last year. in contrast, the average full professor at lock haven, a public school in rural pennsylvania with an average sat in the low 900s, made $90,900.</p>

<p>as a result, the financial resources numbers (which look at per-student spending) are also very low.</p>

<hr>

<p>i also think it is interesting that collegehelp mentions that geneseo has become the suny of choice. my understanding was that geneseo was considered a much, much better school 40 years ago than it is today... and was actually a school of choice.</p>

6

<p>I went to Oswego in the early 90s and knew 2 people there who were accepted at Cornell and black balled by Geneseo. The admissions standards are superior to the school. I'm not sure why.</p>

7

<p>New York State students have no flagship public university. Years ago, the decision was made to build numerous neighborhood colleges in NYS rather than sinking money into one or two "showpiece" schools. Each school has its own administration and overhead. Very inefficient.</p>

<p>But, California has a great UC system and parallel Cal State system. I guess it is just a matter of priorities. Taxes are high in NYS. I don't know where the money goes. SUNY is dumpy.</p>

8

<p>Look at all the things that go into rating a school by USN&WR. Some of the things may not be important to you at all, whereas others not even rated may be. </p>

<p>The big difference between the two schools is that Geneseo as a state school does not have much geographic diversity among its students, and does not have the endowment as Villanova has. Also Geneseo is located in a much more outlying area than Philadelphia, a major city. V also is more of a well rounded school with school spirit and activities whereas G is more low keyed. Very different in atmosphere. My son did not like V, like G better and applied there. Others might feel differently. I would bet that V gets a lot more apps than G does.</p>