USN&WR undergraduate college rankings
- Thread starter Jim_from_RU
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Yes, I remember that. I started out as an easterner, and am one again, but spent eight years in Berkeley for college and law school. I enjoyed my time a great deal,but was ready to leave when I did. I was later a visiting professor for a year at UCLA, and was surprised by how much I liked LA.
I love California, but I do miss the change of seasons. Because we essentially have two seasons (summer and spring) years seem to fly by more quickly. Because of that, I make it a point to visit family every year in NJ and make it back to NY several times a year for business whether it's the summer, fall, winter or spring.
But better to share those years with somebody, right?
Hope you two are still in your honeymoon phase. :)
I know Rutgers is making a push to try and get those kids at the very highly ranked Monmouth County Vocational Academies (HiTech, BioTech and Allied Health).
I don't think the biggest issue was merging the colleges, and that was sorely needed. I think because of all the cuts to state funding, we drastically increased admissions over the past 30 years, but especially the last 15. The cuts under Corzine and Christie were huge.
http://budgetfacts.rutgers.edu/site...ent and State Share of Costs FY95-FY16[2].pdf
http://budgetfacts.rutgers.edu/site...ent and State Share of Costs FY95-FY16[2].pdf
Comes out tomorrow morning - place your bets. I say we move up slightly to 68 based on our improvement with other ratings agencies.
I mean hurrah for going in the right direction at least, but how the hell is UConn #18 and we're #25 in public schools?
I know I know these rankings are stupid and don't matter etc.
I know I know these rankings are stupid and don't matter etc.
We can call these rankings stupid all we want but high school students will disagree
Insightful .. these rankings always hold a very heavy value to prospective high school students and their parents. Rutgers can continue to do a lot to help its ranking and we as alumni can also help improve it.
I'd like to see Rutgers climb to that #46-55 range in the next year or two along with its Big Ten peers (OSU, Illinois, PSU, Purdue).
I am surprised Washington Univ (of St Louis) ranked so high
I'm also suprised University of Texas scored lower .. and I'm also surprised that right on our heels is Baylor, Colorado school of mines, and Miami (OH), and UDel
I'd like to see Rutgers climb to that #46-55 range in the next year or two along with its Big Ten peers (OSU, Illinois, PSU, Purdue).
I am surprised Washington Univ (of St Louis) ranked so high
I'm also suprised University of Texas scored lower .. and I'm also surprised that right on our heels is Baylor, Colorado school of mines, and Miami (OH), and UDel
Kid, what's surprising to some of us who graduated in the early 80's is how far we have fallen. The B1G schools you mentioned were NEVER above us back then. We were always in the upper 30's or low 40's. Now is the time to move back in that range as you stated between 46-55. If you read the ratings, right now we're actually closer to 61 than we are to 70+. I think Rutgers needs to up its standards in New Brunswick and only admit 40% instead of 58%. That is way too high for our flagship university.
As for Washington University in St. Louis, that school is a private university and has always enjoyed a top notch reputation.
Finally, I find it really sad that US News has become the gold standard for so many families, because they're methodology IMO, is one of the most flawed out there and Robert Morse who runs the rankings has made too little strides in making the rankings a bit more objective. Instead we still have presidents of universities literally have their secretaries fill out the surveys. So how in the world would they even know or understand the advancements of XYZ school? They wouldn't. Also, there's still too much emphasis on that as well as yield and alumni giving which is easily gamed.
UCONN has spent a ton of money in building up their infrastructure. They have spent billions over the last ten years, upped their admission standards and hired away from other schools top professors. It's kind of similar to what Northeastern has done.
To show how absurd the rankings are: Just five years ago the U of Washington was ranked around 42. Five years later they're 56? What did they do to fall so fast, and what did the other schools do to rise so quickly? Again, it's ridiculous.
I am hoping for Rutgers Admin. this is a wake up call, because even though I think US News' rankings are absurd, too many families across the U.S. and world look at those rankings as gospel and it's really a shame.
Here's some interesting rankings of Rutgers found on the university's website:
http://www.newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/about/national-rankings
http://www.newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/about/national-rankings
Rest assured, what's changed the most since then are the stupid criteria used by USNWR for its rankings. RU still does much better in other college rankings not named USNWR.
They definitely changed criteria- Villanova for example was not a national university, and now Northeastern is 40 when they were behind us a year or two ago.
Pray tell what NJ parents are thinking, Ped and Cuse are barely ahead of us and Delaware is behind!
Pray tell what NJ parents are thinking, Ped and Cuse are barely ahead of us and Delaware is behind!
IIRC, Northeastern was down in the 70s just a few years ago. I suppose it's not a great job market but I'm aware of two grads in my wife's family from there in the past couple years and neither has gotten a job. Alot of $ to fork over to come away without a job...the ROI must be down the crapper for the parents of both.
As far as Villanova, apparently the change is not in USNWR criteria, but in the Carnegie classification of the school to a Doctoral university (allowing it to be in USNWR's National Universities category for the first time in 2016) from previously being classified by Carnegie as Master's (Regional North category for USNWR). Just Villanova's luck to have the visibility/exposure be expanded and enhanced on the academic side while a couple months later winning a national title in mens hoops.
Villanova suddenly considered a national university is a joke. They're like many regional colleges; they have added a few doctoral programs. It still doesn't make them a national university.
As for Northeastern: when I went to school in the early 80's that school would have been lucky to be ranked in the top 150. The reason why they skyrocketed over the last ten years is because they spent a ton of money on infrastructure; pulling in top professors from other elite schools; and lo and behold making their acceptance rate lower and lower until the appearance of elitism became not only the perception but the reality.
Some of the schools in USNWR should not be in the national universities. Lehigh, Steven, Worcester come to mind. I wish they would count the immense amount of research being done at schools like Rutgers because that kind of metric IS helping undergrad students.
BU also had a nice bump- since salary is included now, that may have no effect- though GW in DC you would think would have the same effect and did not.
I do wonder, does anyone from California or the Midwest dream of Lehigh or Villanova? NYU or the Boston schools I could see.
I do wonder, does anyone from California or the Midwest dream of Lehigh or Villanova? NYU or the Boston schools I could see.
northeastern is a well known case. Their president only operates the school with a goal to move up in the rankings, nothing else, because they believe that in the long-term that will ultimately attract better students,and then they can get better in other areas. There is a big article about it.
There are plenty of Catholic-affiliated schools in California for students who want such a school, e.g. the University of San Francisco, the University of San Diego and Loyola of California. No reason to go east to eastern Pennsylvania of all places. If a kid has a good academic record and is so inclined, Notre Dame and Boston College are far better choices in the east. And while there's nothing wrong with Lehigh, I can't see why a kid from California would go there absent strong personal reasons.
I don't necessarily disagree but I'm not an expert on the breadth and depth of Villanova's academics at this point. Here's their own press release from early 2016:
“This new ranking is a significant milestone in the University’s history, and is one more example of how Villanova continues to move forward academically,” said the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, Villanova University President. “It signals the overall strength of the Villanova academic experience and the emphasis we place on successful student outcomes. It will also help Villanova to continue to attract the most talented undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff to our University.”
U.S. News uses the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education—the leading framework for recognizing and categorizing the diverse institutions in higher education—as the basis for its “Best Colleges” ranking system. In February, Carnegie elevated Villanova to the Doctoral Universities category from the Master’s Colleges and Universities category. With this new classification, Villanova appears on the National Universities list in the U.S. News “Best Colleges” ranking for the first time this year. While classified in the Master’s Colleges and Universities category, the University had been ranked as #1 on the U.S. News Regional Universities North list for the past 23 years.
“Villanova’s move to the U.S. News National Universities list was a long-planned and intentional strategic decision,” said Patrick G. Maggitti, PhD, Villanova University Provost. “These changes allow Villanova to create a new model as an institution with an unwavering focus and commitment to undergraduate education that also graduates a select number of PhDs, produces world-class and relevant research in a variety of areas, and offers a wide range of master’s degrees. Villanova is an excellent example in higher education of how undergraduate and graduate education can strengthen the overall academic experience and provide a return on investment that is unrivaled.”
https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/media/pressreleases/2016/0913.html
RUinTEX, this reminds me of when hundreds of colleges suddenly became "universities" in the late 80's and 90's.
IIRC, in the 90s, there was some change in criteria (whose? I have no idea of who decides these things or what body it is that oversees this), whereby they expanded the definition of higher education institutions to qualify being called a university. Almost overnight, schools such as Montclair State, William Paterson, Kean, and others went from C to U, Glassboro State Coll became Rowan Univ, etc etc. I seem to recall some of them qualified strictly by enrollment, i.e. greater than 10K students allowed them to be called a university, so they jumped at the chance to elevate their stature.
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I believe you're right. Where it really started on the east coast was Pennsylvania. And the NJ "colleges" needed to keep up.
True.
I remember when all the Pennsylvania schools had college at the end of their names and then they didn't.
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It was really bizarre wasn't it? I think for a lot of them it turned out to be a great marketing tool. It made the "college" seem more prestigious, diverse and expansive.
Funny thing is some of them sounded better with college on the end instead of university.
Like for example...Boston College University.
[laughing] So true.Funny thing is some of them sounded better with college on the end instead of university.
Like for example...Boston College University.
The rankings are easy to game, which is why it was so infuriating that for decades we refused to play the game. Our budget problems don't help easy. UConn for example gets a lot of money from their state. Fairfield County is disengaged, all they care about is NYC. So the rest of the state robs them blind for things like UConn subsidies.
