How We Calculate the Rankings
Reader Comments
Acceptance rate
Your acceptance rate data is way off and I dont think it is a good measure. Many schools that show a low acceptance rate will accept any one who can "fog a mirror with their breath". A better measure might be how many high ability students are you able to attract---this is not self reported and can come straight from the National Merit Corp.
Continuation
See below....
...was phenomenal. My personal mojo skyrocketed and has never come down. I didn't care that UCLA had no accounting program. It was my dream school, and something happens to a kid who attends his dream school. That something is called confidence and pride. And to be honest, that's what propelled me on to one of the nation's great law schools.
So, to recap, if you want material success, choose a school local to where you intend to live that offers the area of study that peaks your interest (unless you are Harvard and Stanford material). However, if you can secure an admission to one of the nation's top schools and it is among your dream schools, go live your dream. Go attend that school no matter what (e.g., Michigan). There is nothing like walking into a bar where your alma mater's football team is playing, and everyone knows you attended that school, it was prestigious, and most people growing up in the region wanted so badly to attend that school with you....
;)
Good luck, young bucks with your choice. College is the time of your life. Barely a day passes where I wouldn't surrender my law degree and go right back to being 19, young, handsome, carefree, and away at school on my own for the first time. The moments you will have and share with your friends will be truly priceless--and you will carry them for the whole of your life.....
Schoos
I graduated with 2 BA's from UCLA and a third BA from the University of Texas at Austin. I also graduated from one of the top-10 law schools in the country at Northwestern University School of Law. What I can offer about rankings is simply this--it's always comforting in social or professional circles to convey where you've studied when that university is considered among the nation's prestigious schools. Many are familiar with national rankings, and recognize that attendance at these prestigious schools usually requires diligence, some form of relatively higher intelligence, and substantial academic success.
However, some of the earlier comments about choosing a school "that is right for you" is exactly on point. At the end of the day, unless you attend Harvard or Stanford, or to a lesser degree Yale, Penn, or Princeton, most firms and people are unaware of any of the prestigious schools outside of their region (e.g., in Houston, Texas, firms will have little idea of the exclusivity of Emory, Vanderbilt, UC Berkeley, Duke or Michigan--to name a few). That means, you will generally have maximum opportunities if you attend a respected school in the region in which you expect to live (UCLA is great for Los Angeles).
Now, keep in mind--there are different interests in choosing schools. If your interest is material success and opportunities, prestige of school is secondary after area of study. For example, studying accounting at a less prestigious school will provide greater opportunities in accounting versus studying economics at a top-25 university. I know this first-hand as this was my experience after graduation from UCLA. Additionally, if you add a strong grade-point-average, you will have even more opportunities. In fact, I would rate material opportunities in this order:
1. Harvard/Staford (perhaps other Ivies)
2. Engineering/Business/Accounting with high grades & top
local university
3. Engineering/Business/Accounting with high grades and non
top local university
4. Engineering/Business/Accounting with average grades and
top local university
5. Engineering/Business/Accounting with average grades and
non top local university
6. Top school in the region (e.g., Rice in Houston) majoring
in an area different than the profession (BA in History,
applying for an accounting job)
Remember, there are other interests aside from material and professional opportunities. There is also pride and love in the school you've attended. A person might attend Ohio State, and it may not be as prestigious as Michigan or Penn--but, for those growing up in Ohio, attendance at Ohio State is the dream of many. As a kid growing up in California and Texas, it was a boyhood dream to attend both of those universities. And I did. The direct material success I secured from studying three different areas of liberal arts was probably minimal. But, the indirect and non-material utility I acquired from attending my dream schools
Fit
I guess the rankings mean something to someone, but the bottom line is, it doesn't matter how great a school is if it isn't the right fit for you when you're ready to go to college. The campus visits (scheduled and unscheduled) are the absolute best way to find the "best" college/university for you. And don't discount any school based on the cost. Try for every scholarship, endowment, financial aid, work study, etc. that you can, if it means getting into the school that feels right for you.
To Rachael of HI
Honey, you can't even construct cohesive, well thought-out sentences. And you wanted to prove that you're smart or somethin'??? Please fix your thinking and writing skills first before you go on this board, thank you.
And by the way, I AM a prospective HPU student. I like their Masters programs a lot, but I'm nervous about their seemingly low ranking on this site. Could somebody shed light on HPU's low ranking, please? (And for now, let's ignore that they accepted Rachael.) Thank you!
To Rachel of Hawaii
Yeah, you're (or should I say ur?) right, Yale sucks...Come on really? Yale is one of the most prestigious schools in the world. And I have a tough time believing you got in, nobody chooses HPU over Yale, I think you applied, got rejected, and are bitter about it.
to tom of boston mass
hey u are wrong that only the best and brighteststudents go to yale ...i got in and im not that bright ....i have to study so hard to make my grades honest im no smarty pants i have to give everything up just to compete so people who work hard can get in their to ok also it helps when ur family contributes money or if u are a celebrity we all know this as Americans ...if ur from the right family or u have connections to hollywood u can do anything even if u dont deserve it....the college is actualy a name say .....i know schools that have much better proffs then Yale ok i have studied all over the world, Paris, Italy, Spain etc. i could go on ..but thats not my point , my point is that Yale is a joke
Hawaii Pacific University- grad student
hey your rankoinigs on hawaii pacific university are wrong...u claime that they are less selective but that is not the case they only except 30 students a yearfor some degree programs thats how they keep the number student to teacher ratio so small, i had been enrolled in Dartmouth as well as Am but decided to choose Hawaii Pacific University becuase i know i would not just be a number and i know that the teachers here have to prove themsleves as the best of the best since HPU does not give ten year contracts like other schools.....if the teachers get bad rankings they will not be hired for the following term also the instructors actualy work in fields that they teach .....so u musty think again if u think that the school is less selective u are wrong...also to be on the deans list one must have nothing less then a 3.8 where at other schools i only had to have a 3.0 so this goes to show u that although we are located in HI we are not a party school they do tend to weed out people who do not belong here.
It's Michigan
With the cost of college tuition soaring, the goal is to get a solid return on your investment. It's Michigan. Upon graduating in 1984 - in another harsh economic client, I had multiple job offers as a liberal arts major. Since graduating from Michigan, I have yet to have to "look" for a job.
The experiences gained at Michigan prepare you to compete globally and successfully interact in a diverse business climate.
Go Blue!
Number of Applicants
The fact that percentage of applicants admitted accounts for any percentage of these rankings is a joke. Take the University of Texas for example. five years ago they admitted about 60-65% of applicants, then they won a national title in football, and the number of applicants who wanted to go simply because the football team skyrocketed, the next year they admitted about 50% of their applicants, simply because so many more people applied. Their average incoming GPA and SAT numbers didn't change, just the number of applicants. consequently, their USNWR ranking has risen by 5 or six spots since then because the percent admitted has remained around 50% (while football team continues to win 10 games each season). The academic programs haven't changed notably, the quality of incoming students hasn't either, so why a better ranking? Because of the football team (and the nightlife of Austin probably contributes quite a bit too)
In short, prospective high school students often choose to apply to school based on completely non-academic factors, such as the football team, the nightlife, weather, or proximity to desirable environments such as a beach or party/vacation destination to name a few. How is it that any respectable ranking can use percent of students admitted to help determine quality of academics? You tell me.
