Virginia vs. Maryland for Universities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I am the one that originally questioned the professor's veracity, I think the answer may be field specific. Perhaps he is an engineering professor. I have a PhD in economics from a very highly rated program, but don't work in academia.
Liberal arts schools, which W&M styles itself as, disproportionately send students to graduate school. W&M does so as well. As such, I would expect that most graduate students are well acquainted with top undergraduate programs, including liberal arts colleges. W&M is certainly viewed as a top undergraduate school, with the exception of the Ivy snobs.
This however, is not universally true for engineering schools, which are not a standard pathway from liberal arts schools.

Still, someone who alleges to work in academia should have a basic understanding of nationally ranked colleges, whether those colleges specialize in your field or not. I was an English major, attended a liberal arts college, but I still know that Carnegie Melon is a good school. The "not my field" argument only goes so far.

That's the point though. Everyone knows Carnegie Mellon is good school. Everyone knows Virginia Tech is a good school. Not a lot of people know that William and Mary is a good school or even a school at all. It's probably the most unrecognizable name on the top 100 US News universities outside of maybe Lehigh. Also, saying that "well narrowly focused professions like engineering and business may not have heard of it" just sounds really bad because you might as well say that W&M is not a school for people who want jobs when they graduate.

This is just stupid. There are people who've heard of W&M who aren't familiar with Carnegie Mellon, and vice versa. And the same could be said with respect to Rice, Washington University, University of Rochester, Case Western, and Northeastern (and I haven't even gotten to #50-100 yet).

You should really go back to fine tuning your syllabus rather than keep spouting such inanities here. You are digging a hole for yourself and it's only getting deeper.

Probably grading--May 5 is peak grading time and profs get a little cranky reading all the papers/exams. Better to vent on anonymous forum than in comments to students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I am the one that originally questioned the professor's veracity, I think the answer may be field specific. Perhaps he is an engineering professor. I have a PhD in economics from a very highly rated program, but don't work in academia.
Liberal arts schools, which W&M styles itself as, disproportionately send students to graduate school. W&M does so as well. As such, I would expect that most graduate students are well acquainted with top undergraduate programs, including liberal arts colleges. W&M is certainly viewed as a top undergraduate school, with the exception of the Ivy snobs.
This however, is not universally true for engineering schools, which are not a standard pathway from liberal arts schools.

Still, someone who alleges to work in academia should have a basic understanding of nationally ranked colleges, whether those colleges specialize in your field or not. I was an English major, attended a liberal arts college, but I still know that Carnegie Melon is a good school. The "not my field" argument only goes so far.

That's the point though. Everyone knows Carnegie Mellon is good school. Everyone knows Virginia Tech is a good school. Not a lot of people know that William and Mary is a good school or even a school at all. It's probably the most unrecognizable name on the top 100 US News universities outside of maybe Lehigh. Also, saying that "well narrowly focused professions like engineering and business may not have heard of it" just sounds really bad because you might as well say that W&M is not a school for people who want jobs when they graduate.

This is just stupid. There are people who've heard of W&M who aren't familiar with Carnegie Mellon, and vice versa. And the same could be said with respect to Rice, Washington University, University of Rochester, Case Western, and Northeastern (and I haven't even gotten to #50-100 yet).

You should really go back to fine tuning your syllabus rather than keep spouting such inanities here. You are digging a hole for yourself and it's only getting deeper.

These are troll posts on a troll thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA is probably the top school (16K undergrads), then I would put UMD (31K undergrads). Va Tech (28K undergrads) has a very good engineering program, but I don't think anything else stands out there. W&M only has about 6K undergrads, so combined with UVA, they are both smaller than UMD. As others have noted, Maryland is about 2/3 the size of Maryland.

I would say that if you want to make a run at getting into UVA with only a small downside if you don't get in, then go to Virginia. Otherwise, Maryland has a very good big state school, with excellent STEM programs, and which has more undergrad spots for a smaller population. I think this is closer than people are saying. I used to think Virginia ruled too.

Great summary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I am the one that originally questioned the professor's veracity, I think the answer may be field specific. Perhaps he is an engineering professor. I have a PhD in economics from a very highly rated program, but don't work in academia.
Liberal arts schools, which W&M styles itself as, disproportionately send students to graduate school. W&M does so as well. As such, I would expect that most graduate students are well acquainted with top undergraduate programs, including liberal arts colleges. W&M is certainly viewed as a top undergraduate school, with the exception of the Ivy snobs.
This however, is not universally true for engineering schools, which are not a standard pathway from liberal arts schools.

Still, someone who alleges to work in academia should have a basic understanding of nationally ranked colleges, whether those colleges specialize in your field or not. I was an English major, attended a liberal arts college, but I still know that Carnegie Melon is a good school. The "not my field" argument only goes so far.

That's the point though. Everyone knows Carnegie Mellon is good school. Everyone knows Virginia Tech is a good school. Not a lot of people know that William and Mary is a good school or even a school at all. It's probably the most unrecognizable name on the top 100 US News universities outside of maybe Lehigh. Also, saying that "well narrowly focused professions like engineering and business may not have heard of it" just sounds really bad because you might as well say that W&M is not a school for people who want jobs when they graduate.

I completely disagree. Someone who works in academia absolutely should recognize the name of a school that is perennially ranked as one of the best schools in the country. No ifs ands or buts about it.

I'm sure most PhDs missed the "please list all random universities on the US News list" question in their qualifying exams. They should really beef that section up to make sure our professors are adequately trained in the important elements of their field! "Sir, you are the foremost expert on modeling sound and vibration, but DO YOU KNOW OF W&M?! GOOD DAY SIR!"

COME ON! Random university? It's a top 15 public school in the country! Do you carry on through life in a semi-conscious state?

It's ranked #40.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/william-and-mary-3705

It's ranked 40th in the overall national rankings. It's #12 in top public school rankings. Even more reason for someone in academia to know it.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public

Haha Florida state is #18, so it’s slightly better than Florida State.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is probably the top school (16K undergrads), then I would put UMD (31K undergrads). Va Tech (28K undergrads) has a very good engineering program, but I don't think anything else stands out there. W&M only has about 6K undergrads, so combined with UVA, they are both smaller than UMD. As others have noted, Maryland is about 2/3 the size of Maryland.

I would say that if you want to make a run at getting into UVA with only a small downside if you don't get in, then go to Virginia. Otherwise, Maryland has a very good big state school, with excellent STEM programs, and which has more undergrad spots for a smaller population. I think this is closer than people are saying. I used to think Virginia ruled too.

Great summary.

Particularly the part where Maryland is 2/3 the size of Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I am the one that originally questioned the professor's veracity, I think the answer may be field specific. Perhaps he is an engineering professor. I have a PhD in economics from a very highly rated program, but don't work in academia.
Liberal arts schools, which W&M styles itself as, disproportionately send students to graduate school. W&M does so as well. As such, I would expect that most graduate students are well acquainted with top undergraduate programs, including liberal arts colleges. W&M is certainly viewed as a top undergraduate school, with the exception of the Ivy snobs.
This however, is not universally true for engineering schools, which are not a standard pathway from liberal arts schools.

Still, someone who alleges to work in academia should have a basic understanding of nationally ranked colleges, whether those colleges specialize in your field or not. I was an English major, attended a liberal arts college, but I still know that Carnegie Melon is a good school. The "not my field" argument only goes so far.

That's the point though. Everyone knows Carnegie Mellon is good school. Everyone knows Virginia Tech is a good school. Not a lot of people know that William and Mary is a good school or even a school at all. It's probably the most unrecognizable name on the top 100 US News universities outside of maybe Lehigh. Also, saying that "well narrowly focused professions like engineering and business may not have heard of it" just sounds really bad because you might as well say that W&M is not a school for people who want jobs when they graduate.

I completely disagree. Someone who works in academia absolutely should recognize the name of a school that is perennially ranked as one of the best schools in the country. No ifs ands or buts about it.

I'm sure most PhDs missed the "please list all random universities on the US News list" question in their qualifying exams. They should really beef that section up to make sure our professors are adequately trained in the important elements of their field! "Sir, you are the foremost expert on modeling sound and vibration, but DO YOU KNOW OF W&M?! GOOD DAY SIR!"

COME ON! Random university? It's a top 15 public school in the country! Do you carry on through life in a semi-conscious state?

It's ranked #40.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/william-and-mary-3705

It's ranked 40th in the overall national rankings. It's #12 in top public school rankings. Even more reason for someone in academia to know it.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public

Haha Florida state is #18, so it’s slightly better than Florida State.

24 spots or so ahead of UMD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I am the one that originally questioned the professor's veracity, I think the answer may be field specific. Perhaps he is an engineering professor. I have a PhD in economics from a very highly rated program, but don't work in academia.
Liberal arts schools, which W&M styles itself as, disproportionately send students to graduate school. W&M does so as well. As such, I would expect that most graduate students are well acquainted with top undergraduate programs, including liberal arts colleges. W&M is certainly viewed as a top undergraduate school, with the exception of the Ivy snobs.
This however, is not universally true for engineering schools, which are not a standard pathway from liberal arts schools.

Still, someone who alleges to work in academia should have a basic understanding of nationally ranked colleges, whether those colleges specialize in your field or not. I was an English major, attended a liberal arts college, but I still know that Carnegie Melon is a good school. The "not my field" argument only goes so far.

That's the point though. Everyone knows Carnegie Mellon is good school. Everyone knows Virginia Tech is a good school. Not a lot of people know that William and Mary is a good school or even a school at all. It's probably the most unrecognizable name on the top 100 US News universities outside of maybe Lehigh. Also, saying that "well narrowly focused professions like engineering and business may not have heard of it" just sounds really bad because you might as well say that W&M is not a school for people who want jobs when they graduate.

I completely disagree. Someone who works in academia absolutely should recognize the name of a school that is perennially ranked as one of the best schools in the country. No ifs ands or buts about it.

I'm sure most PhDs missed the "please list all random universities on the US News list" question in their qualifying exams. They should really beef that section up to make sure our professors are adequately trained in the important elements of their field! "Sir, you are the foremost expert on modeling sound and vibration, but DO YOU KNOW OF W&M?! GOOD DAY SIR!"

COME ON! Random university? It's a top 15 public school in the country! Do you carry on through life in a semi-conscious state?

It's ranked #40.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/william-and-mary-3705

It's ranked 40th in the overall national rankings. It's #12 in top public school rankings. Even more reason for someone in academia to know it.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public

Haha Florida state is #18, so it’s slightly better than Florida State.

Why are guys so wrapped up in rankings performed by a defunct magazine? Rankings that change methodology almost every year. Do you have trouble thinking for yourselves, or considering more than one datapoint at a time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I am the one that originally questioned the professor's veracity, I think the answer may be field specific. Perhaps he is an engineering professor. I have a PhD in economics from a very highly rated program, but don't work in academia.
Liberal arts schools, which W&M styles itself as, disproportionately send students to graduate school. W&M does so as well. As such, I would expect that most graduate students are well acquainted with top undergraduate programs, including liberal arts colleges. W&M is certainly viewed as a top undergraduate school, with the exception of the Ivy snobs.
This however, is not universally true for engineering schools, which are not a standard pathway from liberal arts schools.

Still, someone who alleges to work in academia should have a basic understanding of nationally ranked colleges, whether those colleges specialize in your field or not. I was an English major, attended a liberal arts college, but I still know that Carnegie Melon is a good school. The "not my field" argument only goes so far.

That's the point though. Everyone knows Carnegie Mellon is good school. Everyone knows Virginia Tech is a good school. Not a lot of people know that William and Mary is a good school or even a school at all. It's probably the most unrecognizable name on the top 100 US News universities outside of maybe Lehigh. Also, saying that "well narrowly focused professions like engineering and business may not have heard of it" just sounds really bad because you might as well say that W&M is not a school for people who want jobs when they graduate.

I completely disagree. Someone who works in academia absolutely should recognize the name of a school that is perennially ranked as one of the best schools in the country. No ifs ands or buts about it.

I'm sure most PhDs missed the "please list all random universities on the US News list" question in their qualifying exams. They should really beef that section up to make sure our professors are adequately trained in the important elements of their field! "Sir, you are the foremost expert on modeling sound and vibration, but DO YOU KNOW OF W&M?! GOOD DAY SIR!"

COME ON! Random university? It's a top 15 public school in the country! Do you carry on through life in a semi-conscious state?

It's ranked #40.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/william-and-mary-3705

It's ranked 40th in the overall national rankings. It's #12 in top public school rankings. Even more reason for someone in academia to know it.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public

Haha Florida state is #18, so it’s slightly better than Florida State.

24 spots or so ahead of UMD.

W&M only has a handful of grad programs and only 6k students and it gets dinged in new rankings because it has a relatively low number of Pell grant recipients. Florida State went up because it has a lot of Pell Grant recipients (bright futures program).

[Anonymous]

Only rankings like Forbes bring most of the schools together in the same list:

33 UVA
47 W&M
63 UMD
108 VT
136 JMU
177 GMU
204 Mary Washington
205 VMI
229 Saint Mary's
262 UMBC
267 Christopher Newport
320 Towson
345 VCU
365 Salisbury
523 ODU

Virginia has 7 of the top 8 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only rankings like Forbes bring most of the schools together in the same list:

33 UVA
47 W&M
63 UMD
108 VT
136 JMU
177 GMU
204 Mary Washington
205 VMI
229 Saint Mary's
262 UMBC
267 Christopher Newport
320 Towson
345 VCU
365 Salisbury
523 ODU

Virginia has 7 of the top 8 schools.

Keep posting one off ranking programs if it makes you feel better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only rankings like Forbes bring most of the schools together in the same list:

33 UVA
47 W&M
63 UMD
108 VT
136 JMU
177 GMU
204 Mary Washington
205 VMI
229 Saint Mary's
262 UMBC
267 Christopher Newport
320 Towson
345 VCU
365 Salisbury
523 ODU

Virginia has 7 of the top 8 schools.

Keep posting one off ranking programs if it makes you feel better.

It makes me feel like there is evidence that there is a a wider variety of strong choices in Virginia than there is in Maryland. That's how it makes me feel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is probably the top school (16K undergrads), then I would put UMD (31K undergrads). Va Tech (28K undergrads) has a very good engineering program, but I don't think anything else stands out there. W&M only has about 6K undergrads, so combined with UVA, they are both smaller than UMD. As others have noted, Maryland is about 2/3 the size of Maryland.

I would say that if you want to make a run at getting into UVA with only a small downside if you don't get in, then go to Virginia. Otherwise, Maryland has a very good big state school, with excellent STEM programs, and which has more undergrad spots for a smaller population. I think this is closer than people are saying. I used to think Virginia ruled too.

Great summary.

It's interesting to see the comparison of the size of UMD relative to UVA, W&M and Virginia Tech.

Otherwise, I think PP is in denial about the fact that Maryland would love to have as many strong public universities as Virginia. If you don't get into UMCP, what alternatives are there in Maryland besides St. Mary's that aren't either largely commuter schools or the equivalent of the lowest tier of the VA schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I am the one that originally questioned the professor's veracity, I think the answer may be field specific. Perhaps he is an engineering professor. I have a PhD in economics from a very highly rated program, but don't work in academia.
Liberal arts schools, which W&M styles itself as, disproportionately send students to graduate school. W&M does so as well. As such, I would expect that most graduate students are well acquainted with top undergraduate programs, including liberal arts colleges. W&M is certainly viewed as a top undergraduate school, with the exception of the Ivy snobs.
This however, is not universally true for engineering schools, which are not a standard pathway from liberal arts schools.

Still, someone who alleges to work in academia should have a basic understanding of nationally ranked colleges, whether those colleges specialize in your field or not. I was an English major, attended a liberal arts college, but I still know that Carnegie Melon is a good school. The "not my field" argument only goes so far.

That's the point though. Everyone knows Carnegie Mellon is good school. Everyone knows Virginia Tech is a good school. Not a lot of people know that William and Mary is a good school or even a school at all. It's probably the most unrecognizable name on the top 100 US News universities outside of maybe Lehigh. Also, saying that "well narrowly focused professions like engineering and business may not have heard of it" just sounds really bad because you might as well say that W&M is not a school for people who want jobs when they graduate.

I completely disagree. Someone who works in academia absolutely should recognize the name of a school that is perennially ranked as one of the best schools in the country. No ifs ands or buts about it.

I'm sure most PhDs missed the "please list all random universities on the US News list" question in their qualifying exams. They should really beef that section up to make sure our professors are adequately trained in the important elements of their field! "Sir, you are the foremost expert on modeling sound and vibration, but DO YOU KNOW OF W&M?! GOOD DAY SIR!"

COME ON! Random university? It's a top 15 public school in the country! Do you carry on through life in a semi-conscious state?

It's ranked #40.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/william-and-mary-3705

It's ranked 40th in the overall national rankings. It's #12 in top public school rankings. Even more reason for someone in academia to know it.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public

Haha Florida state is #18, so it’s slightly better than Florida State.

And UMD is *gasp* worse than both! Say it ain’t so!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is probably the top school (16K undergrads), then I would put UMD (31K undergrads). Va Tech (28K undergrads) has a very good engineering program, but I don't think anything else stands out there. W&M only has about 6K undergrads, so combined with UVA, they are both smaller than UMD. As others have noted, Maryland is about 2/3 the size of Maryland.

I would say that if you want to make a run at getting into UVA with only a small downside if you don't get in, then go to Virginia. Otherwise, Maryland has a very good big state school, with excellent STEM programs, and which has more undergrad spots for a smaller population. I think this is closer than people are saying. I used to think Virginia ruled too.

Great summary.

Particularly the part where Maryland is 2/3 the size of Maryland.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I am the one that originally questioned the professor's veracity, I think the answer may be field specific. Perhaps he is an engineering professor. I have a PhD in economics from a very highly rated program, but don't work in academia.
Liberal arts schools, which W&M styles itself as, disproportionately send students to graduate school. W&M does so as well. As such, I would expect that most graduate students are well acquainted with top undergraduate programs, including liberal arts colleges. W&M is certainly viewed as a top undergraduate school, with the exception of the Ivy snobs.
This however, is not universally true for engineering schools, which are not a standard pathway from liberal arts schools.

Still, someone who alleges to work in academia should have a basic understanding of nationally ranked colleges, whether those colleges specialize in your field or not. I was an English major, attended a liberal arts college, but I still know that Carnegie Melon is a good school. The "not my field" argument only goes so far.

But do you know whether WPI, Case Western, Colorado School of Mines are good schools? You might not even have heard of them.