2017 Forbes rankings are out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone actually know the metrics?

35% Post Grad Success
--15% America's Leaders List
--20% Salary Data
---->85% from PayScale
---->15% from the Department of Education

20% Debt
--10% Average Debt Load per Student
--10% Loan Default Rate

20% Student Experience
--15% Student Retention
--5% Niche Survey Grade on Experience and Professors

12.5% Graduation Rate
--7.5% Four Year Graduation Rate
--2.5% Six Year Graduation Rate
--2.5% Adjusted Socioeconomic Graduation Rate

12.5% Outcomes
--6.25% PhD Production
--6.25% Undergraduate Fellowship Production (Fulbright, Rhodes, Goldwater, Marshall, etc)

[Anonymous]

I like looking at these rankings, but how can we be sure of any methodology when I immediately spot a mistake in admittance rate to UMDCP? Yet again, it says "percent admitted 45%" and you can easily see on UMD website that they have:
"For the Fall 2017 freshmen class, we received nearly 33,000 applications for a class of 4,075. For students admitted for the Fall 2017 semester, the middle 50% of SAT scores ranged from 1330 to 1440, and 30-33 on the ACT. Admitted freshmen also earned an average weighted GPA of 4.30."

How is that 45%? Even with transfer students added?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like looking at these rankings, but how can we be sure of any methodology when I immediately spot a mistake in admittance rate to UMDCP? Yet again, it says "percent admitted 45%" and you can easily see on UMD website that they have:
"For the Fall 2017 freshmen class, we received nearly 33,000 applications for a class of 4,075. For students admitted for the Fall 2017 semester, the middle 50% of SAT scores ranged from 1330 to 1440, and 30-33 on the ACT. Admitted freshmen also earned an average weighted GPA of 4.30."

How is that 45%? Even with transfer students added?

https://www.google.com/search?q=umd+acceptance+rate

[Anonymous]

UMD doesn't have a 12% admit rate. They have to take in a lot more people than the spots in their class given a low yield. All colleges play the "looking more selective than they actually are" game by reporting the number of apps/seat, when they actually admit more (some, like UMD, a ton more) due to lacking a 100% yield. Note all those statistics are relevant to admitted students. UMD's enrolled group is far weaker.

[Anonymous]

^^ whoever U.Md is admitting, they are doing a good job because U.Md is producing more national championships, Nobel, Emmy , Fields Medal, Academy Award, Pulitzer and Economic/Cultural icons than all the Va schools put together.

[Anonymous]

Forbes is the new Niche.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ whoever U.Md is admitting, they are doing a good job because U.Md is producing more national championships, Nobel, Emmy , Fields Medal, Academy Award, Pulitzer and Economic/Cultural icons than all the Va schools put together.

Ahh...Glory days, well, they'll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ whoever U.Md is admitting, they are doing a good job because U.Md is producing more national championships, Nobel, Emmy , Fields Medal, Academy Award, Pulitzer and Economic/Cultural icons than all the Va schools put together.

Facts:

UVA much more selective than UMD. UVA higher SATs than UMD.

UMD
https://www.princetonreview.com/schools/1022953/college/university-maryland--college-park

UVA
https://www.princetonreview.com/schools/1022826/college/university-virginia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ whoever U.Md is admitting, they are doing a good job because U.Md is producing more national championships, Nobel, Emmy , Fields Medal, Academy Award, Pulitzer and Economic/Cultural icons than all the Va schools put together.

You need to think about why so much of your self-identity and probably self-worth is tied to UMD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to sound cynical, but some of these rankings are just about selling magazines. You won't sell more magazines if the rankings stay exactly the same every year.

I don't think you sound cynical at all. You sound intelligent and aware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like looking at these rankings, but how can we be sure of any methodology when I immediately spot a mistake in admittance rate to UMDCP? Yet again, it says "percent admitted 45%" and you can easily see on UMD website that they have:
"For the Fall 2017 freshmen class, we received nearly 33,000 applications for a class of 4,075. For students admitted for the Fall 2017 semester, the middle 50% of SAT scores ranged from 1330 to 1440, and 30-33 on the ACT. Admitted freshmen also earned an average weighted GPA of 4.30."

How is that 45%? Even with transfer students added?

They have to accept a lot more students to get 4000 to enroll. They have a 30% yield rate.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the top 10, but would switch out Brown for Columbia, and Pomona with Williams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The above is correct.

"The proportion of the rankings dedicated to salary double in 2017 as compared to 2016."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cartercoudriet/2017/08/02/top-colleges-2017-the-methodology/#441fb12ce44a

That's why LACs did so much worse in this ranking.

Salary data is useful, but the two sources used are deeply flawed. Payscale data is self-reported, with most colleges reporting under 100 responses. The government's database is only based on students who received federal loans, which could be under 15% of the student body for a lot of these elite schools. Furthermore, a lot of LAC grads go to graduate school where they don't earn much at all those years, but they go on to earn higher salaries later on. Salary data is linked far more to major than college, so it really favors schools with high STEM % over anything else.

A good thing is they took out RateMyProfessors. But they stepped backward and started including Niche data, another subjective and questionable data source.

Starting salary is one reason Santa Clara University did well on the list. It is usually tucked in the back of USNWR as a regional university because about 50% of the class is from West Coast. But because it is in Silicon Valley it is rated in the top 15 for starting salary in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with the top 10, but would switch out Brown for Columbia, and Pomona with Williams.

Well thank goodness Forbes has your approval.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with the top 10, but would switch out Brown for Columbia, and Pomona with Williams.

Well thank goodness Forbes has your approval.

^^^ go and get a LIFE!