How would you rank NESCACS academically?
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Anonymous
Absolutely. People paying attention only to "brands" and not the quality of undergraduate teaching are mystifying to me. |
Anonymous
This is funny to me because the two Ivy League research professors I'm close friends with (unrelated to each other) both sent their children to Northwestern and Duke, respectively. They were thrilled with those options, too. |
Anonymous
This is a poor observation. LACs have "brands" too. |
Anonymous
yes-saw on another thread someone said one kids at Ivy other at Hamilton. Hamilton kid had more opportunities overall experience. Friend told me same thing re bowdoin/HPY kids. These people are in a good position to compare. |
Anonymous
All these schools are super selective now, and they are all rejecting kids with exceptional academic profiles. I don’t think there is a quality difference among the kids entering these schools. The test score profiles for example don’t indicate any. But the kids at the LACs are probably getting a better education (ex engineering) but it’s debatable |
Anonymous
I wouldn't necessarily say students' academic "ability" is greater, but the academic benefits of a Duke or Northwestern are really at the grad school level more than the undergrad level. What you're getting by going undergrad to Duke or Northwestern is more social opportunities, DI athletics and school spirit, and a greater range of majors, classes, and professors (although that doesn't mean it's easier to get into those classes or to get the times/professors you want). The SLACs' clear focus is on teaching undergrads. For major research universities, grad students and research are the focus and undergrads are part of the business model of paying for that research focus. It's not wrong to go to one over the other, but there are tradeoffs to each academically/socially, which is why they typically aren't considered in the same categories by rankings. But if you put aside academic strength and focus on credentialing, then going to schools with the most name brand recognition, the most graduates with whom you can network, and, for certain career paths, the most practical training and industry ties, is going to be better, none of which is really about superior "academics." |
Anonymous
You know the THE/WSJ methodology favors universities, right? One of their component scores is the amount of accredited programs. Another is perceived prestige by professionals, which obviously favors famous schools. There are numerous other combined LAC/university rankings out there with varying methodologies, and LACs almost always punch their weight relative to top universities. It's also not always Amherst/Williams. Niche- Harvey Mudd, Pomona in the top 20 Money- Williams, Pomona, Bowdoin, Mudd in the top 20 Payscale- Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, Williams in the top 20 Forbes- Williams in the top 20 CollegeFactual- Claremont McKenna, Bowdoin in the top 20 CollegeVine- Williams, Pomona, Bowdoin in the top 20 Wallethub- Swarthmore, Mudd, CMC in top 20 (though several top LACs were not ranked at all for whatever reason, including W/P/B. Every top university seems to be ranked, though) CollegeConsensus (basically an aggregate)- Williams, Pomona, Amherst in top 20 AcademicInfluence- Swarthmore in top 20, Amherst 21 CollegeRaptor- Pomona in top 20, Amherst 21 Intelligent- Amherst in top 20 I'm not going to try to argue which one is the most legitimate in its evaluation. You can look up the methodology for an individual website if you're curious. The point is, when said schools are ranked for anything you can compare an undergraduate experience against (class sizes, grad rates, endowment per capita, fellowship and grad school performance, etc), numerous LACs rival top universities. |
Anonymous
The "Safety School of the South" is still in the powerhouse academic ACC, right  ?
And the 2nd best school in metro Chicago is a B1G disappointment too or do we also include South Bend, which would arguably make it a 3rd option for many in that area. At least their great journalism grads can write eloquently about their miserable winters as undergrads. |
Anonymous
Some of us want superior academics and undergraduate teaching, especially if we know there is a very high likelihood our kids will go on to grad school. |
Anonymous
+1 I know a parent who sent one child to an Ivy and another to a top 5 LAC. Said the LAC provided far more opportunities for research, engagement, club funding, student activities, etc and professors were noticeably more engaged and eager to mentor students. Peers were also not independent striver/pusher types like in the ivy; collaborative/good vibes dominated. Top LACs offer superlative undergrad experiences which can't easily be quantified. |
Anonymous
As the person who wrote the quoted post, I agree. I was merely pointing out why someone might choose one over the other for undergrad. From my perspective, if you think it's likely your kid is going to go to grad school or professional school (which is a much higher percentage of kids nowadays than it used to be), a SLAC for undergrad and a bigger research university for grad school/professional school can be an ideal combination. |
Anonymous
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Why do so many highly educated and affluent people care so much what 3rd rate magazines and random websites say about how colleges stack up?
Justifying statements about schools with more random rankings is just not helpful either. No one believes Chicago is a top 4-6 school or that Princeton and Williams are simply "the best." With universities, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, and MIT are the truly most sought after schools. MIT's focus is a bit narrow for my liking as an overall university, but I can't deny it is right there at the top. Duke and Northwestern (and others) are not quite there. In the SLAC world, Amherst, Swarthmore, and Williams are the top schools. Pomona and Wellesley will occasionally get ranked there but they are kind of the very strong Duke and Chicago/NW of the SLAC world. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Duke !
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Anonymous
In what universe would Notre Dame be considered above Northwestern, LOL. And by your logic, I guess that makes MIT a second rate school, since it's only the "2nd best school" in metro Boston? |