Most over-ranked/under-ranked LACS on USNWR?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reed is very under-rated. Vassar is also under-rated.

Williams is overrated.

+1 very overrated. It seems like a good fit for a very depressingly dull student who doesn’t want a fun time in college or is too into books to go anywhere but his room or the library.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The easy answer is Reed is very under ranked. I’m surprised us news is still internationally keeping them at a low rank. If you want to be an academic, it’s one of your best bets.

Reed is the literal answer.

So Reed College is over-ranked in USNWR ?

Don’t know if your question is good faith or some kind of snappy zinger but Reed is quite literally under-ranked. The year Reed announced (quite publicly) they would no longer participate in the flawed ordinal ranking system, they went from being in the top 10 to being ranked in the 60s. Reed is and has always been an exceptionally rigorous education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The easy answer is Reed is very under ranked. I’m surprised us news is still internationally keeping them at a low rank. If you want to be an academic, it’s one of your best bets.

Reed is the literal answer.

So Reed College is over-ranked in USNWR ?

Don’t know if your question is good faith or some kind of snappy zinger but Reed is quite literally under-ranked. The year Reed announced (quite publicly) they would no longer participate in the flawed ordinal ranking system, they went from being in the top 10 to being ranked in the 60s. Reed is and has always been an exceptionally rigorous education.

They likely wouldn’t be in the top 10 these days, it’s riding on its old reputation. Their yield and graduation rate is trash, their quality profs are retiring emeritus and the new replacements are pretty poor quality in comparison, and they have a lot of academic department issues (their cs department almost had no professors because of how awful the teaching and advising load is). They’re basically holding it all together with a shoe string.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The easy answer is Reed is very under ranked. I’m surprised us news is still internationally keeping them at a low rank. If you want to be an academic, it’s one of your best bets.

Reed is the literal answer.

So Reed College is over-ranked in USNWR ?

Don’t know if your question is good faith or some kind of snappy zinger but Reed is quite literally under-ranked. The year Reed announced (quite publicly) they would no longer participate in the flawed ordinal ranking system, they went from being in the top 10 to being ranked in the 60s. Reed is and has always been an exceptionally rigorous education.

They likely wouldn’t be in the top 10 these days, it’s riding on its old reputation. Their yield and graduation rate is trash, their quality profs are retiring emeritus and the new replacements are pretty poor quality in comparison, and they have a lot of academic department issues (their cs department almost had no professors because of how awful the teaching and advising load is). They’re basically holding it all together with a shoe string.

So it was a snappy zinger then? Eh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reed is very under-rated. Vassar is also under-rated.

Williams is overrated.

+1 very overrated. It seems like a good fit for a very depressingly dull student who doesn’t want a fun time in college or is too into books to go anywhere but his room or the library.

You obviously know no Williams students/alums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The easy answer is Reed is very under ranked. I’m surprised us news is still internationally keeping them at a low rank. If you want to be an academic, it’s one of your best bets.

Reed is the literal answer.

So Reed College is over-ranked in USNWR ?

Don’t know if your question is good faith or some kind of snappy zinger but Reed is quite literally under-ranked. The year Reed announced (quite publicly) they would no longer participate in the flawed ordinal ranking system, they went from being in the top 10 to being ranked in the 60s. Reed is and has always been an exceptionally rigorous education.

They likely wouldn’t be in the top 10 these days, it’s riding on its old reputation. Their yield and graduation rate is trash, their quality profs are retiring emeritus and the new replacements are pretty poor quality in comparison, and they have a lot of academic department issues (their cs department almost had no professors because of how awful the teaching and advising load is). They’re basically holding it all together with a shoe string.

So it was a snappy zinger then? Eh.

I’m a different poster smart Alec. I also attended a west coast lac so there’s no “beef” these are just realities of Reed. It’s been struggling a bit recently. I personally know the president, because she was the Dean at my Alma mater. I know it might be crazy, but sometimes people have more experience than you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reed is very under-rated. Vassar is also under-rated.

Williams is overrated.

+1 very overrated. It seems like a good fit for a very depressingly dull student who doesn’t want a fun time in college or is too into books to go anywhere but his room or the library.

You obviously know no Williams students/alums.

Who wants to be friends with people with dull personalities? Go ephs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only on USNews is Princeton the number 1 university. It’s all BS factors created to surprise people. Williams isn’t even the most sought after lac, but we’re expected to just agree that it’s #1 and has been for decades?

Which is the most sought after LAC if not Williams?

Pomona by yield and acceptance rate for a while. It’s not even the most applied to LAC.

Pomona also leads in cross-admits and receives the most ED applications of any LAC by a sizeable margin, both of which are reflective of its relative desirability among LACs. That said, I don't think any WASP school stands out above the others as a general matter. While they are much more similar than different, each school offers students something special. And, for that matter, so do most other top LACs like Bowdoin, Carleton, CMC, Wellesley, and Mudd.

+1

+2 These schools are all so strong, and the academic differences so small, that ranking them is almost silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I prefer A/S/P over Williams but objectively, there's no denying Williams is superior. In fact, Williams consistently wins cross admit battles against Amherst and hit a much higher yield recently (59% vs Amherst and Swat's 40-45%).

Williams has a smaller student to faculty ratio, smaller classes (nearly 80% under 20 vs 65-75% at the others), better maintained facilities (Swat might be prettier but the buildings themselves aren't in the best physical shape), winter study and tutorials for truly distinctive academic experiences, the top d3 athletic program, stronger students by academic standards, and better outcomes based on most outcome oriented rankings. You also get access to the most comprehensive network of Oxford/Cambridge fellowships and study away of any school in the country.

It's a really good school. If it were in a suburban area or had the consortium access the others do, it'd crush the competition.

It's best to be careful when arguing for prestige from published yield numbers for SLACs (or any selective university with ED, for that matter). Yield numbers include those accepted through ED, for whom the yield is typically above 95%. Many selective colleges and universities recruit more than half their classes through ED, boosting their yield numbers. Schools like Chicago and Tulane are infamous for this practice. However, when one looks at yield in regular decision, where there is actual customer choice involved (and hard choices are made regarding cost/benefit), the numbers tell a different story. Here's a list of elite SLACs, with their RD yields (all these numbers are from published institutional data for class of 2026):

Wesleyan 0.19
Middlebury 0.21
Williams 0.21
Swarthmore 0.26
Haverford 0.28
Carleton 0.28
CMC 0.28
Amherst 0.29
Pomona 0.29

Bowdoin 0.41

For comparison, here are RD yields for some highly selective universities with ED:
Duke 0.44
Northwestern 0.44
Brown 0.49
Cornell 0.50
Columbia 0.50
Dartmouth 0.52
UPenn 0.58

Yieldwise, the SLACs (with the exception of Bowdoin) aren't even in the same league as the selective universities. Make of this what you will.

+10000 BIG if true! Likely going to have to change the USNews rankings, because this has to be reported. Bowdoin tier 1 lac?

[Anonymous]

IMHO they are all basically the same academically, so choose the one your kid likes best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IMHO they are all basically the same academically, so choose the one your kid likes best.

How could that be possible?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IMHO they are all basically the same academically, so choose the one your kid likes best.

+1 it’s all angels dancing on the head of a pin at this level

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMHO they are all basically the same academically, so choose the one your kid likes best.

+1 it’s all angels dancing on the head of a pin at this level

So Kenyon is the same level as Pomona? Yeah…right

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only on USNews is Princeton the number 1 university. It’s all BS factors created to surprise people. Williams isn’t even the most sought after lac, but we’re expected to just agree that it’s #1 and has been for decades?

Which is the most sought after LAC if not Williams?

Pomona by yield and acceptance rate for a while. It’s not even the most applied to LAC.

Pomona also leads in cross-admits and receives the most ED applications of any LAC by a sizeable margin, both of which are reflective of its relative desirability among LACs. That said, I don't think any WASP school stands out above the others as a general matter. While they are much more similar than different, each school offers students something special. And, for that matter, so do most other top LACs like Bowdoin, Carleton, CMC, Wellesley, and Mudd.

More a function of it being one of the only SLACs in the state and the region (other than perhaps CMC)? California has a lot of people, and Pomona is one of the only options when it comes to attending a prestigious LAC. The northeast is saturated with lots of competition. Pomona has a monopoly on the California market (and perhaps entire southwest market), including lots of high stats Asian kids who want to stay close to home.

More a function than what exactly? I don't understand your argument or what it's supposed to mean in connection to Pomona. And I especially don't understand the reference to Asians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMHO they are all basically the same academically, so choose the one your kid likes best.

+1 it’s all angels dancing on the head of a pin at this level

So Kenyon is the same level as Pomona? Yeah…right

Maybe not but Kenyon got really dinged in the new rankings because of diversity related metrics. Deserves a higher placement.