10 best colleges in VA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not reading all of this. I don’t think many understand how schools are ranked. It’s peer review. So no peer is going to be like UVA sucks. UVA is already top.

It’s research driven. What research came out of this university? Schools are constantly trying to figure out how to up the ranks. But what you don’t get is that it’s driven by the PHDs and research. That is what drives the rankings. And your undergraduate kid won’t even see it. Perhaps they’ll be lost in some mega class of 200 so you can brag, Larla went to xyz. Larla may actually get a better education from a lesser school.

VA has lots of great school options.

True. But “UVA is top” is an entirely subjective opinion on your part. Many of us don’t agree.

I don’t know how you collated tge “many” but USNWR disagrees with you and “the many”

I certainly don't agree with USNWR.

No one cares about your sole opinion

Someone hit a nerve! Lots of people disregard USNWR "rankings." They're ultimately pretty silly.
DP

but to argue that UVA is not the top university in VA is a pretty lone opinion...you'd be the outsider in 99% of the conversations in VA if that is your position. You know that i'm sure, because you are.

Top for what?

Overall top

If you look across graduate programs, research, and undergraduate, it is true that UVA is overall top. (One caveat is that UVA's research is heavily related to medicine. Virginia Tech does more research outside of medicine in fields like engineering). But you only attend one part of a university at a time.

I'd say UVA is tops in graduate programs in law, business (MBA), and medicine. Law and graduate business are kind of the crown jewels and create a bit of a halo effect. Many of UVA's most prominent alumni are actually graduates of the law school in particular. At the undergraduate level, UVA is tops in business (BBA) and probably biomedical engineering. Most other areas are debatable, though. W&L and W&M are excellent schools for liberal arts and sciences and may be a better choice depending on what you want at the undergraduate level. (W&L has an endowment of $1.6B+ for an enrollment of 2,000, and the vast majority is for the undergraduate program. Philanthropy and endowment cover half of its budget. This is far above the private support Virginia public schools have for undergraduates.) Virginia Tech is stronger across the breadth of engineering and technology. VCU is far better in arts. If you are admitted to VCU's direct admit program for medical school, that is a real accomplishment. Other schools have strengths and programs in areas UVA doesn't cover or cover well like game design at GMU.

+1
We are very lucky that VA has so many excellent schools. I would also argue that liberal arts at VT are excellent too - it’s not just an engineering school. My kids were able to find exactly the major they wanted at VT, and not at any other VA school (National Security and Foreign Affairs).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not reading all of this. I don’t think many understand how schools are ranked. It’s peer review. So no peer is going to be like UVA sucks. UVA is already top.

It’s research driven. What research came out of this university? Schools are constantly trying to figure out how to up the ranks. But what you don’t get is that it’s driven by the PHDs and research. That is what drives the rankings. And your undergraduate kid won’t even see it. Perhaps they’ll be lost in some mega class of 200 so you can brag, Larla went to xyz. Larla may actually get a better education from a lesser school.

VA has lots of great school options.

True. But “UVA is top” is an entirely subjective opinion on your part. Many of us don’t agree.

I don’t know how you collated tge “many” but USNWR disagrees with you and “the many”

I certainly don't agree with USNWR.

No one cares about your sole opinion

Someone hit a nerve! Lots of people disregard USNWR "rankings." They're ultimately pretty silly.
DP

but to argue that UVA is not the top university in VA is a pretty lone opinion...you'd be the outsider in 99% of the conversations in VA if that is your position. You know that i'm sure, because you are.

Top for what?

Overall top

If you look across graduate programs, research, and undergraduate, it is true that UVA is overall top. (One caveat is that UVA's research is heavily related to medicine. Virginia Tech does more research outside of medicine in fields like engineering). But you only attend one part of a university at a time.

I'd say UVA is tops in graduate programs in law, business (MBA), and medicine. Law and graduate business are kind of the crown jewels and create a bit of a halo effect. Many of UVA's most prominent alumni are actually graduates of the law school in particular. At the undergraduate level, UVA is tops in business (BBA) and probably biomedical engineering. Most other areas are debatable, though. W&L and W&M are excellent schools for liberal arts and sciences and may be a better choice depending on what you want at the undergraduate level. (W&L has an endowment of $1.6B+ for an enrollment of 2,000, and the vast majority is for the undergraduate program. Philanthropy and endowment cover half of its budget. This is far above the private support Virginia public schools have for undergraduates.) Virginia Tech is stronger across the breadth of engineering and technology. VCU is far better in arts. If you are admitted to VCU's direct admit program for medical school, that is a real accomplishment. Other schools have strengths and programs in areas UVA doesn't cover or cover well like game design at GMU.

+1
We are very lucky that VA has so many excellent schools. I would also argue that liberal arts at VT are excellent too - it’s not just an engineering school. My kids were able to find exactly the major they wanted at VT, and not at any other VA school (National Security and Foreign Affairs).

We're looking at VT for that same major. The Intelligence Analysis major at JMU seems somewhat similar, but is a bit broader to include private business intelligence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not reading all of this. I don’t think many understand how schools are ranked. It’s peer review. So no peer is going to be like UVA sucks. UVA is already top.

It’s research driven. What research came out of this university? Schools are constantly trying to figure out how to up the ranks. But what you don’t get is that it’s driven by the PHDs and research. That is what drives the rankings. And your undergraduate kid won’t even see it. Perhaps they’ll be lost in some mega class of 200 so you can brag, Larla went to xyz. Larla may actually get a better education from a lesser school.

VA has lots of great school options.

True. But “UVA is top” is an entirely subjective opinion on your part. Many of us don’t agree.

I don’t know how you collated tge “many” but USNWR disagrees with you and “the many”

I certainly don't agree with USNWR.

No one cares about your sole opinion

Someone hit a nerve! Lots of people disregard USNWR "rankings." They're ultimately pretty silly.
DP

but to argue that UVA is not the top university in VA is a pretty lone opinion...you'd be the outsider in 99% of the conversations in VA if that is your position. You know that i'm sure, because you are.

Top for what?

Overall top

If you look across graduate programs, research, and undergraduate, it is true that UVA is overall top. (One caveat is that UVA's research is heavily related to medicine. Virginia Tech does more research outside of medicine in fields like engineering). But you only attend one part of a university at a time.

I'd say UVA is tops in graduate programs in law, business (MBA), and medicine. Law and graduate business are kind of the crown jewels and create a bit of a halo effect. Many of UVA's most prominent alumni are actually graduates of the law school in particular. At the undergraduate level, UVA is tops in business (BBA) and probably biomedical engineering. Most other areas are debatable, though. W&L and W&M are excellent schools for liberal arts and sciences and may be a better choice depending on what you want at the undergraduate level. (W&L has an endowment of $1.6B+ for an enrollment of 2,000, and the vast majority is for the undergraduate program. Philanthropy and endowment cover half of its budget. This is far above the private support Virginia public schools have for undergraduates.) Virginia Tech is stronger across the breadth of engineering and technology. VCU is far better in arts. If you are admitted to VCU's direct admit program for medical school, that is a real accomplishment. Other schools have strengths and programs in areas UVA doesn't cover or cover well like game design at GMU.

+1
We are very lucky that VA has so many excellent schools. I would also argue that liberal arts at VT are excellent too - it’s not just an engineering school. My kids were able to find exactly the major they wanted at VT, and not at any other VA school (National Security and Foreign Affairs).

We're looking at VT for that same major. The Intelligence Analysis major at JMU seems somewhat similar, but is a bit broader to include private business intelligence.

PP here - yes! I have another child who went to JMU for that major.