Why is Rose-Hulman Ranked #1 w/ 75% acceptance but Virginia Tech is Harder to Get Into?

[Anonymous]

We visited Rose-Hulman and Colorado School of Mines last year. I loved Mines and Golden is absolutely beautiful. But my son was all about Rose-Hulman. It's a very quirky school, but my kid felt at home there. My husband is an engineer, and the school is well known to him and his colleagues in the Midwest. It's definitely not for everyone, but it's a special little school for a certain kind of kid who is obsessed with math, science, and engineering and wants to attend a smaller school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:#1 according to whom?

Look at acceptance rates for the desirability of the product.

Ask yourself, "WHo matters more? Those applying to the schools trying to get in? Or a magazine?"

Or maybe, and I know this is crazy, you should focus on what employers think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VT attracts a much wider range of students . RH is kind of niche and naturally has a more limited applicant pool.

This. Niche colleges, whether it's RH for engineering or St. John's for a "classical education," have a student body of people who have very particular interests and goals. FYI, the acceptance rate at St. John's in MD is about 50 percent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:#1 according to whom?

Look at acceptance rates for the desirability of the product.

Ask yourself, "WHo matters more? Those applying to the schools trying to get in? Or a magazine?"

Or maybe, and I know this is crazy, you should focus on what employers think.

Last I checked, emploeyers certainly valued a Virginia Tech engineering degree the same as a UVA one, much less Rose-Hulman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:#1 according to whom?

Look at acceptance rates for the desirability of the product.

Ask yourself, "WHo matters more? Those applying to the schools trying to get in? Or a magazine?"

Or maybe, and I know this is crazy, you should focus on what employers think.

Last I checked, emploeyers certainly valued a Virginia Tech engineering degree the same as a UVA one, much less Rose-Hulman.

But USNWR didn't rank Rose-Hulman against VT. It ranked VT against other research universities and Rose-Hulman against other small colleges that offered engineering but no graduate degrees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been looking into Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, which has a 75% acceptance rate and is ranked #1 for undergraduate engineering programs. I’m confused why Virginia Tech, which has a much lower acceptance rate, isn’t ranked as high. What is Rose-Hulman doing differently? Shouldn’t Virginia Tech, being a state school, be more accessible to Virginia residents who want to study engineering or computers?

It seems crazy that Virginia Tech is so competitive while Rose-Hulman is more open, especially considering their top ranking. I’ve heard Rose-Hulman also offers excellent financial aid, which can bring costs down to in-state tuition levels. It might be worth looking into for my kid instead of Tech.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rosehulman-institute-of-technology-1830/overall-rankings

Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Should Virginia Tech reconsider their admissions process to better serve Virginia residents interested in STEM fields?

Terre Haute, IN is a real tough sell. Plus it's only number one for schools that do not award doctorates. Research matters.

For engineering? No not really at all

I’m sorry are you saying research in engineering doesn’t matter? I’m gobsmacked by your assertion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:#1 according to whom?

Look at acceptance rates for the desirability of the product.

Ask yourself, "WHo matters more? Those applying to the schools trying to get in? Or a magazine?"

Or maybe, and I know this is crazy, you should focus on what employers think.

Outcomes for engineering is not much different, and it's accounted for in choosing a school together with all the other factors.

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been looking into Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, which has a 75% acceptance rate and is ranked #1 for undergraduate engineering programs. I’m confused why Virginia Tech, which has a much lower acceptance rate, isn’t ranked as high. What is Rose-Hulman doing differently? Shouldn’t Virginia Tech, being a state school, be more accessible to Virginia residents who want to study engineering or computers?

It seems crazy that Virginia Tech is so competitive while Rose-Hulman is more open, especially considering their top ranking. I’ve heard Rose-Hulman also offers excellent financial aid, which can bring costs down to in-state tuition levels. It might be worth looking into for my kid instead of Tech.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rosehulman-institute-of-technology-1830/overall-rankings

Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Should Virginia Tech reconsider their admissions process to better serve Virginia residents interested in STEM fields?

Terre Haute, IN is a real tough sell. Plus it's only number one for schools that do not award doctorates. Research matters.

For engineering? No not really at all

I’m sorry are you saying research in engineering doesn’t matter? I’m gobsmacked by your assertion.

Are you saying that in engineering the existence of research on campus is critical to the undergraduate experience?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been looking into Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, which has a 75% acceptance rate and is ranked #1 for undergraduate engineering programs. I’m confused why Virginia Tech, which has a much lower acceptance rate, isn’t ranked as high. What is Rose-Hulman doing differently? Shouldn’t Virginia Tech, being a state school, be more accessible to Virginia residents who want to study engineering or computers?

It seems crazy that Virginia Tech is so competitive while Rose-Hulman is more open, especially considering their top ranking. I’ve heard Rose-Hulman also offers excellent financial aid, which can bring costs down to in-state tuition levels. It might be worth looking into for my kid instead of Tech.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rosehulman-institute-of-technology-1830/overall-rankings

Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Should Virginia Tech reconsider their admissions process to better serve Virginia residents interested in STEM fields?

Terre Haute, IN is a real tough sell. Plus it's only number one for schools that do not award doctorates. Research matters.

For engineering? No not really at all

I’m sorry are you saying research in engineering doesn’t matter? I’m gobsmacked by your assertion.

Are you saying that in engineering the existence of research on campus is critical to the undergraduate experience?

Not critical but definitely a plus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We visited Rose-Hulman and Colorado School of Mines last year. I loved Mines and Golden is absolutely beautiful. But my son was all about Rose-Hulman. It's a very quirky school, but my kid felt at home there. My husband is an engineer, and the school is well known to him and his colleagues in the Midwest. It's definitely not for everyone, but it's a special little school for a certain kind of kid who is obsessed with math, science, and engineering and wants to attend a smaller school.

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to their web-site they have been #1 for 26 yrs; why is it I never heard of it? met anyone from there? you'd figure in the DMV area someone ... right?

I know several people from Terre Haute in the DC area. They went to IU and found their way to DC. The engineers in their families went to Rose Hulman or Purdue.

Terre Haute is a depressed midwestern town that was (relatively) booming 30-50 years ago and now is smaller and more troubled than it was due to changes in industry. ISU is there, which is a big school, so there is some kind of college town feel. But not like Bloomington or Blacksburg. RH is a great school but not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because acceptance rates are a function of how desirable a school is, not how good it is. Those are not the same thing. Many, many people would prefer Blacksburg and its environment and football games etc to Terre Haute and a college that’s 70%+ male.

Yes. Why would think you think the acceptance rate conveys anything about quality, OP?

Acceptance rate can be easily manipulated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because acceptance rates are a function of how desirable a school is, not how good it is. Those are not the same thing. Many, many people would prefer Blacksburg and its environment and football games etc to Terre Haute and a college that’s 70%+ male.

Yes. Why would think you think the acceptance rate conveys anything about quality, OP?

Acceptance rate can be easily manipulated.

No, the desirability of a product is measured by its demand. More students want a VaTech degree. It is more valuable to the marketplace.

By the same toke, UVA's admission rate is 19%. George Mason's admission rate is 90%. Are you telling me these admission rate doesn't inform the public about the quality of the respective schools??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because acceptance rates are a function of how desirable a school is, not how good it is. Those are not the same thing. Many, many people would prefer Blacksburg and its environment and football games etc to Terre Haute and a college that’s 70%+ male.

Yes. Why would think you think the acceptance rate conveys anything about quality, OP?

Acceptance rate can be easily manipulated.

No, the desirability of a product is measured by its demand. More students want a VaTech degree. It is more valuable to the marketplace.

By the same toke, UVA's admission rate is 19%. George Mason's admission rate is 90%. Are you telling me these admission rate doesn't inform the public about the quality of the respective schools??

Overall correct that the consumers ultimate decide what's quality and value, and it comes down to supply and demand for the most part. It's not magazine rankings or anything. They can suggest, but the consumers make the ultimate decision.

However it takes little more than acceptance rate. Yield rate(desire to actually attend) and student caliber (demand by higher quality students) also part of the determination.

Thus I say the combination of acceptance rate + yield rate + student caliber determines the ultimate desirability/demand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because acceptance rates are a function of how desirable a school is, not how good it is. Those are not the same thing. Many, many people would prefer Blacksburg and its environment and football games etc to Terre Haute and a college that’s 70%+ male.

Yes. Why would think you think the acceptance rate conveys anything about quality, OP?

Acceptance rate can be easily manipulated.

No, the desirability of a product is measured by its demand. More students want a VaTech degree. It is more valuable to the marketplace.

By the same toke, UVA's admission rate is 19%. George Mason's admission rate is 90%. Are you telling me these admission rate doesn't inform the public about the quality of the respective schools??

No one is saying selectivity is irrelevant; just that by itself it does not tell you much about the quality of the school. UVA is more desirable for a lot of reasons that have nothing to do with what you actually learn there or the quality of the student cohort. GMU was (and some still perceive as) a commuter college. It’s loaded with Koch money and the strings that come attached to that. It has a bland campus. Few outside the Mid-Atlantic really know about it. It’s not a major conference for sports. It’s not scenic.

People evaluate a lot of non academic factors in applying.

Perceived name brand
Location
Weather
Gender and ethnic and religious proportions
Greek influence
Housing availability
Access to internships