The Inside the Beltway Bragging Rights University Rankings
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Anonymous
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People post on here a lot about which colleges are the most highly ranked by different publications. But who really cares about academics? What matters most is The Brag Factor. When you’re at a DC cocktail party and people start talking about where their kids go to college, how do schools stack up vs. one another? I’ve come up with my best try at a Brag Factor ranking – grouping schools by tiers based on which are more boast-worthy.
THE GOLD STANDARD – Yes, there are distinctions even within this lofty group, but if your kid attends any of these schools, you have top bragging rights at any gathering. Harvard Stanford Yale MIT Princeton *Naval Academy/West Point – for some people, having a kid at one of these schools is as prestigious as it gets. For others, it’s crazy to consign your kid to 5 years of military service after college, and these schools don’t belong on this list. THE BRAINIACS – These schools are all great, and within certain brainy circles who value intellect more than well-roundedness, might even accrue as many bragging rights as those in the group above. Columbia U of Chicago Penn Cal Tech THE JUST-MISSED – Still highly brag-worthy schools, but just a rung below. If your kid attends one of these schools, you can counter by talking about how well-rounded they are, and that quality of life was most important in their college search. Duke Brown Dartmouth Amherst/Williams Pomona JUST-MISSED BRAINIACS – Similar to the Brainiacs above, intellectuals might consider these schools as good as/better than the Just-Missed Schools. But among the general population, they don’t have quite the same cachet. Johns Hopkins Cal-Berkeley Swarthmore NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF – These are schools whose sticker you’ll be happy to put on your car. But you might be hoping your kid places into grad school at one of the institutions listed above. Vanderbilt Georgetown Northwestern Bowdoin/Middlebury Cornell Michigan/UVA WHERE IS THAT AGAIN? – All outstanding schools, but definitely outside the Beltway bubble. You might have to do some educating about these institutions to some people. UCLA Notre Dame Rice THE SAFETY SCHOOLS – Actually, with yield protection, you might have to apply early to get into one of these schools. But if you’re applying early to one of these schools, that’s a step down the prestige ladder from everyone listed above. Tufts Wash U Emory |
Anonymous
| Let me get the popcorn.... |
Anonymous
| What a stupid list. You make this up on your lunch break? |
Anonymous
| OP, you are pathetic. |
Anonymous
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LOL, this is what all the rankings talk is really about
I find this more interesting and relevant than rankings put out by some random UK publication. |
Anonymous
| The further down you read in the OP the more nonsensical it becomes. Duke is considered a near miss of the brass ring but Cornell is just "nothing to be ashamed of" and people need to be educated on where Rice is? |
Anonymous
| A minuscule percent of students at even the top public high schools go to these schools... |
Anonymous
| This is really funny--good work OP. Totally captures what life is like for all the prestige hounds on DCUM. |
Anonymous
| I think you nailed how people speak about schools! So funny. |
Anonymous
| Shame on any parent that thinks like that! These are all great schools. Roughly half of the students at the Big 3 will attend one of the schools on this list. However, there are some obvious blind spots - you're missing the Air Force Academy and the HBCUs - Spelman, Morehouse and Howard. |
Anonymous
| I didn't read that OP thinks like that. I believe it was a caricature of those who do. |
Anonymous
| What about every other university in the USA? Should they close their doors? |
Anonymous
| Wait, who would have to ask where is the University of California, Los Angeles? |
Anonymous
| While I don’t think this is useful for picking a school, it is spot on for how people secretly or not so secretly think |
Anonymous
Oh come on! Where is Wake Forest in this? |