Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UR and W&L are now separated by only one spot in the rankings. Does anyone still think there is a difference in terms of academics?

Yes. W&L has stronger academics.

Why would you say that? The difference in rankings isn’t significant anymore.

The USNWR rankings really aren't about academics. Princeton Review assesses academics with its Academic Rating. See the description below. W&L's rating is 92 vs. 90 for Richmond. These are both quite high. W&L does better on % of students getting Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships, % earning PhDs, and going to top schools. I can't find it now, but there was a survey done by a Virginia newspaper and W&L students spent the most time studying and preparing for class, followed by W&M and UVA.

From Princeton Review for Academic Rating Description: "How hard students work and how much they get back for their efforts, on a scale of 60–99. This rating is calculated from student survey results and statistical information reported by administrators. Factors weighed include how many hours students study outside of the classroom and the quality of students the school attracts. We also considered students' assessments of their professors, class size, student–teacher ratio, use of teaching assistants, amount of class discussion, registration, and resources. Please note that if a school has an Academic Rating of 60* (sixty with an asterisk), it means that the school did not report to us a sufficient number of the statistics that go into the rating by our deadline."

Anonymous wrote:W&L has very drunk parents at basement frat parties on parent's weekend.

Most of those parents have $90,000 Bimmers in the parking lot. They came up through the Greek system themselves and parlayed the leadership skills and connections they developed into high-powered, high-paying careers in business and finance. Once a year, they like to turn back the clock and relive their college days with their kids who are on the same fast track to success. It's nothing to scoff at. Kids with cool, fun parents usually become cool, fun people adults themselves; they're successful because people want to be around/buy from/do business with people who are cool and fun. Kids with stick-in-the-mud parents usually grow up to be sticks in the mud. The world you get is the one you give away.