Anonymous wrote:Penn State.

The first two schools mentioned in this thread made big jumps in the rankings - Penn State and Boston University.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is "brand name" top 50? Top 100?

I think of them as schools everyone knows. So, Penn State is included and Williams is not.

Hmm, so does this "everyone" = people who follow college sports (vs., say, people who do graduate admissions or make hiring decisions)?

Reading through the thread, "brand name" schools does seem to correlate with schools that field Division I sports, with Emory and Chicago being the well-deserved exceptions.

If Tulane has truly taken some kind of application hit because of Hurricane Katrina, then it's a candidate for a great brand name school that's easier than it should be to get into. As good a school as any, and a strong alum network around here, from what I've seen.

I don't work in graduate admissions, and the hiring decisions I make only make me wish I had the problem of distinguishing between Rice grads and Baylor or SMU grads. So take it for what it's worth.

Anonymous wrote:West Virginia University. Easy to get into, hard to stay in.

Ugh. Will only elicit expressions of sympathy.

West Virginia University. Easy to get into, hard to stay in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is "brand name" top 50? Top 100?

I think of them as schools everyone knows. So, Penn State is included and Williams is not.

Hmm, so does this "everyone" = people who follow college sports (vs., say, people who do graduate admissions or make hiring decisions)?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BU, Tufts, any of the colleges in the Boston area (assuming you can stroke a check for the tuition).

I guess it depends on your definition of easy. Tufts has a 21.9% acceptance rate, which is on the selective side.

Yeah, but you'd also want to take quality of the applicant pool into account.

Anonymous wrote:for VA: Virginia Tech and James Madison seem to be the most popular "second tier" (and I don't mean that in a negative sense) schools. VT is for many a first choice over UVa/WM for STEM -- and in particular engineering.

for MD: I actually put UMd close to "Tier 1" in that their currect selectivity profile is very high for a public school and a lot of kids are picking it as their #1 choice. Closer to UVA/W&M than VT/JMU.

+1. Don't forget MWU and GMU also compare favorably.

for VA: Virginia Tech and James Madison seem to be the most popular "second tier" (and I don't mean that in a negative sense) schools. VT is for many a first choice over UVa/WM for STEM -- and in particular engineering.

for MD: I actually put UMd close to "Tier 1" in that their currect selectivity profile is very high for a public school and a lot of kids are picking it as their #1 choice. Closer to UVA/W&M than VT/JMU.

Tulane - the school has slipped in the rankings since Katrina, but the reputation is still there for many. Students who might have been lucky to get into Tulane at one time are now offered generous merit scholarships.

Anonymous wrote:BU, Tufts, any of the colleges in the Boston area (assuming you can stroke a check for the tuition).

I guess it depends on your definition of easy. Tufts has a 21.9% acceptance rate, which is on the selective side.

I think big state schools are tpyically easier, with higher percentages gaining admission. You need to check stats.

Anonymous wrote:BU, Tufts, any of the colleges in the Boston area (assuming you can stroke a check for the tuition).

This seems to be consistent with a general trend away from schools in cold climates (except for the best of best). Things being roughly equal, students prefer nice weather. The schools zooming up the rankings are in good climates.

BU, Tufts, any of the colleges in the Boston area (assuming you can stroke a check for the tuition).

Agree regarding Georgia. Ranked ahead of Clemson and VA Tech and a very big brand in Atlanta.

University of Georgia Athens