I've never heard of colleges or universities referred to as Brand Name. If you have a child that doesn't have the scores to get into a top school then you should focus on your child's interest and pick the schools (even lower tier but respectable programs) that have great faculty, facilities and research activities in these areas.

If you wanted to relocate to California, the smaller UCs might fit the bill - Davis, Irvine, Santa Cruz.

Ohio State

Anonymous wrote:Nothing second tier about Rice, Vandy or Emory. I'd say Wisconsin, BU, Northeastern, Penn State, Villanova, Drexel, UConn, UNH, UVM, Elon, Case Western, . In terms of LACs - Union, Franklin and Marshall, Dickinson, Gettysburg, Hobart, Rhodes, Knox, Lewis and Clark, Ursinus, Skidmore,Wofford, DePaul, DePauw, Ohio Wesleyan, Denison, College of Wooster, Earlham.

These are all very good schools just not first tier.

I'd add University of Illinois and New College of Florida.

Nothing second tier about Rice, Vandy or Emory. I'd say Wisconsin, BU, Northeastern, Penn State, Villanova, Drexel, UConn, UNH, UVM, Elon, Case Western, . In terms of LACs - Union, Franklin and Marshall, Dickinson, Gettysburg, Hobart, Rhodes, Knox, Lewis and Clark, Ursinus, Skidmore,Wofford, DePaul, DePauw, Ohio Wesleyan, Denison, College of Wooster, Earlham.

These are all very good schools just not first tier.

“I grew up in Texas and am very familiar with these schools”

This.

I hope your claimed familiarity with these schools is based on more than living in the same enormous state where 3 of the 4 states are located. The schools are located very far apart SMU/Tulane (500 miles – like DC/Boston); Baylor/SMU 100 miles (like MD/Philly) and Rice/SMU 225 miles (like DC/NY). So I could say “I grew up in the DC suburbs of Maryland and am very familiar with Georgetown, Penn, Harvard and Columbia.

Moreover, the point of the PP was that the schools have been changing – so the reputation of schools when you grew up is dated. University of Miami is now ranked ahead of Tulane, SMU and Baylor – was THAT true when you were growing up?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke and Vanderbilt have been able to separate themselves from the other Southern Ivies (Rice, SMU, Tulane, Baylor) in recent years largely by attracting students from this area and NYC. The other Southern Ivies have woken up and are moving up the rankings. If you want a degree that will appreciate over time, those four schools are a good bet.

Southern Ivies? I grew up in Texas and am very familiar wieth these schools. Rice would be considered a Southern Ivy. Possibly Tulane. Baylor and SMU are in a different league. They are good schools, but typically kids who can get into Rice or Tulane would not consder SMU or Baylor (except perhaps as backup options). I do think SMU would qualify as a brand name school that is easy to get into. Tulane isn't that easy and Rice is even harder.

Google is your friend

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ivy

Rice is ranked #17 tied with Vandy. Tulane is #51 SMU is #58 - the SMU alum network is much stronger than Tulane's (or Rice's for that matter), but no city knows how to throw party like New Orleans. Baylor is #77. Each of these schools has been moving up the rankings.

Anonymous wrote:Not sure how easy these are to get into anymore, but these are what I think of as some of the 2nd tier "brand name" schools:

UNC-Charlotte
George Mason (increasingly brand name)
UMass-Amherst
Rutgers
Temple

If you want something smaller, check out the COPLAC schools (Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges). Some are more selective; some less so.

Happy to see UMass-Amherst getting some (2nd tier) props. I went there and, as an in-stater, I never knew how out of staters viewed it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke and Vanderbilt have been able to separate themselves from the other Southern Ivies (Rice, SMU, Tulane, Baylor) in recent years largely by attracting students from this area and NYC. The other Southern Ivies have woken up and are moving up the rankings. If you want a degree that will appreciate over time, those four schools are a good bet.

Southern Ivies? I grew up in Texas and am very familiar wieth these schools. Rice would be considered a Southern Ivy. Possibly Tulane. Baylor and SMU are in a different league. They are good schools, but typically kids who can get into Rice or Tulane would not consder SMU or Baylor (except perhaps as backup options). I do think SMU would qualify as a brand name school that is easy to get into. Tulane isn't that easy and Rice is even harder.

Google is your friend

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ivy

Penn State if you want to stay in the ny-wash corridor.

ridiculous recruiting and alum network from a sheer size perspective.

Anonymous wrote:Duke and Vanderbilt have been able to separate themselves from the other Southern Ivies (Rice, SMU, Tulane, Baylor) in recent years largely by attracting students from this area and NYC. The other Southern Ivies have woken up and are moving up the rankings. If you want a degree that will appreciate over time, those four schools are a good bet.

Southern Ivies? I grew up in Texas and am very familiar wieth these schools. Rice would be considered a Southern Ivy. Possibly Tulane. Baylor and SMU are in a different league. They are good schools, but typically kids who can get into Rice or Tulane would not consder SMU or Baylor (except perhaps as backup options). I do think SMU would qualify as a brand name school that is easy to get into. Tulane isn't that easy and Rice is even harder.

American

Auburn.

Duke and Vanderbilt have been able to separate themselves from the other Southern Ivies (Rice, SMU, Tulane, Baylor) in recent years largely by attracting students from this area and NYC. The other Southern Ivies have woken up and are moving up the rankings. If you want a degree that will appreciate over time, those four schools are a good bet.

Wisconsin from out of state.