Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you follow the link to the overall ranking, you'll see that private college dominate the top of the rankings. I'd guess that is because private schools give merit aid to those wiht high standardized scores.

You win the prize for cluelessness.
Private colleges at the top of the list do NOT give merit aid, period.

Not true, unless the Top 11 of 600+ is not the "top of the list" in your world Harvey Mudd College, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Notre Dame, Vanderbilt University and Rice University all offer some academic merit aid.

Anonymous wrote:If you follow the link to the overall ranking, you'll see that private college dominate the top of the rankings. I'd guess that is because private schools give merit aid to those wiht high standardized scores.

You win the prize for cluelessness.
Private colleges at the top of the list do NOT give merit aid, period.

Actually the private colleges give lots of need based financial aid to those with high standardized test scores and there are lots of kids with high standardized test scores whose parents will find a way to pay for the top colleges if they don't qualify for the need based aid. Top of that list gives no merit aid.

If you have high scores and move down the ladder where your scores really stick out (and bring up their average)--that's when you get the merit aid.

Anonymous wrote:I take these lists with a grain of salt, still it's a good showing for some regional schools: W&M #3, UVA #5, and the too often maligned on here UMCP at #9.

http://www.businessinsider.com/smartest-public-colleges-in-america-2014-10

If you follow the link to the overall ranking, you'll see that private college dominate the top of the rankings. I'd guess that is because private schools give merit aid to those wiht high standardized scores.

University of North Florida looks awesome for quality of life, but I keep wondering, what's the incentive for a student to want to graduate - it seems it will be harder to get something as attractive at least in the first few years in the workforce... I think college accommodations should be convenient but leave enough to be desired so kids would want to graduate and move on to something better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:unc is what it has always been: the fifth best public univ in America. That'll never change.

The quality of any university is not measured by incoming SATs or other tests taken in high school five years before a college degree is awarded, but by what the school does to enhance the knowledge of its students while there. It is only "best" if it brings out the best in all of its students (not excluding athletes or any other group). You can't take credit for the raw material that you are given (high incoming SATs).

A pretty fair statement, I think. But the SAT metric does give some (not a full) indication of the quality of the student body, which definitely does impact the overall educational experience.

Name the most impactful invention or company created/founded or dreamed up by one of those genius UNC grads in the last 100 years. I couldn't find any . Basically it's Michael Jordon and that's it.

Hey pal, UNC produced legendary philanderer John Edwards. And Andy Griffith. So there.

The law firm of Jordan / Edwards and Griffith lol. What odds would you take that all three don't know the square root of 144?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:unc is what it has always been: the fifth best public univ in America. That'll never change.

The quality of any university is not measured by incoming SATs or other tests taken in high school five years before a college degree is awarded, but by what the school does to enhance the knowledge of its students while there. It is only "best" if it brings out the best in all of its students (not excluding athletes or any other group). You can't take credit for the raw material that you are given (high incoming SATs).

A pretty fair statement, I think. But the SAT metric does give some (not a full) indication of the quality of the student body, which definitely does impact the overall educational experience.

Name the most impactful invention or company created/founded or dreamed up by one of those genius UNC grads in the last 100 years. I couldn't find any . Basically it's Michael Jordon and that's it.

Hey pal, UNC produced legendary philanderer John Edwards. And Andy Griffith. So there.