US News Top 25 Academic Colleges 2008

[MrBug708]

1. Princeton University (NJ)

2. Harvard University (MA)

3. Yale University (CT)

4. Stanford University (CA)

5. California Institute of Technology

University of Pennsylvania

7. Massachusetts Inst. Of Technology

8. Duke University (NC)

9. Columbia University (NY)

University of Chicago

11. Dartmouth College (NH)

12. Cornell University (NY)

Washington University in St. Louis

14. Brown University (RI)

Johns Hopkins University (MD)

Northwestern University (IL)

17. Emory University (GA)

Rice University (TX)

19. University of Notre Dame (IN)

Vanderbilt University (TN)

21. University of California – Berkeley

22. Carnegie Mellon University (PA)

23. Georgetown University (DC)

University of Virginia

25. University of California – Los Angeles

University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

[Shkspr]

Brown University, commonly known as the "DeVry Institute of the Ivy"...

[Crapshoot]

I love my alma mater (Carnegie Mellon), but every individual school other than the liberal arts is highly rated - it single-handedly drags us down in these rankings.

On the other hand, after 3 years in Boston, I'm convinced most of the CMU kids were way smarter than all the Harvard kids I met. :D

[Izulde]

*sigh* I still regret not applying to Princeton out of high school.

[MikeVic]

*sigh* I still regret not applying to Princeton out of high school.

Think you could have gone?

[sterlingice]

I love my alma mater (Carnegie Mellon), but every individual school other than the liberal arts is highly rated - it single-handedly drags us down in these rankings.

On the other hand, after 3 years in Boston, I'm convinced most of the CMU kids were way smarter than all the Harvard kids I met. :D

I got accepted to CMU's Comp Sci program but got no help moneywise (they offered a few grand in loans) so I didn't have a chance to go. It'll always be the "what if" of my life.

SI

[Izulde]

Think you could have gone?

It would've been tough. My SAT II scores were iffy for an Ivy League school, but I had the well-roundedness they specifically look for in applicants and I loved the school beyond anything else in the world.

But I got scared and didn't apply. While the chances were slim no matter what, I'll always wonder what might've been if I had just gone ahead and went for it.

On the other hand, these days when an opportunity arises, I'm a lot more likely to say heck with it and go for it, as a result of that experience.

Closest I ever got to going to Princeton was a summer course with the New York Film Academy that was based at Princeton University. Was one of the best summers of my life.

[digamma]

nuts and bolts
nuts and bolts
we got screwed

[Eaglesfan27]

UCLA is OVERRATED!

[Masked]

List is obviously wrong

[Synovia]

I got accepted to CMU's Comp Sci program but got no help moneywise (they offered a few grand in loans) so I didn't have a chance to go. It'll always be the "what if" of my life.

SI

Same thing, got in to the Comp Sci program, but they gave me no money.

Ended up going to BU for free.


Crapshoot, I totally agree with you. Harvard kids are friggen retarded.

[Crapshoot]

I got accepted to CMU's Comp Sci program but got no help moneywise (they offered a few grand in loans) so I didn't have a chance to go. It'll always be the "what if" of my life.

SI

Honestly, I think you're enough of a geek (and I say this the nicest way) to have enjoyed it. We weren't the most socially adept bunch, but some of the smartest people I've ever had the pleasure of being around.

[Crapshoot]

Same thing, got in to the Comp Sci program, but they gave me no money.

Ended up going to BU for free.


Crapshoot, I totally agree with you. Harvard kids are friggen retarded.


Hehe. I feel wierd telling you this, but I spent my first year in Beantown living right by Packard's Corner (on the B line - 2005) - I hated all you BU kids for getting on one block, and getting off the next. I liked the BU kids I knew outside of the T, but I hated every one of those kids on the T:D

[Dutch]

Any school that touts landing a president of the United States is over-rated. I'd rather be from the school that landed Randy Moss.

[Tigercat]

The ranking is a joke. Their prestige questionnaires methodology is a joke, and it counts for 25%(!) of their ranking.

There is a reason why quite a few schools have improved/declined in their overall research portfolio and admission selectivity and still haven't moved an inch.

[thesloppy]

Hmm, it appears Portland State has been shafted. Again. How curious.

[Sgran]

This list is a complete sham! When I need to learn about a college's reputation I go to the only source you can truly trust: The College Years!

[Young Drachma]

As a Wash U alum, I'm always annoyed at the fact that the school's founders chose to name the school after George Washington, rather than keeping the Eliot name. William Greenleaf Eliot was the co-founder of Eliot Seminary, which eventually was renamed Washington University. They added the "in St. Louis" because lots of people still have no idea where it is, despite the in St. Louis" part. That part just makes some folks think it's SLU (St. Louis University).

The facebook group, "No, You Fucking Ignoramous, Washington University is in St. Louis" is home to the best, "No sorry, Wash U. isn't in Washington or a branch campus in Missouri of UW" stories.

Folks familiar with academics have heard of it, but...it's got the worst identity crisis of any Top 25 school.

Eliot wasn't happy with them calling it after him, but...couldn't they have been more original?

[Klinglerware]

Any school that touts landing a president of the United States is over-rated. I'd rather be from the school that landed Randy Moss.

Well, in that case, you've got three choices!

[King of New York]

It's funny that there's not a single college on this list of top-25 colleges: they're all research universities.

No Bowdoin, Bates, Swarthmore, Kenyon, Oberlin, Haverford, Trinity, Reed, William and Mary, Carleton, Davidson? Granted, some of these places have small research components too, but they're still basically colleges.

Notre Dame, Georgetown, and UCLA in the top 25 nationally? :eek:

[John Galt]

It's funny that there's not a single college on this list of top-25 colleges: they're all research universities.

No Bowdoin, Bates, Swarthmore, Kenyon, Oberlin, Haverford, Trinity, Reed, William and Mary, Carleton, Davidson? Granted, some of these places have small research components too, but they're still basically colleges.

Notre Dame, Georgetown, and UCLA in the top 25 nationally? :eek:

At least historically, I thought liberal arts colleges are ranked separately (which probably includes all those schools except William & Mary, which given UVA's ranking, I doubt most people would feel belongs in the top 25).

[molson]

At least historically, I thought liberal arts colleges are ranked separately (which probably includes all those schools except William & Mary, which given UVA's ranking, I doubt most people would feel belongs in the top 25).

Right - the most commonly cited list is the "national universities". Most of those mentioned by King of New York are on the top "Liberal Arts" Colleges List:

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1libartco_brief.php

1. Williams College (MA)

2. Amherst College (MA)

3. Swarthmore College(PA)

4. Wellesley College(MA)

5. Carleton College(MN)

5. Middlebury College(VT)

7. Pomona College(CA)

7. Bowdoin College(ME)

9. Davidson College(NC)

10. Haverford College(PA)

11. Claremont McKenna College(CA)

11. Wesleyan University(CT)

11. Grinnell College(IA)

11. Vassar College(NY)

15. Harvey Mudd College(CA)

15. Washington and Lee University(VA)

17. Smith College(MA)

17. Hamilton College(NY)

17. Colgate University(NY)

20. United States Naval Academy(MD)

20. Oberlin College(OH)

22. Colby College(ME)

22. United States Military Academy(NY)

24. Bates College(ME)

24. Bryn Mawr College(PA)

[bigdawg2003]

Apparantly my school's president, Jake Schrum of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas ("Not the one in San Marcos you old bat, that's Texas State") was on the Today show.........today.....to discuss why he pulled SU out of the prestige rankings system. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the hope of getting on national television.......

[Pumpy Tudors]

No sign of New Orleans? I am so fucking done.

[Subby]

William & Mary usually rates in the top five in the country for small public universites - not sure how we made out this time though...

[wade moore]

At least historically, I thought liberal arts colleges are ranked separately (which probably includes all those schools except William & Mary, which given UVA's ranking, I doubt most people would feel belongs in the top 25).

William & Mary usually rates in the top five in the country for small public universites - not sure how we made out this time though...

And is usually within a couple spots of UVA for Public Universities period... I think John's short changing W&M a bit here - but the three of us are biased...

[wade moore]

Dola: Doing some digging I see that W&M is #33 on the National Universities list...

I was pretty confidant that W&M is usually within a few places of UVA in the "Best Value" category, but I see that UVA is #16 and W&M doesn't crack the top 50.. but again, maybe it's best value for a public?

Stupid thing only gives the top 5 for Public Universities (UVA is #2)...

A-Ha.. here we go..

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php

UVA ranked #23, W&M #33.. if you look at just public universities UVA is #2 and W&M is #6, that's what i was thinking of...

I love a good UVA vs. W&M fight, but the bottom line is it's pretty damned good to be an 18 year old Virginian looking for a top-notch education.

[King of New York]

Right - the most commonly cited list is the "national universities". Most of those mentioned by King of New York are on the the top "Liberal Arts" Colleges List:

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1libartco_brief.php

1. Williams College (MA)

2. Amherst College (MA)

3. Swarthmore College(PA)

4. Wellesley College(MA)

5. Carleton College(MN)

5. Middlebury College(VT)

7. Pomona College(CA)

7. Bowdoin College(ME)

9. Davidson College(NC)

10. Haverford College(PA)

11. Claremont McKenna College(CA)

11. Wesleyan University(CT)

11. Grinnell College(IA)

11. Vassar College(NY)

15. Harvey Mudd College(CA)

15. Washington and Lee University(VA)

17. Smith College(MA)

17. Hamilton College(NY)

17. Colgate University(NY)

20. United States Naval Academy(MD)

20. Oberlin College(OH)

22. Colby College(ME)

22. United States Military Academy(NY)

24. Bates College(ME)

24. Bryn Mawr College(PA)

Gotcha. That list looks pretty sound overall. The inclusion of Colgate shocks me, and the inclusion of Washington and Lee surprises me a little bit, although I do think it's an underrated school. The exclusion of Trinity in Hartford and of Reed College surprises me.

[John Galt]

And is usually within a couple spots of UVA for Public Universities period... I think John's short changing W&M a bit here - but the three of us are biased...

I'm not dissing W&M, but since very few people think W&M is better than UVA in terms of prestige, and since UVA barely makes the top 25, it is unlikely that W&M can break into the top 25. Since both are state schools, and UVA gets more of the best in-state students, W&M will always be at a prestige disadvantage. That doesn't mean W&M sucks - it just means I wouldn't expect it to make the top 25 unless UVA also climbs in the rankings.

[John Galt]

Gotcha. That list looks pretty sound overall. The inclusion of Colgate shocks me, and the inclusion of Washington and Lee surprises me a little bit, although I do think it's an underrated school. The exclusion of Trinity in Hartford and of Reed College surprises me.

If I remember right, Reed refuses to provide information to USNWR, so it is hurt in the rankings.

[st.cronin]

Believe it or not, Yale was the only school that accepted me out of high school. I was rejected by West Point and UMass Amherst.

[sooner333]

I went to Northwestern out of high school...hated the fact that it was the antithesis of a college town and transferred back home to OU. I'm really glad I went though, because it was a good experience to have and realize how much I like Oklahoma in general. The only bad thing is that the scholarship I had at OU was a one-time deal and when I enrolled elsewhere, it went away.

[damnMikeBrown]

Miami (OH) University. Obviously too highly regarded to even be included in the rankings. Just a given that we're above it all. . .

[mrsimperless]

I'm guessing they're combining undergrad and graduate programs together in this ranking? Or is there any school in the list that is undergrad only?

[BishopMVP]

7. Massachusetts Inst. Of TechnologyAnd our (UMass)reputation goes up in the western US and overseas! :)Believe it or not, Yale was the only school that accepted me out of high school. I was rejected by West Point and UMass Amherst.I can help you with the latter ;)Well, in that case, you've got three choices!lol...

[wade moore]

I'm not dissing W&M, but since very few people think W&M is better than UVA in terms of prestige, and since UVA barely makes the top 25, it is unlikely that W&M can break into the top 25. Since both are state schools, and UVA gets more of the best in-state students, W&M will always be at a prestige disadvantage. That doesn't mean W&M sucks - it just means I wouldn't expect it to make the top 25 unless UVA also climbs in the rankings.

And I'm just being obnoxious because I'm majorly biased here...

But, I do think some of your premise may be flawed depending on your meaning.. if by "more of the best in-state students" you mean they just get more bulk because they're bigger, I'm with you.. if you're saying that the best in-state kids choose UVA over W&M then I would disagree with you...

Anyway... No matter how you look at it, I think it's impressive that a school the size of W&M can hang with the big boys and even make it to #33 overall and #6 Public School.. that's nothing to scoff at and something I'd point at - I'd say they're at a disadvantage mainly because of size and the challenges that come with says - which in turn, impacts their perceived prestige...


Note: You don't know how hard it is for me to say "their" rather than "our" like it's a football team ;)...

Another Note: I'm really just being super defensive and I realize you're not trashing W&M or anything.

[Sublime 2]

Same thing, got in to the Comp Sci program, but they gave me no money.

Ended up going to BU for free.


Crapshoot, I totally agree with you. Harvard kids are friggen retarded.

And BU kids rock!

Hehe. I feel wierd telling you this, but I spent my first year in Beantown living right by Packard's Corner (on the B line - 2005) - I hated all you BU kids for getting on one block, and getting off the next. I liked the BU kids I knew outside of the T, but I hated every one of those kids on the T:D

Agreed, I hate those kids too! I lived up the road right at the Harvard St. stop. Was it legitimate that I took the T from Harvard St. to BU East? I mean it's a good mile? :D