Academic Prestige

[TomHolmoe]

Quote: Originally Posted by BrianBrockmeyer

Here, you're just wrong. The Michigan vs. WUSTL is the exception. Emory is a better school than UCLA. Emory's academic rating is 18 points higher. It's debatable whether UCLA is even better than USC, which is private. Compare UCLA to Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, Penn, Duke, Notre Dame, Vandy, Johns Hopkins, etc., etc., etc. and UCLA is not getting the better of it.

You're giving too much credit to the USN&WR rankings, especially their undergraduate rankings. On the USC v UCLA comparison, USC is notoriously weak in the humanities. I know it'll sound silly to say the rankings are often incorrect and then turn around and use those same rankings in support of my argument, but you'll have to forgive me for doing just that. UCLA has a much higher ranked business school, something USC likes to pretend they excel at but in reality USC's business school won't get you too far if you want a job outside of southern California. UCLA has a much higher rated law school. UCLA has a much higher ranked medical school. USC has a better engineering school, but it's farily close (7 vs. 15). UCLA is stronger in every social science and humanity than USC. USC is basically known for some decent professional schools, dentistry comes to mind, but in a broad-based comparison with a large public research university like UCLA shows that it isn't quite up to snuff. Oh yeah, they also have a highly-regarded film school.

Also, USC really games the USN&WR rankings. For instance, did you know that it admits their students whose scores/gpa/class rank/&c are used towards those annual rankings in the fall semester and then admits legacies in the spring semester? Things like this are why it's silly to rank a university by its students and not by the more easily measurable quality of its faculty.

I won't go through all of the other schools, but how many of them have more than one or two highly ranked graduate programs? You can almost categorically dismiss the Ivies in a comparison like this because of their relatively weak engineering departments, if they even have one to speak of. Hopkins is pretty close to a one-trick pony, though it's a damn fine pony. There are probably individual programs at most of the schools you've mentioned that are better than UCLA's, but being better in one or two or three out of 10 or more departments doesn't make it a better university in my mind.

You're kidding about Vandy and Notre Dame even being in the same ballpark, right? Just take a look at some of those USN&WR graduate program rankings.

[outkast44]

BrianBrockmeyer,
Miami gets a bad rap because of some of its Athletics department tendancies. Its just perception. Still, its a good school but far from elite. Regardless, what's the point of arguing?

TomHolmoe
A couple posts ago you said:
"Yeah, this 'my school can beat up your school' drivel is pretty silly. Who cares?"
What happened?

Lastly and most importantly,
This thing about graduations rates. I simmed a few seasons (did the recruiting and offseason myself) with Temple who started out as a 4 star academic prestige team. Two years later I had turned them into a 2 star academic prestige team without losing a single player to transfer or the pros! Therefore, no matter what it may say in the interview that is being quoted here... academic prestige cannot be affected only by graduation rates. Otherwise, how does a 4 star academic team turn into a 2 star team while having a 100% graduation rate.

[Kingfish]

Quote: Originally Posted by BrianBrockmeyer

This was addressed already...

Really? I thought the question was HOW do you know a recruit is a good student...

But if your answer really is the answer, it stinks...not yours, EA's answer(yours was very good.

And to all the "thread rustlers", why didn't you just start a topic about "How GREAT my school is!"

I got a crappy education at an Ivy League price! Damn those Financial Aid PIMPS!!!

"Here, have some money...don't cost nothing"

[Dauminator]

I do not attend Miami University nor hold any reason to defend it personally. I do not believe my initial statement was ridiculously stupid, either, as all I said was that Miami didn't have a great reputation THAT I KNEW OF. I have since been made aware of data that indicates that Miami is in fact a fine school and I am more than happy to give it the credit it deserves. As somone else said, the perceptions many people, including myself, draw of the school were based on the football team. The merits of this perception is an entirely different debate, but such is the nature of modern college football.

[TomHolmoe]

Quote: Originally Posted by outkast44

BrianBrockmeyer, TomHolmoe A couple posts ago you said: "Yeah, this 'my school can beat up your school' drivel is pretty silly. Who cares?" What happened?

I'm sorry, there's only so much misinformation I can take. When someone in one post claims the average SAT score is 1360 while in another points to data indicating that 1360 is the 75th percentile, that's just not an honest debate. When someone claims it's "among the best medical schools in the US" and it's nowhere to be found on the list of the top 50 research or primary care medical schools, we're just listening to press releases from the school itself masquerading as impartial assessment. Miami is known for its business school? Once again, nowhere to be found in the top 50. It's not an awful school, but is it among the best? I wouldn't say so and I doubt there are too many who aren't alumni or otherwise affiliated with the school who would. Is it good enough that it can truly justify costing several times as much as the large public universities in the state of Florida?

[Dman13]

FORGET Miami and everyone else, take this to the College Football forum.
Back on topic:There's no way Academic prestige is based on graduation.I play as UAB and through the first 4 years of my dynasty we were a 3 star in academics.I cut nobody throughout the entire dynasty and everybody left after their senior season and we dropped to a 1 star.So graduation isn't possibly it.

[Lebron 4 MVP]

Om guys what does this arguement got to do with FOOTBALL.

Edit: the guy with a Arsenal sig and NY Yankees sig about US News and other stuff.

[TomHolmoe]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lebron 4 MVP

Om guys what does this arguement got to do with FOOTBALL. Edit: the guy with a Arsenal sig and NY Yankees sig about US News and other stuff.

Sorry about that, but as I posted earlier, there's only so much misinformation I can see posted on a board without any challenge. Did you also notice that when I called him on Miami being known for good business and medical programs (neither is in the respective top-50 lists), he didn't respond?

DMan, I must say that really throws a wrench into my plan of not letting anyone redshirt so that I won't have RS Jr's leaving early and hurting my graduation rate. I really wish we could get a definitive answer on what exactly the academic prestige is based on in this game. Perhaps you have to find players who are interested in academics in the recruiting process?