jackw8542

October 1st, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^

I saw a ranking linked on this blog in the spring that said the five best public universities were Michigan, Virginia, Berkeley, William & Mary and North Carolina.  This has Virginia at 147 and William & Mary in the 201-250 range but has UC Santa Barbara in the top 100 or so.  I have a daughter who went to both UC Santa Barbara and William & Mary, and she said UC Santa Barbara was easier than her high school but that William & Mary was extremely challenging. 

Just my daughter's experience makes it hard for me to credit these rankings.

Joined: 10/30/2010

MGoPoints: 4265

WolvWild

October 1st, 2015 at 2:23 PM ^

I think it's just what each ranking emphasizes.  Research is considered here, but US News' rankings don't include research, so there is a pretty substantial difference between the two sets.

 

It's hard to quantify the quality of education at a school, especially undergraduate education.

Joined: 11/12/2013

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Nothsa

October 1st, 2015 at 2:27 PM ^

They've poached top scholars from across the country (and planet), so I suspect they look good on those metrics. However, it's a major undergrad party school. Back when I was there in grad school it was also the whitest UC campus with the wealthiest parent base. When a 19 year old has to decide whether to attend their 9am class or go surfing, and the beach is as close as the lecture hall... well, the classroom suffers.

Joined: 10/07/2008

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white_pony_rocks

October 1st, 2015 at 2:24 PM ^

so I may be wrong, but I don't think Times and Times Higher Education are the same thing. I only make that distinction because the rankings from publications like us news and Princeton review and Forbes are absolute shit, while times higher, qs, and arwu are considered reputable. again, I may be wrong, but it should be pointed out that I don't think calling this Times is correct

Joined: 02/16/2009

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Hotel Putingrad

October 1st, 2015 at 4:02 PM ^

I enjoyed my time there, and, being from Detroit, it was definitely an uncommon school choice. But I also know many of the types you describe and generally agree that the school is perceived differently (and not so impartially) in the South. The undergraduate experience and VUMC serve them well in these types of rankings, but as we all know an education is a many-splendored thing.

Joined: 12/10/2014

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Black Socks

October 1st, 2015 at 3:22 PM ^

I'm kinda tired of seeing us drop in the rankings.  When I was at M the B school was number 1.  Let's go Schlissel!

Joined: 11/30/2009

MGoPoints: 14363