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re: Ranking the SEC schools academically?
Posted on 1/3/13 at 11:28 am to JDM1992
Posted on 1/3/13 at 11:28 am to JDM1992
I hate general rankings. They're by and large worthless. Get a degree in what you want where you want if you can afford it. If you can't really afford a degree, then get it in something that is worth a shite somewhere that is close.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 11:31 am to JDM1992
I have worked at a company where I held more seniority than two Aggies who were both older than me.
I worked under a UF grad, an LSU grad, and a Texas grad, but they were all at least 15 years my senior.
I've never worked with anybody from any other SEC school that I know of.
I have had sex with alums of South Carolina and Texas A&M.
I worked under a UF grad, an LSU grad, and a Texas grad, but they were all at least 15 years my senior.
I've never worked with anybody from any other SEC school that I know of.
I have had sex with alums of South Carolina and Texas A&M.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 11:33 am to Numberwang
This post was edited on 2/15/13 at 2:08 pm
Posted on 1/3/13 at 11:36 am to lightbulbz
That's what I don't get. Ranking universities as a sum of parts is fricking worthless at this scale. There's not enough difference to matter in any meaningful way. I'm in architecture at Auburn and I only care about how good that program is. Vandy doesn't have an architecture program, why should I care where Auburn as a whole is ranked in comparison?
Posted on 1/3/13 at 11:37 am to lightbulbz
That's what I don't get. Ranking universities as a sum of parts is fricking worthless at this scale. There's not enough difference to matter in any meaningful way. I'm in architecture at Auburn and I only care about how good that program is. Vandy doesn't have an architecture program, why should I care where Auburn as a whole is ranked in comparison?
Posted on 1/3/13 at 11:40 am to LandofDixie
Yeah, thats a good point. I did business at Arkansas, and its a very good business school. Arkansas has a great architecture program, too.
Our law school probably sucks nationally, but if you are going to practice law in the state of Arkansas, then its the one you want to be in.
Our law school probably sucks nationally, but if you are going to practice law in the state of Arkansas, then its the one you want to be in.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 11:50 am to rolltide06
It's easy to get National Merit Scholars to go to your school, you just pay them. OU is doing the same thing, they literally pay those kids so much in scholarships they are making a nice income to go there and thus be able to throw out the nice stat. If you think a National Merit Scholar from California really is choosing Bama or OU over Stanford and UC Berkeley because of educational value you are smoking something. It's a smart strategy to get some academic cred because it is a lot easier than getting an extra hundred mill a year in research dollars.
Baylor actually takes the cake in "gaming" the system though. They actually pay their students to retake SAT's after admission and reward them for getting higher scores so they can boost their stats.
Baylor actually takes the cake in "gaming" the system though. They actually pay their students to retake SAT's after admission and reward them for getting higher scores so they can boost their stats.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 11:58 am to gatormed
US News is a horrible way to rank schools academically, since they use non-academic factors in their rankings, and nobody but parents of high-school senors takes it seriously.
If I had to rank
Vandy
aTm
UF
Mizzou
Georgia
.
Alabama
Auburn
.
.
The rest
If I had to rank
Vandy
aTm
UF
Mizzou
Georgia
.
Alabama
Auburn
.
.
The rest
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:03 pm to aggressor
It's Vanderbilt and everyone else.
Most SEC schools are BY DESIGN meant to provide an educated workforce for their own state first w/ some regional consideration. Arguments over whether Arkansas is better than Tenn are a joke b/c unless you're applying for a job w/in those states or the HR person taking a look at your app is an alum the person isn't going to assign any greater weight to your education. So UGA grads will have a leg up in ATL, Bama in Birmingham, but neither gets special consideration applying for jobs in NYC.
There are minor differences b/w programs at certain schools (USC has #1 Int'l Biz program in world) but these do not make an appreciable difference on public perception of the school (and shouldn't, b/c the majority of your school's grads don't get a degree in your one or two first class programs).
Most SEC schools are BY DESIGN meant to provide an educated workforce for their own state first w/ some regional consideration. Arguments over whether Arkansas is better than Tenn are a joke b/c unless you're applying for a job w/in those states or the HR person taking a look at your app is an alum the person isn't going to assign any greater weight to your education. So UGA grads will have a leg up in ATL, Bama in Birmingham, but neither gets special consideration applying for jobs in NYC.
There are minor differences b/w programs at certain schools (USC has #1 Int'l Biz program in world) but these do not make an appreciable difference on public perception of the school (and shouldn't, b/c the majority of your school's grads don't get a degree in your one or two first class programs).
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:17 pm to roadGator
quote:
Is Bama experiencing the same thing?
Over half of the undergraduate population is from out of state.
Source: Anecdotal, Professors at UA.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:22 pm to CHSgc
quote:
So UGA grads will have a leg up in ATL, Bama in Birmingham, but neither gets special consideration applying for jobs in NYC.
Define special consideration? Anyone hiring a business grad will know that UGA has a better program than bama. Now whether or not that lands them the job is based on about 50 other variables.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:22 pm to augrad00
quote:
according to this Top Schools in the world
Vandy, Florida, Texas A&M, UGA, UK, Missouri, USCe, Auburn, and Arkansas
typical, List, where they go by names.
There is no way, Wash U, in STL is in the 30's, many of those schools are ranked on name.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:27 pm to hiltacular
The special consideration is alum-based. ATL is the largest city in GA. It attracts a significant number of UGA grads. All else being equal, a person submitting an app from Arkansas will find it tougher sledding than a person submitting an app from UGA. Granted, the Arkansas person could target a business that is comprised of out of state grads or Arkansas grads, but in general the UGA grad will have an easier time.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:28 pm to PurpleandGold Motown
I talked to a buddy who goes in the Honors College at Bama and he said the same thing. It apparently always happens after Bama football hits a really good streak, but he was expressing concern about how there's a widening gap between what he saw as the strong academic out-of-state folks and the in-state folks who fail out after a year.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:49 pm to SeeeeK
Dude, WashU is fantastic. Every bit the peer of Vanderbilt and Emory, almost at Northwestern/Duke level.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:51 pm to elvisleft
^ Co-signed. Excellent school.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:54 pm to SEC. 593
quote:
SEC. 593
Ranking the SEC schools academically?
US News is a horrible way to rank schools academically, since they use non-academic factors in their rankings, and nobody but parents of high-school senors takes it seriously.
If I had to rank
Vandy
aTm
UF
Mizzou
Georgia
.
Alabama
Auburn
.
.
The rest
And nobody takes your list seriously either cap.
I notice you made sure to put Missouri in your upper echelon.
It's obvious you don't know a blessed thing about the rest of the SEC universities.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:55 pm to PurpleandGold Motown
quote:
I was speaking with my Mother last night--she's a former professor at Alabama. She told me that according to some of her friends that still teach at U of A the University is larger than its ever been, more than half of the students are from out of state, professors have received a raise every year for the last four years where other schools in state have not granted a school-wide raise in five. To say revenue is up at the University of Alabama would be an understatement.
And I was told by a well off alumni that they've grown the size of the undergraduate classes too quickly by accepting students with marginal test scores and grades in what basically amounts to a money grab. The average ACT score for an entering UA freshmen is 22. At Auburn it's a 27. TIFIW
Posted on 1/3/13 at 12:57 pm to lightbulbz
quote:
I hate general rankings. They're by and large worthless. Get a degree in what you want where you want if you can afford it. If you can't really afford a degree, then get it in something that is worth a shite somewhere that is close.
This is absolutely right, but it's always fun to argue in these threads.
Posted on 1/3/13 at 1:07 pm to MetryTyger
Mizzou gets the "upper echelon" cred because of the AAU status. Fair or unfair, the AAU is considered the gold standard of "Tier 1" status. There are a few elite private schools that are Tier 1 and Non AAU (Notre Dame, Wake Forest, etc.) but that is because they put no emphasis on research.
I also completely agree that most of this stuff is meaningless to the average grad. It comes in to play if you are applying for grad school or for jobs out of state or with prominent companies. In the end though you can get a great education at any school and the mission of a lot of these schools is about serving their state and not academic rankings.
The reason schools care about this stuff though is money. A higher rated school gets more research dollars. AAU membership means more research dollars. Research dollars equals jobs.
I also completely agree that most of this stuff is meaningless to the average grad. It comes in to play if you are applying for grad school or for jobs out of state or with prominent companies. In the end though you can get a great education at any school and the mission of a lot of these schools is about serving their state and not academic rankings.
The reason schools care about this stuff though is money. A higher rated school gets more research dollars. AAU membership means more research dollars. Research dollars equals jobs.
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