What defines the quality of the schools? (universities, degree, middle school)

[xgzipx]

People said ... this school is good. this one is not that good...that one is better...

Why are some more selective than others? What makes them different

[Takes1 2 Know1]

I don't think any of those poll options are good indicators, they seem more course specific than anything.

I would have to say acceptance rate and graduation rate. Graduation rate shows what type of student body the university has and graduation rate will reflect that. If those indicators are met, I would say the popularity of the school and then the quality of teachers.

[xgzipx]

What affect the acceptance rate?
The acceptance rate becomes low because it's more selective and the body of applicants is beyond its limit, otherwise, the rate becomes high.

So why is the school more selective?
In my opinion, i dun really think acceptance rate would reflect what makes the school better.

[maf763]

Acceptance rate would give you a 'supply and demand' scenario - a school with a low acceptance rate is in high demand (relatively speaking) and therefore appears to be a quality school.

Personally, I think there are too many different criteria to to quantify what makes a school better. Somebody going to school for a teaching degree is looking for something very different than somebody going for business, for example.

[emailvasally]

I dont know the real answer to this question. There are so many things involved. I thought I did enough research and considered enough things when deciding where to move for my kids school. they are very highly rated in the area, always do well with TAKS testing, and have a higher graduation rate than the other schools in the area.
with that being said the things that I did not look into and am now disappointed about are the following.
- they dont have many electives and dont have foreign language for 6 & 7th graders.
- dont have salads and water at lunch
- dont make them take PE anymore in middle school
- they do not push the kids to excel. as long as they are doing "well enough" that is good enough for the school.
- they dont have but a couple of honors type classes in middle school. you have to be considered "gifted" to go into programs that make you do more.
- If the kid is not failing the teachers are very reluctant to talk to you.

[PurpleLove08]

I would say the quality of the teachers and class size.

[Takes1 2 Know1]

As Maf763 said, there's a lot more to consider such as the ranking of individual colleges within the university i.e. Business, Engineering.

The acceptance rate shows that it's selective in its process of selecting college students; the more selective the university is, the higher in quality of applicants that have applied to the university (in most cases).

[ozzie679]

Most of what makes perception of a "good" school is subjective. Research universities and "Ivy league" type school are in a class of their own. But for the most part, it's public perception.

• Tradition
• Popularity
• Success of Alumni
• Networking opportunities
• Big time sports (unfortunately)

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by LiveTodayLez08

I would say the quality of the teachers and class size.

Especially for k-12, with a strong, fair, open administration.

For secondary, would put more on the profs (their caliber) and also on the overall course work.

[KarlaT2]

Reputation of the college for particular programs. Overall reputation.