Large metro areas without a "top school" (namely Dallas and Miami) (largest, places)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
UC Irvine is quite a bit more selective than SMU (look it up) and has a higher academic reputation probably everywhere but North Texas. UC system schools are like that - well funded, very competitive and legally unable to admit anyone on a quota. But you are right - it is on the far end of the spectrum and in parentheses for a reason. And it is just one of several good schools in LA. That does not elevate SMU.
Trust me, it isnt. Im from Southern California. UC Irvine is where people who cant get into one of the better UC schools go. My sister in law went there and got in with less than a 900 on the SAT.
I don't know how these are ranked in US NEWS, but in the South, one might make a case for Emory and Geogia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Both are supposed to be very good schools
Edit: I don't know how big the NY CSA is, but many people here do think of Princeton as more in Philly's orbit than New York's. But West Point, though far from Manhattan, is usually considered to be in the NYC region.
I think the Pacific Northwest is pretty lacking in major universities, with the only real competitor being University of Washington as a well-regarded pubic uni.
I think the Pacific Northwest is pretty lacking in major universities, with the only real competitor being University of Washington as a well-regarded pubic uni.
Was having a chat with a friend last night, and we discussed how among the largest cities in America and their surrounding metropolitan expanses, most seem to have an anchor "top school" or two. By "top school", I mean an institution which is pretty much universally accepted to have both undergraduate and possibly relevant graduate programs that are among the best in the nation and are centrally located with the CSA catchment of a large city. They need not be Ivy League, but of that rough caliber. These schools often form a very big part of the history and "success" of their host metros, and ensure a flow of high-achieving alumni and active academic and professional accomplishment (with associated networks).
1. New York CSA: Princeton, Yale, Columbia, NYU, (West Point?) 2. Los Angeles CSA: CalTech, UCLA, USC, (UC Santa Barbara?), (UC Irvine?), (UCSD?) 3. Chicago CSA: University of Chicago, Northwestern 4. Washington-Baltimore CSA: Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Naval Academy, (UVA?), (William and Mary?) 5. San Francisco-San Jose CSA: Stanford, UC Berkley, (UC Davis?) 6. Boston CSA: Harvard, MIT, Brown, Boston College, Tufts, Brandeis, Boston University, Northeastern (Dartmouth?) 7. Philadelphia CSA: Penn, Princeton, (Lehigh?), (Penn State?) 8. Dallas-Fort Worth MSA:Nothing (SMU is well outside almost every top 50 list) 9. Miami CSA: University of Miami 10. Houston CSA: Rice University
Getting further down the list, you can also raise questions about Denver (Air Force Academy? UD?), and Phoenix (nothing). Of course "good schools" are highly concentrated on America's far older East Coast, but aside from California and parts of the South, it seems the sun-belt really strikes out.
Leave anything out?
I agree with another poster that I do not like these World News college ranking things.
But Drexel University in Philadelphia is consistently overlooked because it is not ranked as high as other universities, simply for the fact that a majority of the students graduate in 4-6 years based on the co-op system. This is when students work in their field of study as well as doing coursework. These rankings do not take that into account, therefore Drexel ranks in the 80-90 range, when it actually falls into the 50-60 category, I have actually spoken to those who produce those rankings, they stated they do not base Drexel off of its appropriate criteria. Drexel also has a huge influence in the city of Philadelphia, along with Penn transforming neighborhoods and providing thousands of jobs and bringing thousands of young people to the area.
And also the Philadelphia area has many more top universities that you failed to mention. Just because they are not on that dumb world news report does not make them any less noteworthy.
Ex. Drexel, Villanova, Temple, Swarthmore, St. Joes... so on.
I would think SMU and TCU. Not to mention Baylor in nearby Waco. I know that's far but it it's definitely on the DFW radar. I may be corrected.
Definitely NOT Baylor.
Although we have plenty of alumni and current students who are either from DFW or currently living here.
(And yes T.T., TCU is NOT in this so-called "Dallas Area" you speak of. )
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)