Public Ivies (Ivy League, skills, UVA, degree)

[Derry8107]

This is a fun thread/poll related to Education. In the poll above, there is a list of all Public Ivies with excellent education and academic leadership that is similiar to those in the Ivy League but at public cost. Also, Public Ivies happen to be in most popular college towns with excellent reputation throughout the country.

If you have to pick one, which one would you pick and why?

[enigmaingr]

Without a doubt: Michigan!

[mcb1025]

I know Michigan was one of the first to be labeled a "Public Ivy". The campus is beautiful (especially the Law Quad) and the university attracts some of the best professors, researchers and students. I think the average high school GPA for incoming freshman is around 3.9. Of course, my opinion may be biased since I graduated from there.

Go Blue!

[Frank the Tank]

Disclosure: I attended the University of Illinois and am a rabid Illini fan.

Objectively speaking, Michigan probably has the best combo of academics, athletics and a great college town. I think there are 10 generally recognized elite level public schools, which I've grouped by tiers:

GROUP 1
Michigan
Berkeley
Virginia

GROUP 2
UCLA
UNC
William & Mary

GROUP 3
Illinois
Wisconsin
Georgia Tech
Texas

I think that most people in academia would consider those schools to be legit "public ivies". There's a bit of a drop-off in terms of academic prestige and student selectivity once you get past those schools (other than the other University of California campuses, which are all extremely difficult to get into).

[grapico]

frank, agree... I wouldn't consider several of those public ivies but agree on your top 10.

[MitchArk87]

Indiana University-Bloomington is #1 for me. Go, Hooisers!

Other Big 10 universities like uppity Michigan, private Northwestern, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Penn State also happen to be highly-ranked with excellent reputation.

Of course, Iowa and Illinois both are highly-ranked but because of their locations, I wouldn't want to attend these universities.

I don't know much about others in the poll but I know UC-Berkeley, Texas, Florida, and Virginia are excellent too.

[Big G]

Disclosure: I also attended the University of Illinois (as a graduate student). I found the professors arrogant (beyond typical professorial arrogance), the students overwhelmingly Chicago-centric, and Urbana severely lacking in atmosphere relative to most Big 10 cities. I got my degree and got the hell out of Dodge. I wish I could have had a do-over on that, even though the UI degree has helped me land a job more than once over the years.

Anyway, back then (20+ years ago), Illinois was considered the equal of Michigan, and superior to Wisconsin. I don't know if Illinois has slipped or the other 2 have risen, but Frank the Tank's listings are pretty much spot-on.

I wouldn't consider Iowa, Indiana or Penn State "public Ivies". Just in the Big 10, Minnesota and Ohio State have better overall programs, and no one will confuse them with Cornell or UPenn. Same goes for Florida and some others on the list.

Honestly, Frank the Tank's Top 3 are the only ones that scream "Public Ivy". The second group, maybe. If I heard someone got admitted to the third group or the others listed, I'd think, "Well, that's a good choice", not "Wow! You must be really smart to be able to get in to THAT school!"

I guess I should answer the question. Well, if you're just looking at the school - Berkeley. If you're just looking at the town - Madison.

If you're looking at both - well, I'll still go with Wisconsin.

[thinkin about it]

Having gone to an ivy and been rejected by Berkeley(yet took a few classes anyway, heh), I don't think it's particularly close.


Berkeley. UVA is an incredible institution all told as well. To be honest, though, the generalized stuff is silly to the point of nausea. Every department is different, and lets be real here: most students don't possess the intellectual ability to even begin to crack the surface of most departments' respective capacities. I find this type of stuff matters mostly to soccer moms who get off on telling other moms where their kid went to college, and insular graduate admissions programs. In the real world, these are all great schools.

[hsw]

I view any college as a 2 or 3 yr stop (only slackers need 4 yrs for a silly undergrad degree) to acquire job-relevant skills and a degree/high GPA to compete for a $100K+/yr job upon graduation

Only Ivies that really matter are Wharton Finance and Harvard ?Econ/Applied Math

Would rather be an alum of Berkeley CompSci or IL CompSci than any of the lesser Ivies (Berkeley more so as one can conveniently work part-time/Summer at one of the SiliconValley cos.)

Suspect an English or History or Asian/Ebonics Studies or Biology or PoliSci major from Berkeley or Harvard or Stanford will be equally un/underemployed unless Daddy can find him/her a socially prestigious job

[mcb1025]

Originally Posted by hsw

Suspect an English or History or Asian/Ebonics Studies or Biology or PoliSci major from Berkeley or Harvard or Stanford will be equally un/underemployed unless Daddy can find him/her a socially prestigious job

Interesting. My daddy, a truck driver with no college education, and my mommy, a teacher's aide with no college education, did not pay a dime for me to go to school, nor did they help me acquire a job after school. I moved 1200 miles away from home (in Michigan) to a place with no friends, family, or connections. I have a degree in Political Science with an emphasis in Economics from the University of Michigan, a university that I was not supposed to get into or do well at for that matter. Yet, I graduated from college and now I have a job in supply chain management with one of the nation's largest telecom companies. So, how do you figure?

Ambition and intelligence pays dividends, my friend. By the way, this thread is not for you to spout off your pestilent, unfounded opinions about who will succeed in life. The topic is which universities you believe to be public ivies. Please, stay on point.