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.
Gustavus Aldophus in St. Peter, MN would be another place to look into. The campus isn't as pretty as St. Olaf but its a great school and is one of the best in the nation for merit/financial aid. St. Peter is a pretty town, similar to Northfield. Gustavus also has a pretty top notch tennis program if she chooses to go that route.
College of Wooster is also on her list! She wanted to attend a Lutheran college but she is open to others. As always, I am open to any four year college that has her (yet to be decided) major and is a good fit.
As far as sports are concerned, her only interests are cheer,soccer and tennis. The only one she has participated in during High School, and not as an extracurricular, is cheer so sports are not big for in terms of college selection.
I think Kent State would be a great fit. It's hard to believe, but their fashion programs are renowned and attract students from across the country. Plus it's close to home and public. With her grades, she could probably get a scholarship and go there for next to nothing.
My sister goes to Kent and I spend a good amount of time there. It's a nice college town with a liberal, diverse student body. I know people who graduated from their fashion programs and now have great jobs in NYC. They are good at helping students find internships and since the program is so respected, there's a great alumni base for networking.
Another school to consider is Augustana in Sioux Falls, SD. Great merit aid, great school, nice size, getting to/from Sioux Falls is easy with the airport right there.
Rankings for the Lutheran colleges discussed so far:
St. Olaf #55 National Liberal Arts Colleges (The top tier of LA college rankings)
Gustavus: #85 National Lib Arts Colleges
Wittenburg: #121 Nat. Lib. Arts
Roanoke: #133 Nat. Lib Arts
Muhlenberg is a not-too-shabby Lutheran liberal arts college in Allentown. Though I wouldn't recommend anyone pay the hefty sticker price, it could be worth applying to in the hope of receiving some kind of merit scholarship.
That said, the school is 30+% Jewish, and heavily draws its student body from the lower half of the BosWash megalopolis, making it feel a lot different from most other notable Lutheran schools. But despite the seemingly incongruous demographics, it's still very committed to its Lutheran roots and may be a good opportunity for your daughter to get the education she desires while still being exposed to a number of different social perspectives.
Rankings for the Lutheran colleges discussed so far:
St. Olaf #55 National Liberal Arts Colleges (The top tier of LA college rankings)
Gustavus: #85 National Lib Arts Colleges
Wittenburg: #121 Nat. Lib. Arts
Roanoke: #133 Nat. Lib Arts
Now US News is not the be-all/end-all of rankings, but they're pretty accurate.
No they are not. Rankings mean nothing unless you want them to mean something. A degree from Augustana in the midwest is going to carry FAR more weight then a degree from Wittenburg or Roanoke because no one has ever heard of them before. Also, it doesn't matter WHERE you go to school as much as what you do when you are in school. Where do you get this "tier" system from anyway. There is no formal tier system. It's an assumed system by people that think rankings matter.
No they are not. Rankings mean nothing unless you want them to mean something. A degree from Augustana in the midwest is going to carry FAR more weight then a degree from Wittenburg or Roanoke because no one has ever heard of them before. Also, it doesn't matter WHERE you go to school as much as what you do when you are in school. Where do you get this "tier" system from anyway. There is no formal tier system. It's an assumed system by people that think rankings matter.
People generally misuse the tier system based on how U.S. News uses it. I rarely see it used properly on these forums. In a nut shell Tier 1 schools are number ranked. Tier 2 schools have no rank and aren't numbered. So basically any ranked school with any number is a Tier 1. So all schools no matter the number rank (national or regional) on US News are Tier 1.
No they are not. Rankings mean nothing unless you want them to mean something. A degree from Augustana in the midwest is going to carry FAR more weight then a degree from Wittenburg or Roanoke because no one has ever heard of them before. Also, it doesn't matter WHERE you go to school as much as what you do when you are in school. Where do you get this "tier" system from anyway. There is no formal tier system. It's an assumed system by people that think rankings matter.
I agree that what you put into a school is important, and that rankings aren't the be-all/end-all. I think rankings are more important in grad school than undergrad. That said:
Wittenburg is in Ohio. Why wouldn't someone in the midwest have heard about it?
US News ranks schools thusly:
Best national universities, ranked by number. Best liberal arts colleges, ranked by number. Like it or not, these ARE the top schools, at least by their criteria.
Each of these "best" schools are followed by third tier schools in their categories.
Best Universities-Master's, that is, schools that offer up to a master's degree. ranked by number, regionally. These schools are followed by a "third tier" of like schools.
Best Baccalaureate Colleges, with fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts. These are also ranked number regionally, followed by a third tier of same.
There is an assumed "tier 2" of the schools ranked by number.
This is all straight from the US News book.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 12-30-2012 at 08:02 AM..
Wittenburg is in Ohio. Why wouldn't someone in the midwest have heard about it?
US News ranks schools thusly:
Best national universities, ranked by number. Best liberal arts colleges, ranked by number. Like it or not, these ARE the top schools, at least by their criteria.
Each of these "best" schools are followed by third tier schools in their categories.
Best Universities-Master's, that is, schools that offer up to a master's degree. ranked by number, regionally. These schools are followed by a "third tier" of like schools.
Best Baccalaureate Colleges, with fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts. These are also ranked number regionally, followed by a third tier of same.
There is an assumed "tier 2" of the schools ranked by number.
This is all straight from the US News book.
I just put a link up from U.S. News that says otherwise. U.S. News has different cats but the Tiers don't work like that. You can assume tiers but that is not a good system since anyone can assume something else..
Quote from U.S. News link is in my post above.
"9. What are tiers, and why are some schools listed in tiers and not numerically ranked? U.S. News publishes the numbered rankings of approximately the top 75 percent of schools in each of the categories. The remaining schools are placed in the bottom, or Second Tier, based on their overall score in their category, and listed alphabetically.
The Second Tier, also referred to as Tier 2, is approximately the bottom 25 percent of schools that are just beneath the numerically ranked schools in the top three fourths in terms of their rankings in that category. In other words, schools listed in Tier 2 are ranked lower than all those that are numerically ranked. In that particular ranking category of schools, the Tier 2 schools are the lowest ranked.
We believe that the data are complete enough to numerically rank schools in the top 75 percent of each category, given our robust methodology. Another key reason we can rank that many schools numerically is that the quality of the data we collect has improved over the years, including our ability to get a school’s data from other public sources, such as the U.S. Department of Education, for schools that don’t report their data to U.S. News voluntarily. These extended rankings also reduce ranking volatility, since far fewer schools will now drop in and out of the numerical rankings in any given year.
Schools in Tier 2 are not numerically ranked since the data is not as complete and we want the numerical rankings to emphasize the top schools."
I just put a link up from U.S. News that says otherwise. U.S. News has different cats but the Tiers don't work like that. You can assume tiers but that is not a good system since anyone can assume something else..
The book I have from 2010 specifically uses the word "tier". In fact, in your link, Q#9 refers to tiers, e.g.
9. What are tiers, and why are some schools listed in tiers and not numerically ranked? U.S. News publishes the numbered rankings of approximately the top 75 percent of schools in each of the categories. The remaining schools are placed in the bottom, or Second Tier, based on their overall score in their category, and listed alphabetically.
So it does seem that they have changed "tier 3" to "tier 2". Mea Culpa!
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.
