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How can schools ranked #89, 92, and 97 be "public schools with academic quality comparable to an Ivy League institution."? (Though I do question the U of CO being ranked 97. Some of its programs in the sciences and engineering are excellent.)
The short answer is they're not. Not really, which is what I was trying to say before we went of on this tangent. But they're generally pretty good, great in some areas, certainly better than the run-of-the-mill university, and close to the top it's kind of a game of inches.
Nobody will ever fool themselves Georgia Tech is Princeton-but since most of us hadn't a prayer of getting into Princeton, the overall education is pretty solid and WAY better than, say, Augusta State (whoops-Georgia Regents).
If one wants the best education, they should seek out the best professors in that field and study under them.
This is where I think you're wearing blinders-and I honestly mean that respectfully. I could seek out all I wanted, and I knew who they were, but my record and ability was not sufficient to get to study under those top professors. Your (record and ability) clearly was.
I had to seek out professors that were as good as I could get, given my record and ability. That's what most of us have to do.
Btw, I rate Georgia Tech very highly. I taught an NSF funded program there. It has students from schools like UPenn and CMU as well. Georgia Tech had some of the brightest kids in terms of being able to apply what they learned.
I may get bashed for this, but some of the actual Ivy League universities themselves might be a bit overrated. I won't mentioned any specifically, but a few have the name recognition and benefit from Ivy League affiliation, but aren't really on par with the others.
Also when the original Public Ivy League list was created, Miami University was widely consider the best academic institution in Ohio. Since that time, thanks to a concerted effort by Ohio State's administration and some political winds shifting around the state, OSU has taken a wide leap past Miami.
I happen to agree that the actual Ivy League schools are overrated. And, not just a bit. When any group of colleges and universities puts as much stock in legacies as these schools do, they lose credibility. The same goes for the well known grade inflation that goes on at each and every one of these schools.
People would do well to remember that all "Ivy League" references is an athletic league. That's it. It is not an official designation of excellence. It's an athletic league of some of the oldest colleges in the country. Nothing more.
In terms of research, there seems to be more important research coming out of state research universities than "Ivy League" colleges.
As a relatively recent Ohio transplant, I am very happy to hear the news about OSU. Go Buckeyes!
Last edited by toobusytoday; 09-10-2013 at 08:26 AM..
I thought Miami U. was more known for being a prestigious smaller institution; it's not a big producer of Ph.D.'s.
It's not as large as the big state universities and it's not a big producer of doctorates, but it's not small, either and it has traditionally been known for solid undergraduate and master's level academics. It seems like the consensus is that it's been passed up by Ohio State almost across the board academically, though.
I happen to agree that the actual Ivy League schools are overrated. And, not just a bit. When any group of colleges and universities puts as much stock in legacies as these schools do, they lose credibility. The same goes for the well known grade inflation that goes on at each and every one of these schools.
People would do well to remember that all "Ivy League" references is an athletic league. That's it. It is not an official designation of excellence. It's an athletic league of some of the oldest colleges in the country. Nothing more.
In terms of research, there seems to be more important research coming out of state research universities than "Ivy League" colleges.
As a relatively recent Ohio transplant, I am very happy to hear the news about OSU. Go Buckeyes!
Cornell is the oddball in terms of the Ivy League schools due to being the youngest Ivy and that it actually is a public and private university, depending on the program. It also is a land grant university in the same vein of say Big 10 and other large state/land grant universities. So, it is what I call a hybrid university.
University of Minnesota fan here! Glad to see my school and the Big 10 on the list!
I think the rankings have to be taken with a grain of salt. Many are very arbitrary and weigh things strangely. I came across some rankings which had the U of M (Minnesota, that is) ranked 300th+ in the country and some dinky schools in the deep south (no disrespect) rated highly because the number of students was weighed negatively. Big schools can be successful... Look at Florida, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Ohio State, etc. Rankings are not fact.
Big state schools can be extremely prestigious. Not in the same league as real ivy-leagues, probably, but academically very sound.
Big state schools can be extremely prestigious. Not in the same league as real ivy-leagues, probably, but academically very sound.
+1.
Sometimes this drumbeat for 'small schools are everything and if you don't like them you're wrong' sounds like what I imagine the 'STEM is everything' crowd (of which I admit I am guilty sometimes) sounds like to someone not even vaguely interested in anything STEM-related.
I completely loved my experience at my large state schools. For me, it was a great experience.
STEM is good for some people. Small schools are good for some people.
Sometimes this drumbeat for 'small schools are everything and if you don't like them you're wrong' sounds like what I imagine the 'STEM is everything' crowd (of which I admit I am guilty sometimes) sounds like to someone not even vaguely interested in anything STEM-related.
I completely loved my experience at my large state schools. For me, it was a great experience.
STEM is good for some people. Small schools are good for some people.
I absolutely agree. I spent two years at a medium-sized school (15k students) and had a very poor experience; partially my fault, as well as it being sub-par academically.
I pulled some strings and got into Minnesota, which is one of the largest schools in the nation, and had a much more personalized academic experience. I thought with so many students, it would be difficult to get attention, but it was quite the opposite. Perhaps this is an isolated case, perhaps not. All I know is, I loved every minute of going to a state school. I never did apply to an Ivy. In hindsight, I could have, but I'm happy and proud of where I ended up.
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Go Buckeyes!
