BIG academic rankings

[hollandnucat]

I thought it would be interesting to see how the new BIG stacked up on the US News rankings of schools:
1. NU
2. UCLA
3. USC (tie)
3. Michigan (tie)
5. Wisconsin
6. Illinois
7. Ohio St.
8. Purdue
9. Washington
10. Rutgers
11. Maryland
12. Minnesota
13. Indiana
14. Michigan St. (tie)
14. Penn St. (tie)
16. Iowa
17. Oregon
18. Nebraska

Fixed adding Nebraska and Iowa.

 

[phatcat]

I like Michigan NOT being second

 

[hollandnucat]

I love Michigan not being 2nd and tied for 3rd. That may be the reason I listed them after USC.

 

[phatcat]

I love Michigan not being 2nd and tied for 3rd. That may be the reason I listed them after USC.

May be...haha love it

 

[stpaulcat]

I have always thought Minnesota was better than that. Maybe it is that they used to be.

 

[stpaulcat]

Is there a reason NU can't be as good as the other top 5 in Football? I mean a real reason, other than history.

 

[CatManTrue]

I thought it would be interesting to see how the new BIG stacked up on the US News rankings of schools:
1. NU
2. UCLA
3. USC (tie)
3. Michigan (tie)
5. Wisconsin
6. Illinois
7. Ohio St.
8. Purdue
9. Washington
10. Rutgers
11. Maryland
12. Minnesota
13. Indiana
14. Michigan St. (tie)
14. Penn St. (tie)
16. Oregon

Where does Nebraska rank? 21st?

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Where does Nebraska rank? 21st?

Tied with Iowa

 

[kaTNap]

Tied with Iowa

Iowa is one rung above Oregon. Nebraska is ... dead last, and not by a little. Oregon is #105, Nebraska is #151.

 

[rmndcat]

Appalling that USC is that highly rated, but this is not a new development, unfortunately.

 

[hollandnucat]

Is there a reason NU can't be as good as the other top 5 in Football? I mean a real reason, other than history.

The other top 5 flex tremendously for athletics. Michigan for one allows General Studies and has "special" independent study classes for athletes.

 

[1949mcd]

The other top 5 flex tremendously for athletics. Michigan for one allows General Studies and has "special" independent study classes for athletes.

ND, Duke and Stanford allow 6 exceptions each yea. Why doesn't NU gauge their requirements to this peer class. Is the minimum allowable ACT score 18 for the BIG 10 and 17 for the SEC? Anyone have any insights. I lived outside of Columbus for 16 years and even suburban football players that attended OSU were placed in remedial classes freshman year.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

It seems to me that most people (as in almost everyone) think Purdue is a clear step above Ohio State academically.

 

[rogerkim]

ND, Duke and Stanford allow 6 exceptions each yea. Why doesn't NU gauge their requirements to this peer class. Is the minimum allowable ACT score 18 for the BIG 10 and 17 for the SEC? Anyone have any insights. I lived outside of Columbus for 16 years and even suburban football players that attended OSU were placed in remedial classes freshman year.

Just curious, what is the source for the statement that ND, Duke, and Stanford allowing 6 exceptions/year? I'm not doubting that this is probably true, I would just like to know where this has been reported.

 

[GOUNUII]

Just curious, what is the source for the statement that ND, Duke, and Stanford allowing 6 exceptions/year? I'm not doubting that this is probably true, I would just like to know where this has been reported.

Exceptions to what? ND's baseline for admitting football players is much lower than NU's.

GOUNUII

 

[TheC]

It seems to me that most people (as in almost everyone) think Purdue is a clear step above Ohio State academically.

Their football program has given them a reputation, but Ohio State is a damn fine school. It is amazing what all that money can buy.

 

[DarkSide576]

I do not really think the US News rankings are the end all, be all, of rankings. I am not sure if the WSJ rankings are all that great, either, but at least someone is trying something new. No, I am not an academic, so I do not know how one should truly objectively rank the schools. To me, the rankings are a lazy way for most of us to judge other schools and their graduates, without having to take a deep dive into an individual's intellect/skill set/experience. This is my opinion, of course, and not likely to be accepted by all (or many).

 

[Frabjous]

I’ve known first-rate people who graduated from state related universities and obscure colleges, and duds who graduated from Penn, Dartmouth, Princeton, etc. Haven’t you?

 

[UpsetAlert]

Appalling that USC is that highly rated, but this is not a new development, unfortunately.

It kind of is. USC used to languish (especially compared to the UC schools), but has intentionally gotten way more competitive with them over the past 2 decades.

 

[jne381]

I do not really think the US News rankings are the end all, be all, of rankings. I am not sure if the WSJ rankings are all that great, either, but at least someone is trying something new. No, I am not an academic, so I do not know how one should truly objectively rank the schools. To me, the rankings are a lazy way for most of us to judge other schools and their graduates, without having to take a deep dive into an individual's intellect/skill set/experience. This is my opinion, of course, and not likely to be accepted by all (or many).

Of course this is all true, but NU is at the top of this list, so I will roll with it.

 

[UpsetAlert]

Their football program has given them a reputation, but Ohio State is a damn fine school. It is amazing what all that money can buy.

I think we have different opinions on what “damn fine” is. Do you mean “mediocre at best?”

 

[DarkSide576]

I know this will ruffle many feathers, but the ACC is now the premier academic conference (not counting the Ivy League). Stanford, Cal, Duke, UNC, UVA are a pretty powerful first tier. BC, Wake, Ga Tech, UMiami, make a fine second tier. No, I did not count ND.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I know this will ruffle many feathers, but the ACC is now the premier academic conference (not counting the Ivy League). Stanford, Cal, Duke, UNC, UVA are a pretty powerful first tier. BC, Wake, Ga Tech, UMiami, make a fine second tier. No, I did not count ND.

Yes, and there is a huge gap to the premier athletic conference the SEC.

 

[TheC]

I think we have different opinions on what “damn fine” is. Do you mean “mediocre at best?”

Listen, I'm no defender of Ohio State. I had a kid at Michigan for crying out loud. That said, OSU has some tremendous resources, a nice campus and some really good programs. They aren't Ivy League, but I would say they are better than mediocre, certainly compared to all the other universities in the country.

 

[pawildcat]

I’ve known first-rate people who graduated from state related universities and obscure colleges, and duds who graduated from Penn, Dartmouth, Princeton, etc. Haven’t you?

I went to a small Pa. state university that I'm fairly sure most of the posters on this board wouldn't be very familar with and off the top of my head I can think of alumni who are or were: a U.S. senator, one of the top-selling popular authors in the U.S. for the past 45-50 years, the CEO of Hershey Foods, and the lead controller for Ford Motor Company. Underestimating any person or school can be a big mistake.

 

[EvanstonCat]

It kind of is. USC used to languish (especially compared to the UC schools), but has intentionally gotten way more competitive with them over the past 2 decades.

Not true. USC has always been a good school. It’s generally considered in the same tier as UCLA and Berkeley (top 20-25 school). Although in some circles, Berkeley is considered much higher and more like a peer (or even ahead) of NU. Berkeley STEM is hard to beat really by anyone.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Listen, I'm no defender of Ohio State. I had a kid at Michigan for crying out loud. That said, OSU has some tremendous resources, a nice campus and some really good programs. They aren't Ivy League, but I would say they are better than mediocre, certainly compared to all the other universities in the country.

It’s a fine University, but the Football program cheats and puts kids on the field who can’t read and don’t belong on a college campus.

 

[EvanstonCat]

I know this will ruffle many feathers, but the ACC is now the premier academic conference (not counting the Ivy League). Stanford, Cal, Duke, UNC, UVA are a pretty powerful first tier. BC, Wake, Ga Tech, UMiami, make a fine second tier. No, I did not count ND.

Certainly the addition of Stanford and Cal makes that potentially valid statement. However, it really depends on how you’re looking at it. That first tier is pretty strong, overall, but the B1G dominates in terms of research (though the additions of Cal and Stanford definitely pull it into view).

We probably should have just added Cal and Stanford for the CIC affiliation.

 

[pawildcat]

Certainly the addition of Stanford and Cal makes that potentially valid statement. However, it really depends on how you’re looking at it. That first tier is pretty strong, overall, but the B1G dominates in terms of research (though the additions of Cal and Stanford definitely pull it into view).

We probably should have just added Cal and Stanford for the CIC affiliation.

Since the B1G has already added four of the former PAC schools, they might as well have brought in Cal and Stanford as far as I'm concerned, but TV money obviously won out over academics. Taking in just the two of them (plus SMU) was a desperate attempt for relevance by the ACC, which had no football-playing member west of South Bend (and of course as we all know Notre Dame is only an affiliate member for football). SMU was so desperate to be back in P5 football that they basically got on their knees and begged for admittance. Scheduling non-football sports will be a zoo in the B1G and a nightmare in the ACC as their expansion makes even less geographical sense than the B1G's.

 

[WestCoastWildcat]

It kind of is. USC used to languish (especially compared to the UC schools), but has intentionally gotten way more competitive with them over the past 2 decades.

U$C has played dirty on the academic research side as well over the years, esp. in terms of boosting their biotech and medical research programs. There was a major scandal with the head of their medical program a few years ago who misused funds for salacious purposes. U$C also started a major conflict with UC San Diego by taking over a large memory research program and hijacking the data from UCSD campus data storage. U$C settled the lawsuit but not after paying UCSD millions in restitution. Their institutional ethics have been called into question in the past.

 

[Frabjous]

I went to a small Pa. state university that I'm fairly sure most of the posters on this board wouldn't be very familar with and off the top of my head I can think of alumni who are or were: a U.S. senator, one of the top-selling popular authors in the U.S. for the past 45-50 years, the CEO of Hershey Foods, and the lead controller for Ford Motor Company. Underestimating any person or school can be a big mistake.

Very true. OTOH, some grads of elite schools are a bit full of themselves. There’s the old joke Princeton grad from Texas doesn’t know which to mention first.

 

[TheC]

Since the B1G has already added four of the former PAC schools, they might as well have brought in Cal and Stanford as far as I'm concerned, but TV money obviously won out over academics. Taking in just the two of them (plus SMU) was a desperate attempt for relevance by the ACC, which had no football-playing member west of South Bend (and of course as we all know Notre Dame is only an affiliate member for football). SMU was so desperate to be back in P5 football that they basically got on their knees and begged for admittance. Scheduling non-football sports will be a zoo in the B1G and a nightmare in the ACC as their expansion makes even less geographical sense than the B1G's.

So strange... and yet UConn - which is a solid academic school with perhaps the best basketball program in college sports, fantastic non-rev sports teams and a football team that, though down now, could be competitive if back in a conference, can't get in anywhere. Not sure what is going on.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Not true. USC has always been a good school. It’s generally considered in the same tier as UCLA and Berkeley (top 20-25 school). Although in some circles, Berkeley is considered much higher and more like a peer (or even ahead) of NU. Berkeley STEM is hard to beat really by anyone.

When my daughter was looking at universities we flew out to tour UCLA and Berkeley. I was quite impressed by both and honestly surprised by how different and attractive the campuses were. UCLA in an affluent suburb. Berkeley with an awesome grunge vibe. I was surprised USC was considered to be at the same level but my wife ruled it out... "No way - its too dangerous."

Either Cal-Berkeley or USC would have been a great choice, but in the end my daughter chose NU (to my surprise) because "its just got a better reputation academically - it would be a mistake to turn it down."
My own impression is that Berkeley is very well known internationally, whereas UCLA is dismissed. In California they are on equal footing.

For what its worth "kids these days" typically do not visit campuses before they apply. They just shotgun out their applications, see where they get accepted, then (maybe) go visit a few of those before deciding. This is the main reason that applications were up so sharply over the years - kids were applying to plenty of schools they didn't know much about. We did it differently for both of my kids - only applying to schools that we had visited in person. (and those trips were a lot of fun)

 

[rmndcat]

UCLA for a long time was 2nd best in California, although it would be the flagship pretty much anywhere else. Over the last decade, UCLA is being recognized as being as a
good or better, particularly in medicine.

 

[mickbula]

UCLA for a long time was 2nd best in California, although it would be the flagship pretty much anywhere else. Over the last decade, UCLA is being recognized as being as a
good or better, particularly in medicine.

ucla has had the best clinical psychology undergrad and graduate school in the world for 50 years. The school is getting better and better as the years go by in many fields. Nu has been getting better too. I like this