Teachin'Mine Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 http://news.yahoo.com/princeton--williams-take-top-spots-in-u-s--news-best-colleges-rankings-153155189.html I used the link above to the article "Princeton - Williams Take Top Spots in US News Best Colleges Rankings" because it includes links to lists for the universities, liberal arts colleges and best value colleges among others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Here's one for the UK. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Here's one for the UK. L What do you think of the list? I suppose it's also very dependent on the course. I was surprised by Surrey near the top as I don't hear that one mentioned a lot. The others didn't surprise me. Having said that, I haven't looked into this very much at all so my opinion isn't well-informed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 For the US ones some dropped a bit and some moved up a bit, but one thing that I noticed is a college that I'd never heard of before. Anyone else know about Soka University of America? It's a small liberal arts college started in 1987 and now rated no. 41. It's in southern California and just two miles from the coast. Sounds really intriguing for the right student. Here's their own words: "We believe that education is the road not just to a career, but to happiness, to fulfillment, and to a better, more peaceful, more sustainable world. Your Soka University degree prepares you for a rewarding future in your career, your life, and a contributive life of meaning and change. Come to Soka if you are comfortable with diversity in people, ideas, opinions, perspectives, values, and goals." Student to faculty ratio is 8:1 and the average class size is 13 with only 2% of classes with more than 20. Acceptance rate is 40 something. Just thought I'd mention it as it sounds awesome for a student looking for that atmosphere and focus. So far we've got Surrey and Soka. Any other surprises in the US or the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 What do you think of the list? I suppose it's also very dependent on the course. I was surprised by Surrey near the top as I don't hear that one mentioned a lot. The others didn't surprise me. Having said that, I haven't looked into this very much at all so my opinion isn't well-informed. It takes in a lot of things like student satisfaction, as well as university reputation, so that might change one's view on a particular university. It's worth using UNISTATS to compare more carefully. ETA: here's the Times Higher Education Supplement 100 best universities worldwide. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 . I was surprised by Surrey near the top as I don't hear that one mentioned a lot. Surrey is well regarded by overseas applicants for engineering. It is top in the Electrical Engineering list which did surprise me, as in its good but I didn't expect top spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 So far we've got Surrey and Soka. Any other surprises in the US or the UK? I was surprised by Bath. They were not on my radar as they don't have either English or Classics degrees. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I really dislike these lists for two reasons. First, it implies that there is a universal ranking of colleges that applies to all students, which just isn't true. It implies that there are huge differences between, say, the 15th ranked and the 20th ranked, when, depending on who you are as a student, the 20th might be a much, much better fit. It also implies that every single department in the 15th school is "five" better than every single department in the 20th school, and we all know that's just not true. Moreover, especially the US rankings, encourage the schools to game the system. Is selectivity part of the rankings? When it is, some Universities spam out "crap apps", free applications sent out by the thousands to students who often have no hope of admittance in order to encourage application, and thus artificially make their school seem more selective. Are number of small classes part of the metrics? If so, it is unlikely that a professor will be able to open up one spot in an otherwise full class, and a student might have to instead wait a semester or year to take the class, even if needed for graduation. College selection should be much more about fit, than about some single, absolute ranking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 For me, these lists are just one more tool to use when searching colleges. They are not the be all and end all. As for inflating acceptance rate (or deflating actually) dd was surprised to get some rejection letters from some top colleges for which she never even completed the application. So yes there is a lot of gaming of the system and each student is unique in what will be best for them. But I still like looking at the lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shage Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 For the US ones some dropped a bit and some moved up a bit, but one thing that I noticed is a college that I'd never heard of before. Anyone else know about Soka University of America? It's a small liberal arts college started in 1987 and now rated no. 41. It's in southern California and just two miles from the coast. Sounds really intriguing for the right student. Here's their own words: "We believe that education is the road not just to a career, but to happiness, to fulfillment, and to a better, more peaceful, more sustainable world. Your Soka University degree prepares you for a rewarding future in your career, your life, and a contributive life of meaning and change. Come to Soka if you are comfortable with diversity in people, ideas, opinions, perspectives, values, and goals." Student to faculty ratio is 8:1 and the average class size is 13 with only 2% of classes with more than 20. Acceptance rate is 40 something. Just thought I'd mention it as it sounds awesome for a student looking for that atmosphere and focus. So far we've got Surrey and Soka. Any other surprises in the US or the UK? I have heard of Soka because of the court cases WRT the professor who alleged religious discrimination. Maybe in Chronicles of Higher Ed? It was a weird story, not sure what came of it. I think the root of the disagreement was how closely tied the school was to the Buddhist organization. I know nothing first hand about the institution and don't mean this as a comment/slander on the academic quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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