Better name recognition...

Hello fine members,

I just found out that I have enough money from my post 9/11 GI bill for another masters degree. I decided to pursue a degree in organizational leadership. I have narrowed the degree to the following schools:

Duquesne University-Online Masters in OL

Saint Joseph's University-Online Masters in OL

Gonzaga University-Online Masters in OL

Quinnipiac University-Online Masters in OL.

I have the following questions. Which school do you think has better name recognition? I know that all of them are great schools, however, I just want to make sure . At this point I'm leaning towards Duquesne University. However, I'm open for suggestions. Also, if you guys and gals know of other schools that offer online organizational leadership degree, by all means, feel free to post them here, thank you all. :approve:

 

They're all great schools, but which has the best name recognition will have a lot to do with where you plan to work. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and Gonzaga wins here by a mile. If I lived in Pennsylvania, though, my vote would probably be completely different.

 

Yeah... I would also say that name recognition is bias depending on where you live.

 

Nationwide, it's no contest. Gonzaga wins because of their recent run of NCAA basketball success and the fact that Dickie V loves to yell their name, baby!

That being said, all of them are schools with relatively high national profiles. You should base your decision on which one has the best program in the area you wish to study, with an important second factor being your ability to cashflow the program using your military benefits. You could find the #1 school in your field with a great national profile, but it isn't going to matter if you can't pay for it.

As a third factor, you might want to consider proximity. Even if you won't visit campus often, you might find it useful to be able to get there without taking a flight. I know there were a lot of times when I was doing my undergrad that I wished I was closer to Laramie, and that was a big influence in me choosing to do an MBA program that was in the next county over.

Best of luck with your decision!

 

Of the four in the original post, my favorite is Duquesne's leadership program and gave the global leadership option a very close look when debating how to finish off my GI Bill. I ended up going with Colorado State University - GC which has a M.S. in Organizational Leadership (note - I went the management route and not the leadership) while offering military tuition rates and a fixed tuition rate for the duration of the program. Organizational Leadership - CSU Global Campus

 

Go Zags. I am live about 4 miles from Gonzaga and have had several friends go through the MAOL program there. It is a great program. If you can have Uncle Sugar pay for it, I would say go for it. It would be a little hard to choke down the price out of pocket.

 

It's really a coin toss with these schools. All are outside the top 100 on the US rankings list. Duquesne might get a slight nod because it's a little more selective. Then again, Gonzaga might be more recognizable for their sports.

All are good universities. Nothing spectacular but you'll get a solid education from all of them. If you're looking for name recognition there are better options.

 

If you are near Truckie and where I used to live, Pacific NW, then Gonzaga would be best. Over here on the east coast, despite their recent run of success in b-ball, people still pronounce the school Gon-Zogga. Of the four though, It would be down to Duq or Gonz whichever has a better curriculum and maximizes your GI Bill money. Good luck.

 

The University of Oklahoma has a M.A. in Administrative Leadership that is 100% DL while offering a competitive tuition rate for military (current and retired plus spouses) if the op still qualifies.

Master of Arts in Administrative Leadership - College of Liberal Studies - The University of Oklahoma
MAAL Degree Plan - College of Liberal Studies - The University of Oklahoma

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely look into this program, it looks interesting, the right price, and from a great university. Thanks to everyone else for your input, I've taken all the suggestions into account. I will keep you guys posted as to which program I ultimately choose.

 

Can someone explain to me why the University of Oklahoma sits at #111 on the US College Ranking list when it accepts over 92% of applicants?

 

Read through the ranking methodology used. Acceptance percentages are only one small piece of the puzzle.

Methodology: Undergraduate Ranking Criteria and Weights - US News and World Report

To me, a relatively high acceptance rate would be keeping with the mission of a large state university.

 

More specifically, acceptance rate is only 10% of the "student selectivity" score.

And "student selectivity" is only 15% of the total USN&WR ranking.

So acceptance rate really accounts for only 10% of 15% of the total USN&WR ranking. That's just 1.5 % overall.

Another factor is that state universities often have "automatic" admissions policies. If your GPA, test scores, or class rank (or some combination of these factors) reach a certain well-defined level, then acceptance is generally automatic. And if they don't reach the appropriate level, then rejection is also automatic (unless you have some other special talent, like athletics, music, etc).

High school students (or their parents or counselors) can often figure out in advance if their numbers are good enough to meet the automatic acceptance level as defined by a given state university. In such cases, they won't bother to apply unless their numbers are at (or at least close to) the levels needed for acceptance. The result is high acceptance rates. The school may still be selective, but it has low rejection rates because only well-qualified candidates apply.