Harvard, Princeton Tie for No. 1 College By STEVE GIEGERICH, AP Education Writer http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030822/ap_on_re_us/college_rankings Roscoe
Interesting, indeed. The rankings are already online: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/natudoc/tier1/t1natudoc_brief.php Personally, I was a bit surprised to see the separation in what were formally 2nd tier schools. The University of Florida, for example, is tied for 48 while FSU is ranked 112.
Although the U.S. News rankings have sometimes had trouble with their consistency/reliability across years (e.g. Albertson College going from a "tier 1" to a "tier 4" in one year), the rankings at the top have been the same for many years: Harvard, Princeton & Yale occupying the top three slots and taking turns for the #1 slot. Tony Piña Faculty, Cal State U. San Bernardino (which often gets clobbered in the U.S. News rankings because someone keeps neglecting to fill out the survey and send it in).
I like to see that I am consistent in school choice*. I've written/co-written two books on choosing academic programs and, yet, I've selected a Tier 4 school for my next degree. Could that be because I couldn't care less what some magazine thinks of a school? It meets my needs. Hmm, I can say that I have been quite pleased with all of my choices to date and they've all provided a solid education. To my shame, I believe that Chapman is now Tier 1 (western regional), but wasn't when I went there. Tom Nixon *Chapman College (now University), California State University, Fresno, National University, University of West Alabama (Beg. 9/03)
Notre Dame is a school? I thought that it was just a place for hunchbacks to live and a football team?
Tom, That's exactly how I feel. In my case, I've never desired to go to an Ivy League school or any school considered big by most standards. I like the challenge of being the underdog by going to a smaller school and then making waves that grab the attention of the big schools. Then again, guess I've always been a lone ranger of sorts. Got that obsession to be a trailblazer. Roscoe
Tom: I'm with you. The U.S. News ranking is one (of many) tools that people can use, but I believe that far too many take it far too seriously. Three of the best regarded programs in my field (instructional technology) are at Arizona State University, Utah State University (both "tier 3" schools) and at the University of South Alabama (a "tier 4"). Like you, I chose the university with the doctoral program that best met my needs (La Sierra U. in Riverside, CA) and have never regretted it. Tony Piña Faculty, CSU San Bernardino BTW, I cite both your books in my dissertation.
