Forbes: SMU # 81 for all Colleges & Universities

[Water Pony]

Excellent ranking (#81) for SMU against all colleges and universities, including the classical Liberal Arts Colleges. We are Number 3 in Texas behind UT-Austin and Rice and No. 1 in the American Athletic Conference (or No. 2 after U.S. Naval Academy joins in 2015).

Pony Up!

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/lmh45kel ... niversity/

[StallionsModelT]

This is great. I'm anxious to see where we land in the US News rankings. I'm hoping we are right around #50 and ahead of A&M and maybe just barely behind UT-Austin. In the next 5 years I think we pass Texas on that list.

[Pony^]

Wow! Looks like our sister school, Emory, fell off the face of the Earth.

[gostangs]

we are already ahead of A&M. That will not change - their student quality has stayed flat for years. They might get passed by Baylor soon.

[gostangs]

Anyone else think the military institutes are all a little inflated? All great institutions, but not as hard to get in as many of the schools behind them on the list.

[Pony^]

we are already ahead of A&M. That will not change - their student quality has stayed flat for years. They might get passed by Baylor soon.

This ranking is not primarily focused on student quality:

What sets our calculation of 650 colleges and universities apart from other rankings is our firm belief in “output” over “input.” We’re not all that interested in what gets a student into college, like our peers who focus heavily on selectivity metrics such as high school class rank and SAT scores. Our sights are set directly on ROI: What are students getting out of college. (See CCAP’s full methodology here.)

We look at factors that directly concern today’s incoming students (and their families) who will be be footing a bill which has multiplied into the six figures: Will my classes be interesting? Is it likely I will graduate in four years? Will I incur a ton of debt getting my degree? And once I get out of school, will I get a good job and be a leader in my chosen profession? We pointedly ignore any metrics that would encourage schools to engage in wasteful spending.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2013/07/24/americas-top-colleges-2013/

See also, http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2013/07/24/ranking-americas-top-colleges-2013/

[Pony^]

Wow! Looks like our sister school, Emory, fell off the face of the Earth.

I see, Emory lied about their numbers, so Forbes is leaving them off their ranking for two years:

Claremont McKenna isn’t the only top college that lied. Bucknell University doctored SAT results from 2006 to 2012; Emory University provided numbers for admitted students rather than enrolled ones for more than a decade; and Iona College lied about acceptance and graduation rates, SAT scores and alumni giving for nine years starting in 2002. All have since fessed up and claim to have instituted better practices. As a penalty for their dishonesty–and an acknowledgment of the growing scope of the problem–we are removing the four institutions from our list of the country’s best schools for two years.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2013/07/24/why-forbes-removed-4-schools-from-its-americas-best-colleges-rankings/

[East Coast Mustang]

The death penalty of college rankings. Will Emory ever recover?

[blackoutpony]

Anyone else think the military institutes are all a little inflated? All great institutions, but not as hard to get in as many of the schools behind them on the list.

No. They really are that hard to get into and they are that hard. Senators and Congressman can only give out so many recommendations and you have to have one to get in, but by no means does it actually mean you get in. Think about that for a second. My dad and brother both went to Air Force and they both took an average of 23-25 hours a semester (apparently that's normal) which is absolutely insane. My brother took 29 hours once. That doesn't even include all the military training they had to do on the side and my dad played football and my brother was on the wings of blue parachute team. Needless to say, that's a pretty rigorous curriculum.

[Water Pony]

Anyone else think the military institutes are all a little inflated? All great institutions, but not as hard to get in as many of the schools behind them on the list.

No. They really are that hard to get into and they are that hard. Senators and Congressman can only give out so many recommendations and you have to have one to get in, but by no means does it actually mean you get in. Think about that for a second. My dad and brother both went to Air Force and they both took an average of 23-25 hours a semester (apparently that's normal) which is absolutely insane. My brother took 29 hours once. That doesn't even include all the military training they had to do on the side and my dad played football and my brother was on the wings of blue parachute team. Needless to say, that's a pretty rigorous curriculum.

I share a very high opinion of the service academies in terms of the competitiveness to entry, the academic and other demands on the students, personal growth & maturity and their post graduation leadership. I might add that the difficulty for each student for 4 years is comparable and challenging for all the cadets and midshipmen. Where as, traditional universities and colleges offer some a less challenging way to matriculate.

[PK]

...matriculate? Is that still legal?

[Ponymon]

we are already ahead of A&M. That will not change - their student quality has stayed flat for years. They might get passed by Baylor soon.

Hate to give you the bad news but A$M had 40,000 more applicants than last year because of the move to the SEC and Johnny Manziel's success. Additionally, they are moving up their required GPA to get into several of the schools significantly. Right now, for instance, it takes a 3.0 to average GPA to get into the business school. I believe that is going up to at least 3.2 next year and it could be higher than that.

[blackoutpony]

we are already ahead of A&M. That will not change - their student quality has stayed flat for years. They might get passed by Baylor soon.

Hate to give you the bad news but A$M had 40,000 more applicants than last year because of the move to the SEC and Johnny Manziel's success. Additionally, they are moving up their required GPA to get into several of the schools significantly. Right now, for instance, it takes a 3.0 to average GPA to get into the business school. I believe that is going up to at least 3.2 next year and it could be higher than that.

Out of high school or in the pre reqs once they get on campus?

[Pony^]

Hate to give you the bad news but A$M had 40,000 more applicants than last year because of the move to the SEC and Johnny Manziel's success.

Don't believe everything you hear, this one doesn't pass the smell test.

If true, A&M would suddenly have more applicants than any other American university -- when it wasn't even close in the past.

Honestly, A&M will probably see some increase in applications; however, if football success is the key, there are certainly more successful programs for applicants to consider.

[StallionsModelT]

LOL!!! 40,000 more applications in one year to Aggie? Please. Someone is feeding you a line. I could see a spike of 5K-7K, but 40K is unprecedented and like the poster above states, it would be the most applied to school in the nation. Being good at football is great, but you still have to live in College Station for four years. That isnt going to be enough to sway 40K more kids to apply.