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OT - BU ranked in America's Best Colleges

B

BUBrave28

New member
Forbes list of America's Best Colleges includes Bradley at #383 (3rd in the MVC). We rank right alongside Arizona St., Wash U (StL), Oklahoma St, and Texas Tech.

In Illinois we rank behind Northwestern, U of Chicago, U of I, Wheaton College, North Central College, Augustana College, Knox College, Principia College (never heard of it), Lake Forest College, Elmhurst College, Illinois Wesleyan, DePaul, and Illinois College.

We just edged out: ISU (#405), IIT, Milikin, and Loyola.

Similar schools: Creighton #228, Butler #332, Drake #448, Valpo #466

Other Valley Schools: Evansville #296, Missouri St. #486, UNI #501, SIU-C #564
Not listed: Indiana St., Wichita St.

"all 610 schools in this ranking count among the best in the country: We review just 9% of the 6,600 accredited postsecondary institutions in the U.S., so appearing on our list at all is an indication that a school meets a high standard."

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/backtoschool/americas-best-colleges-2293942/
They explain their metrics for ranking but it's too long to put here.
 
Okay...so I agree BU & ISU make be ranked 150+ notches above SIU...but SIU beats the socks off of BU & ISU if you were ranking party/drinking schools:lol:
 
Western Illinois came in at 575, but I can also bet they'd be near the top when it comes to good, hard-core partying.
 
interesting that many other resources, including far more knowlegable ones and informative ones rate Bradley far higher..
Forbes is all about money, and so it is likely they downgrade the higher tuition schools...
 
tornado said:
interesting that many other resources, including far more knowlegable ones and informative ones rate Bradley far higher..
Forbes is all about money, and so it is likely they downgrade the higher tuition schools...
Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with money, It is from the student point of view. Evidence by Bradley and Wash U's ranking being similar. While Bradley is a fine academic institution, it belongs no where near Wash U in any legitimate ranking.

Except for quality of basketball played. :)
 
saluki762 said:
It has nothing to do with money, It is from the student point of view. Evidence by Bradley and Wash U's ranking being similar. While Bradley is a fine academic institution, it belongs no where near Wash U in any legitimate ranking.

Except for quality of basketball played. :)
Click to expand...

The whole list is bunk, anyone who thinks BU is close to WashU, or Illinois College or even ILSU is close to BU, just has no idea.

USNews, the most widely respected college rankings, doesn't even put ILSU in the same tier as BU or BU in the same Tier as WashU. But BU is CONSIDERABLY higher is the respected rankings.
 
BUBrave28 said:
Forbes list of America's Best Colleges includes Bradley at #383 (3rd in the MVC). We rank right alongside Arizona St., Wash U (StL), Oklahoma St, and Texas Tech.

In Illinois we rank behind Northwestern, U of Chicago, U of I, Wheaton College, North Central College, Augustana College, Knox College, Principia College (never heard of it), Lake Forest College, Elmhurst College, Illinois Wesleyan, DePaul, and Illinois College.

We just edged out: ISU (#405), IIT, Milikin, and Loyola.

Similar schools: Creighton #228, Butler #332, Drake #448, Valpo #466

Other Valley Schools: Evansville #296, Missouri St. #486, UNI #501, SIU-C #564
Not listed: Indiana St., Wichita St.

"all 610 schools in this ranking count among the best in the country: We review just 9% of the 6,600 accredited postsecondary institutions in the U.S., so appearing on our list at all is an indication that a school meets a high standard."

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/backtoschool/americas-best-colleges-2293942/
They explain their metrics for ranking but it's too long to put here.
Click to expand...

Speaking of college rankings, has anyone seen the Princeton Review when it comes to ranking our library? :?

Regarding Principia College, it's kinda like Pepperdine, except it overlooks the Mississippi River and is in rural Jersey County. :) Robert Duvall is an alum.
 
amckillip said:
The whole list is bunk, anyone who thinks BU is close to WashU, or Illinois College or even ILSU is close to BU, just has no idea.

USNews, the most widely respected college rankings, doesn't even put ILSU in the same tier as BU or BU in the same Tier as WashU. But BU is CONSIDERABLY higher is the respected rankings.
Click to expand...

I think we can all agree on ILSU. :)
 
From the way they describe thier ranking system, I can see why BU was so low compared to other schools. About 50% of the ranking comes from the alumni average on Payscale.com, ratings on ratemyprofessors.com, and student loan debt.
1. The Payscale.com average can be thrown off by one person striking it rich for a class and I never heard anyone at the career center mention it, so they probably don't push BU students to go there and register. I don't know why they didn't just get the info from the schools themselves, most career centers poll graduates about work and pay and make the info available.
2. The prof rating site is usally just a complaint board for bad experiences. A good prof with a hard class isn't going to look as good as a poor prof with an easy class. BU should have better profs with tougher classes being a school that focuses on engineering and the liberal sciences/math, hence I would expect a poor overall average.
3. BU is expensive compared to state schools, so it's no wonder students have a lot of debt

The more respectable US News and World Report rankings focus on more on retention, graduation, average ACT/SATs scores of incoming freshmen, university endowment, and faculty research and projects. That makes for a better ranking on what kind of students go to the university, how they do, and what they can do there.

The one place BU does deserve a poor rank in is student life. The dorms, food quality, the student center, campus technology, crime, and funding for student clubs, events, and organizations was/is sub-par to just about all other universitys I have visited or heard of through friends that were attending. The new athletic center, alumni building, and parking deck were sorely needed. But a lot more still needs attention.
 
abesimpson said:
From the way they describe thier ranking system, I can see why BU was so low compared to other schools. About 50% of the ranking comes from the alumni average on Payscale.com, ratings on ratemyprofessors.com, and student loan debt.
1. The Payscale.com average can be thrown off by one person striking it rich for a class and I never heard anyone at the career center mention it, so they probably don't push BU students to go there and register. I don't know why they didn't just get the info from the schools themselves, most career centers poll graduates about work and pay and make the info available.
2. The prof rating site is usally just a complaint board for bad experiences. A good prof with a hard class isn't going to look as good as a poor prof with an easy class. BU should have better profs with tougher classes being a school that focuses on engineering and the liberal sciences/math, hence I would expect a poor overall average.
3. BU is expensive compared to state schools, so it's no wonder students have a lot of debt

The more respectable US News and World Report rankings focus on more on retention, graduation, average ACT/SATs scores of incoming freshmen, university endowment, and faculty research and projects. That makes for a better ranking on what kind of students go to the university, how they do, and what they can do there.

The one place BU does deserve a poor rank in is student life. The dorms, food quality, the student center, campus technology, crime, and funding for student clubs, events, and organizations was/is sub-par to just about all other universitys I have visited or heard of through friends that were attending. The new athletic center, alumni building, and parking deck were sorely needed. But a lot more still needs attention.
Click to expand...

What could a "new student center" have, and would the university keep the current building and convert it to something else or tear it down and rebuild a new one?

Are there any other campuses where there is parking literally in the middle of a street as there is on Elmwood and the Circle?
 
saluki762 said:
It has nothing to do with money, It is from the student point of view. Evidence by Bradley and Wash U's ranking being similar. While Bradley is a fine academic institution, it belongs no where near Wash U in any legitimate ranking.

Except for quality of basketball played. :)
Click to expand...

From what I recall, Washington was a perennial top 15 or 20 college in the US

But, BU being private could have something to do with that, idk
 
abesimpson said:
The one place BU does deserve a poor rank in is student life.....
Click to expand...

so....it's the school's job to get the student "a life"???:roll:
I disagree, it is the schools job to get the student a fine education and these numerous studies we're discussing prove they are doing their job......
 
tornado said:
so....it's the school's job to get the student "a life"???:roll:
I disagree, it is the schools job to get the student a fine education and these numerous studies we're discussing prove they are doing their job......
Click to expand...

I don't mean student life in that sense, there is plenty of that student life at Bradley, it just mostly involves partying/drinking/going to bars or the Greek crowd.

I agree with you that the primary goal of the university should be providing an top-notch education.

"Student Life" in this context is more of a marketing term and usually refers to the extracurricular activities and general non-educational amenities afforded to the students who go there. This is were BU is very lacking. I know plenty of people who didn't want to go to BU or transferred because they thought the campus had nothing to offer besides class compared to other nearby and similar universities.

Case in point: go back to that website and look at the acceptance rates and the admitted enrollment rate. BU is a tough school to get into with only a 64% acceptance rate. However, only 27% of those potential freshmen actually enroll. I would argue a large part of that low enrollment is caused by the poor "student life" at BU.
 
OK -- but there are definitely a lot of parents, the ones footing the bills, who do NOT want a lot of "student life" of the kind you note..
 
theBUer said:
What could a "new student center" have, and would the university keep the current building and convert it to something else or tear it down and rebuild a new one?

Are there any other campuses where there is parking literally in the middle of a street as there is on Elmwood and the Circle?
Click to expand...

I doubt they would ever tear that down. The only 2 buildings BU has ever torn down are the fieldhouse and Hausler.

Yeah, that parking is good, but only at night or on the weekends, else you get ticketed.

Really all the student center has is some food, some larger general purpose rooms, and the rest is offices. Other student centers I have seen are just much, much larger, have more food options, bars, bowling alleys, arcades, and just more things/space in general.
 
theBUer said:
What could a "new student center" have, and would the university keep the current building and convert it to something else or tear it down and rebuild a new one?

Are there any other campuses where there is parking literally in the middle of a street as there is on Elmwood and the Circle?
Click to expand...

First off, the parking around Founder's Circle will be gone in a few years, once they have adequately replaced the spots that would be lost, and there is going to be an arbor-lined walkway as you approach Bradley Hall from the Olin Quad.

My thoughts on the student center are this:

Buy Jumers and move all the offices that would be displaced there temporarily.

Tear down the existing Student Center, Hartmann, Burgess and Sisson Hall and rebuild using most of that entire block.

Included would be one all-inclusive food court and dining room, performing arts complex (to replace Hartmann and provide orchestra rehearsal space), study and meeting rooms, some form of gift/retail shop (maybe even relocate book store there), recreational center (bowling alley, movie theater, game room) and indoor bus terminal.

Then build a replacement office building or include those in your main construction.
 
tornado said:
OK -- but there are definitely a lot of parents, the ones footing the bills, who do NOT want a lot of "student life" of the kind you note..
Click to expand...

True. BU is not lacking in the availability of a good time. BU has been trying to remove the party-school label for at least the last 15 years with new rules and enforcement. In high school, I had some teachers and football coaches who went to ISU and told me about how they loved to head to Peoria/BU to party, especially on Greek St.

But in terms of the dorms, food, safety, these parts of the student life are pretty poor.
 
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