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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Aug 16, 2016 15:49:35 GMT -5
The latest issue of Forbes Magazine provides the magazine's ranking of the 100 best liberal arts colleges & research universities. The rankings were based on five metrics: low student debt, high graduation rates and post graduation salaries, overall student satisfaction and proven career success. Stanford University finished #1, followed by Williams @ #2, Princeton at #3, Harvard #4, MIT #5. Holy Cross?? Our favorite college comes in at #51. Other schools of interest: Notre Dame #13, USMA #14, Georgetown #21, bc #22 (flawed methodology?), USNA #24, Colgate #42, Bucknell #49, Lafayette #55, Lehigh #76, Boston U #79,
There are, of course, many different rankings of colleges. We did pretty well on this one
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Post by flutiewasrejected on Aug 16, 2016 17:03:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the info!
In terms of "rankings", I use to give too much credence to their value. Or at the very least, cared too much about them. Yes, rankings are important for attracting a wide range of students and can put a school "on the map", which reinforces and heightens the value of the Holy Cross degree etc...And don't get me wrong, I still react in the same way--ex) Holy Cross USA Today #2 Catholic College "Sounds right", Forbes Holy Cross #55 "Rigged!"
That said, I no longer get *quite* so egocentric or irked with each new release (And as you mentioned, there are a lot of them!)
Holy Cross is what college should be. Untapped minds arrive on the hill and are met with extraordinarily high expectations. Students are pushed to their limit, most (looking at you sociology majors!) grades are earned, and students are consistently reminded of their purpose: "men and women for others". Community service is less about the resume and more about the community and students in a liberal arts setting are forced to confront new ideas, challenge old ideologies, and work with others. Even in introductory level or my toughest chem / bio courses, the exchange of information between professor and student, and student to student was not merely highly valued, but was a necessity; one did not sit in a lecture hall full of hundreds of students, wait for the time to pass by, and only prepare for a midterm / final. It was a lifestyle! I could go on and on, but I will quit here...
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Post by matunuck on Aug 16, 2016 17:18:38 GMT -5
3 cheers for rankings. The more, the better. The days of folks forking over huge sums of cash based on happy talk from a college marketing office are long gone.
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Post by sarasota on Aug 17, 2016 3:55:19 GMT -5
flutiewasrejected- You say students are reminded of their purpose. It would be better if students were challenged to inquire as to what their purpose is. There's a huge difference between those two approaches. One might say the latter is characteristic of an institution of learning and the former is characteristic of......a seminary.
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Post by matunuck on Aug 17, 2016 8:00:16 GMT -5
In today's campus culture, not sure how many "new ideas" students are exposed to or the extent to which all ideas/perspectives are truly challenged and/or discussed. Lots of group think among social science faculty, in particular, is not a very healthy academic development.
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