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Post by sader1970 on Aug 23, 2021 12:19:11 GMT -5
Speaking for myself: yes.
Now, some will argue that it is 1. better or 2. just as good but just different.
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Post by longsuffering on Aug 23, 2021 18:10:38 GMT -5
We're just as good as always except in these foolish rankings, which should be outlawed.🙂
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Post by mm67 on Aug 23, 2021 20:44:22 GMT -5
Does it matter? Of course it does. My question was designed to elicit responses. I agree with longsuffering. Public rankings are ridiculous on many levels. HC is held in the highest esteem by those in professional, business, etc., circles. Nonetheless these so-called guides do hold sway over most high schoolers & their parents. One final thought... HC is a far superior college today than it was in my day in the mid-60's. Enjoyed the responses of the true Crusaders on this board.
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Post by WCHC Sports on Aug 24, 2021 8:08:56 GMT -5
Does it matter? Of course it does. My question was designed to elicit responses. I agree with longsuffering. Public rankings are ridiculous on many levels. HC is held in the highest esteem by those in professional, business, etc., circles. Nonetheless these so-called guides do hold sway over most high schoolers & their parents. One final thought... HC is a far superior college today than it was in my day in the mid-60's. Enjoyed the responses of the true Crusaders on this board. The people in professional/business settings today will not be the people in power in 5, 10, 20 years. That future generation's impression of the college will be shaped by the rankings they read when they were younger, if it was mentioned by their college admissions/guidance counselors as a rigorous school, and maybe (hopefully?) their interactions with actual alums. It's propaganda. If they don't hear about HC other than lawsuits and mascots and losing sports games, the perception in status of the college will slip. Rankings like this, no matter how frivolous, are showing just that.
Why do I think Harvard is so fantastic? I've been on the campus more than a few times. I've met quite a few people that went there. I've never attended a class (does one lecture count?), so I don't really "know" relative to HC. But I'd wager much of the planet would say Harvard is a "better" school than HC. How much of that is reputation? Most of those people wouldn't know what a Harvard building looked like. It's just part of the narrative at this point. So how does HC, academically, write that narrative, or at least stay in the conversation?
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Post by rgs318 on Aug 24, 2021 9:40:21 GMT -5
How about having a host of movies set at HC - as Harvard has done for so long? Ever see The Paper Chase? There is also the work of the PR department. HC appears to be getting better in that regard.
As to what will determine HC's reputation vs other colleges in 20 years...who really knows? Some guesses here may turn out to be true but a determining factor may well turn out to be something we can;t even guess at right now.
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Post by sader1970 on Aug 24, 2021 9:44:57 GMT -5
Rankings, like it or not, are indeed a prime factor in the general public's perception of how good a college or university is. However, it is not the only factor.
Again, perhaps not a "fair" measurement but the public's perception of the value of a college or university is fame of its alumni. Not sure which came first but suspect the famous Harvard alums (government, legal - think Harvard law and the Supreme Court - as examples) was a factor in the reputation and rankings of Harvard rather than the rankings being the driver for having famous alums. Undoubtedly, it becomes a positive spiral. Famous alums drives top-notch students who want to go to Harvard who, in turn, succeed and drive the rankings and more top notch students.
Right now, we have Tony Fauci as probably our most famous alum supplanting Bob Cousy who young folks have no idea who he is. You need high profile/successful alums to enhance any college's reputation. While Tony has high positive reputation numbers, he's in the middle of our cultural divide and some, even on Crossports, don't care for him. (I don't regret getting my Fauci bobblehead)
Holy Cross is at a real disadvantage here because it's mission (which I support) is developing "men and women for others" and Harvard and other higher ranked colleges, are not under that same "restraint"/direction and Harvard alums are joining high profile law firms, wall street and such, and our young alums are joining the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and Teach for America, arguably the more worthwhile direction for a community and society but not the way to get the alma mater's name out there.
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Post by HC92 on Aug 24, 2021 10:06:34 GMT -5
We’re never going to be Harvard. The question is whether we can improve our standing relative to other schools like the ones on my original list.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Aug 24, 2021 10:10:11 GMT -5
New home page to introduce people to the school - very different look - what do you think ? www.holycross.edu/I like it. I will like it even more if I see that the tired and dated promotional video that is broadcast during every HC game is retired. The one that features Irish kids, with a basketball game played on the old Hart court with the wood bleachers. I believe all the students with speaking roles graduated five or more years ago.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Aug 24, 2021 10:28:20 GMT -5
New home page to introduce people to the school - very different look - what do you think ? www.holycross.edu/I like it. I will like it even more if I see that the tired and dated promotional video that is broadcast during every HC game is retired. The one that features Irish kids, with a basketball game played on the old Hart court with the wood bleachers. I believe all the students with speaking roles graduated five or more years ago. I agree-- I don't think it's all Irish kids (the violinist, for example) but it is, indeed, old and should be replaced. We should make a new one every year/ I do like the Eric Green dunk, but he's been gone 5 years....
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Post by hcpride on Aug 24, 2021 10:53:45 GMT -5
We’re never going to be Harvard. The question is whether we can improve our standing relative to other schools like the ones on my original list. Good point. In a perfect world we could simply copy the steps another Catholic and strictly undergraduate liberal arts college did to hold on to or move up in their rankings the last 50 years. The fact there doesn’t seem to be any should tell us something. (There are Catholic schools and there are liberal arts schools but the combo may be a toughie nowadays in terms of moving up the rankings.)
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Post by HC92 on Aug 24, 2021 10:59:44 GMT -5
We’re never going to be Harvard. The question is whether we can improve our standing relative to other schools like the ones on my original list. Good point. In a perfect world we could simply copy the steps another Catholic and strictly undergraduate liberal arts college did to hold on to or move up in their rankings the last 50 years. The fact there doesn’t seem to be any should tell us something. We’re probably going to stay Catholic for all of our lifetimes. The question is whether we need to be primarily liberal arts and/or strictly undergrad. It makes me crazy when I see my employer bringing in tons of kids to good jobs every year from Bryant and Bentley because they have business programs and their grads are seen as ready to contribute immediately. I think that’s stupid but that seems to be the way hiring works for recent college grads. Are there employers with whom HC has a strong relationship and sends meaningful numbers of grads every year?
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Post by mm67 on Aug 24, 2021 11:32:07 GMT -5
The younger alums have taken this thread far beyond my knowledge. Although I am not in a position to contribute in a meaningful way I will offer some observations perhaps outdated. Stayed at Harvard for weekends on more than one occasion with another HC student and visited an HS classmate who was a Harvard student. He played some ball for the school. Based on mu experience HC is not Harvard in any way. STOP. Personally, I treasure the fact that HC is the only Catholic Liberal Arts College dedicated solely to undergraduate education. It occupies a special niche. The Liberal Arts is not a job training endeavor. It's goal is to develop a lifelong learner, the whole person capable of excelling in lifeI - able to communicate with highly developed writing and verbal skills. Able to get beyond the narrow and see the broader picture and its implications in its entirety. (See Dr. Fauci as a prime example.) The Liberal Arts teach how to be someone not how to be some thing. Liberal Arts colleges were considered the most selective (except Engineering, etc.) most highly prized institutions of higher learning in America - immune from crass commercialization. I thought Liberal Arts grads grads were in great demand, prized in many areas. Liberal Arts Grads had easier access to careers more than graduates of the narrower training type colleges such as Babson. We were regularly recruited by corporations(AT&T, GE, GM,etc.) & gov't (State Dep't & CIA)In my time there were many HC grads who had gone on to extremely successful careers in medicine, law, government & the world of corporate enterprise and education. Guess, times have changed. Outdated, naive, perhaps... Guess I'm wrong, out of touch with the hyper free market realities which infect seemingly every aspect of our lives. Attorneys advertising on TV. Doctors' offices controlled largely by insurance companies. Schools playing games to improve their profile in profit driven heretofore dying publications(see USNWR). University sports media empires. Huge salaries. Capitalism run amok. ( I am not a socialist. Free markets & free enterprise do have a vital role to play.)) I will go to my grave extremely proud of the fine liberal arts education I and thousands of others through the years have received at Holy Cross.
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Post by sader1970 on Aug 24, 2021 11:54:29 GMT -5
Holy Cross will likely remain a liberal arts college for at least decades to come. No grad programs. That said, they have created a business minor as a spin off to the certification program they've had for 5+ years. Here's a link: www.holycross.edu/academics/programs/business-ethics-and-society/requirementsI know there have been some (don't know exactly how many) internships with insurance companies.
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Post by mm67 on Aug 24, 2021 14:07:34 GMT -5
Holy Cross will likely remain a liberal arts college for at least decades to come. No grad programs. That said, they have created a business minor as a spin off to the certification program they've had for 5+ years. Here's a link: www.holycross.edu/academics/programs/business-ethics-and-society/requirementsI know there have been some (don't know exactly how many) internships with insurance companies. Wonderful. I have classmates, fine men, decent guys who lawyered for insurance companies and were directly employed. Business is not a dirty word.
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