US World and News College Rankings 22/23

[Guapo]

LOL, this is just northeastern arrogance. It comes in at #97. UConn was the #6 party school when I attended. I used to work with a good patent lawyer who went to Auburn, it's perfectly fine. Yes, you get the frats and sororities and football. Some kids up north want that. Most college students nationwide are going to schools like CCSU and Western Michigan, Auburn is way above average even if nobody will confuse it with Yale. It's vastly better than URI, UNH & Maine.

But you're right about the High Schools, which is why Auburn, Bama, Ole Miss, Clemson etc. are recruiting the hell out of New England kids and offering them merit money they won't get in the northeast. It's a winning strategy.

It also comes down to what you want. If you’re ok with going to Atlanta or Nashville after graduating, you’ll be fine going to Auburn. If you’re goal is to work on Wall Street, maybe not

 

[HooperScooper]

LOL, this is just northeastern arrogance. It comes in at #97. UConn was the #6 party school when I attended. I used to work with a good patent lawyer who went to Auburn, it's perfectly fine. Yes, you get the frats and sororities and football. Some kids up north want that. Most college students nationwide are going to schools like CCSU and Western Michigan, Auburn is way above average even if nobody will confuse it with Yale. It's vastly better than URI, UNH & Maine.

But you're right about the High Schools, which is why Auburn, Bama, Ole Miss, Clemson etc. are recruiting the hell out of New England kids and offering them merit money they won't get in the northeast. It's a winning strategy.

Just telling you what multiple students from our high school who go there have told me. Have you spoken to anyone who goes there now? You can ask the 2 students from your daughter's high school who go there. As with any big public school there are some very smart students there. But in general the school is not great academically and the overall student population is not the best. I will stand by that.

 

[8893]

It's vastly better than URI, UNH & Maine.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss any of those, either. I know recent URI grads, and current students at and graduates from UNH who have had good educational experiences. URI has a particularly strong Aquaculture and Fisheries program..

Friend from high school went to UMaine on a pitching scholarship. That's all I know about that.

But I am sure there is a good education to be had at any flagship state university, for those interested and motivated enough to pursue it.

 

[aburks41]

LOL, this is just northeastern arrogance. It comes in at #97. UConn was the #6 party school when I attended. I used to work with a good patent lawyer who went to Auburn, it's perfectly fine. Yes, you get the frats and sororities and football. Some kids up north want that. Most college students nationwide are going to schools like CCSU and Western Michigan, Auburn is way above average even if nobody will confuse it with Yale. It's vastly better than URI, UNH & Maine.

But you're right about the High Schools, which is why Auburn, Bama, Ole Miss, Clemson etc. are recruiting the hell out of New England kids and offering them merit money they won't get in the northeast. It's a winning strategy.

Not sure if anyone else has noticed this but a lot of these BIG 10 and SEC schools seem to have alumni networks that always always always look out for their own, and it feels like UConn doesn’t do a great job of building that type of thinking in our alumni base. Maybe it’s because those schools have 100 years of football and athletic traditions so there’s some sort of deeper connection with their alumni network, idk.

The most obvious one is Penn State. Their alumni are still obsessed with everything Penn State, but I don’t get that vibe from any UConn grads unless they’re also basketball fans. It’s kinda sad, I wish we had that type of culture.

 

[Guapo]

Not sure if anyone else has noticed this but a lot of these BIG 10 and SEC schools seem to have alumni networks that always always always look out for their own, and it feels like UConn doesn’t do a great job of building that type of thinking in our alumni base. Maybe it’s because those schools have 100 years of football and athletic traditions so there’s some sort of deeper connection with their alumni network, idk.

The most obvious one is Penn State. Their alumni are still obsessed with everything Penn State, but I don’t get that vibe from any UConn grads unless they’re also basketball fans. It’s kinda sad, I wish we had that type of culture.

Yeah I was going to reply with this to @8893 ‘s post; he’s absolutely right about Maine, UNH and those schools but I do tend to suggest to people to think of alumni networks etc. and that’s something that those sorts of schools lack in comparison

 

[Guapo]

Yeah I was going to reply with this to @8893 ‘s post; he’s absolutely right about Maine, UNH and those schools but I do tend to suggest to people to think of alumni networks etc. and that’s something that those sorts of schools lack in comparison

And tbf to UConn alum, I do think we look out for our own. The issue is the school does a terrible job of facilitating those connections

 

[Waquoit]

LOL, this is just northeastern arrogance.

Baloney. Auburn is trash.

 

[aburks41]

And tbf to UConn alum, I do think we look out for our own. The issue is the school does a terrible job of facilitating those connections

That’s exactly right and that’s the point I was trying to make. I had a UConn resume come across my desk a month ago and I pushed to get the kid in for an interview, so I will always try to do my part whenever it happens. But the school itself doesn’t do a good job at all of connecting students to alumni. Whether it’s students not understanding how to network, or a chunk of the alumni base being done with UConn the second they graduate, or a mix of both…who knows.

If UConn business school called me up tomorrow and asked if I could talk to a group of students about what I do in consulting, I would be there. And if any of them would be interested in interviewing with the firm I work for, they would get an interview next week.

 

[Guapo]

That’s exactly right and that’s the point I was trying to make. I had a UConn resume come across my desk a month ago and I pushed to get the kid in for an interview, so I will always try to do my part whenever it happens. But the school itself doesn’t do a good job at all of connecting students to alumni. Whether it’s students not understanding how to network, or a chunk of the alumni base being done with UConn the second they graduate, or a mix of both…who knows.

If UConn business school called me up tomorrow and asked if I could talk to a group of students about what I do in consulting, I would be there. And if any of them would be interested in interviewing with the firm I work for, they would get an interview next week.

My wife went to UGA. She wanted to move to DC after graduation. There was a guy in the career services department who’s job it was to work the alumni network and find her a job in DC - and did!

The most I got from the UConn career services department was an undergrad English major looking over my resume for typos

 

[mrl2016]

I did not like her, but there is no doubt she made some bold decisions during her tenure.

People who make bold decisions tend not be be liked by the masses, but they get way more accomplished than people who just want to placate the masses.

Herbst had a horrible reputation among the students while I was at school. Notably I remember the frequent #ThanksSusan comments

With that being said after graduating she came to speak to UConn alumni at my company and did a fantastic job representing the University.

That among the increase in rankings and avg accepted SAT during her tenure made me change my tune on her. Seeing us drop in those rankings only reinforces that.

Right wrong or indifferent perception is shaped through this type of rankings based PR

 

[aburks41]

My wife went to UGA. She wanted to move to DC after graduation. There was a guy in the career services department who’s job it was to work the alumni network and find her a job in DC - and did!

The most I got from the UConn career services department was an undergrad English major looking over my resume for typos

Our career services are so useless. The business school has it’s own career services only for b-school kids and it’s equally as bad. Each major should have multiple “recruiters” whose job is to facilitate networking with students and alumni.

I’d give up 30 minutes a week to have a chat with a different student to tell them about what I do and introduce them to people in my industry. There’s so much more they could be doing to help grow those types of connections but they either have no clue how to do it or they just don’t care

For example, the official UConn Boston alumni twitter have been inactive since 2016! Like what are we doing here?

 

[superjohn]

Our career services are so useless. The business school has it’s own career services only for b-school kids and it’s equally as bad. Each major should have multiple “recruiters” whose job is to facilitate networking with students and alumni.

I’d give up 30 minutes a week to have a chat with a different student to tell them about what I do and introduce them to people in my industry. There’s so much more they could be doing to help grow those types of connections but they either have no clue how to do it or they just don’t care

For example, the official UConn Boston alumni twitter have been inactive since 2016! Like what are we doing here?

Why not take the initiative and make yourself available?

 

[mrl2016]

Our career services are so useless. The business school has it’s own career services only for b-school kids and it’s equally as bad. Each major should have multiple “recruiters” whose job is to facilitate networking with students and alumni.

I’d give up 30 minutes a week to have a chat with a different student to tell them about what I do and introduce them to people in my industry. There’s so much more they could be doing to help grow those types of connections but they either have no clue how to do it or they just don’t care

Could they do more, absolutely. And I agree with your sentiment if the university reached out to me to support something like that I would.

With that being said tough to do at scale. Would be interesting if they could partner with the UConn foundation to ask for donations of time for these types of conversations as a follow up after they ask for a monetary contributions

 

[aburks41]

Why not take the initiative and make yourself available?

I will send the business school an email. Whether or not it gets in front of the right people is an entirely different story. But it shouldn’t be up to an individual alumni to have to reach out to UConn to set this up, UConn has to be more proactive in their efforts to connect alumni and students.

UConn spending money and resources to try to build a more cohesive alumni network would probably pay 10x back in increased donations in the future.

 

[Guapo]

I will send the business school an email. Whether or not it gets in front of the right people is an entirely different story. But it shouldn’t be up to an individual alumni to have to reach out to UConn to set this up, UConn has to be more proactive in their efforts to connect alumni and students.

UConn spending money and resources to try to build a more cohesive alumni network would probably pay 10x back in increased donations in the future.

And credit where credit is due; we are seeing progress. Donations are up, both to athletics and to the school as a whole. The endowment is up to $800 million. It was in the 400’s not too long ago. Work to be done, but work has been done

 

[mussels]

But I am sure there is a good education to be had at any flagship state university, for those interested and motivated enough to pursue it.

This.

You make your own college experience, and get the education that you work for (I got an engineering degree, but the biggest overarching thing I learned at UConn was how to teach myself) So, if educators think that USN&WR rankings are goosed, and meaningless, why get in the game ?

Folks here have made valid criticisms about UConn's failure to generate a sense of community at the school that translates into a big endowment, and great alumni network, but if that's a problem (it is) we should devote energy to fixing that rather than gaming the USN&WR rankings.

 

[mussels]

And credit where credit is due; we are seeing progress. Donations are up, both to athletics and to the school as a whole. The endowment is up to $800 million. It was in the 400’s not too long ago. Work to be done, but work has been done

LOL. Just after I posted mine, decrying the state of alumni engagement, I saw this, and well.... guess things are getting better. Good.

On the work still to be done front, will observe that my daughter went to a NESAC school, and having paid the bills figured I was entitled to wear a school tee shirt. Also have several UConn shirts that I wear around town (Philly). It has been absolutely eye opening in that never once has someone commented on my UConn shirt. My daughter's school shirt? In LA, in NYC by a foreign delegation of Chinese students, in Philly all over ( I'm an old fart and some young guy gave me a friendly arm punch in Trader Joe's; a young co-ed stopped me on the street and just wanted to talk about how much she loved the school. Has been eye opening. Who knew?

 

[superjohn]

Also have several UConn shirts that I wear around town (Philly). It has been absolutely eye opening in that never once has someone commented on my UConn shirt. My daughter's school shirt? In LA, in NYC by a foreign delegation of Chinese students, in Philly all over ( I'm an old fart and some young guy gave me a friendly arm punch in Trader Joe's; a young co-ed stopped me on the street and just wanted to talk about how much she loved the school. Has been eye opening. Who knew?

That's pretty weird, I always get people making comments if I wear any UConn gear. The comments are always about the basketball program.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss any of those, either. I know recent URI grads, and current students at and graduates from UNH who have had good educational experiences. URI has a particularly strong Aquaculture and Fisheries program..

Friend from high school went to UMaine on a pitching scholarship. That's all I know about that.

But I am sure there is a good education to be had at any flagship state university, for those interested and motivated enough to pursue it.

Your last sentence is the point really. They are fine. We exaggerate the differences. I know lots of very smart and very successful people who went to KU and K-State. They score terribly in part because they have to accept in state kids with certain GPAs. You can do fine at any of these schools. Cost is a factor and right now it puts UConn at a disadvantage.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

For the record, USN&WR has been a rag for decades and remains one to this day.

 

[8893]

@HuskyHawk , I'm guessing you've probably heard about this already. Scary stuff. I hope your daughter (and you and your wife) aren't too freaked out about it. I'm am guessing they will increase their package-screening procedures.

Northeastern on edge as report of package explosion raises questions - The Boston Globe

A Northeastern University employee who said he was injured when a pressurized storage case exploded in his office Tuesday fiercely denied that he staged the incident, even as law enforcement officials told the Globe they are scrutinizing his version of events.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[McLovin]

Herbst had a horrible reputation among the students while I was at school. Notably I remember the frequent #ThanksSusan comments

With that being said after graduating she came to speak to UConn alumni at my company and did a fantastic job representing the University.

That among the increase in rankings and avg accepted SAT during her tenure made me change my tune on her. Seeing us drop in those rankings only reinforces that.

Right wrong or indifferent perception is shaped through this type of rankings based PR

We probably were students around the same time. My issues with her was she killed spring weekend, did the rebrand of the classic logo and was woefully unprepared for conference realignment.

Her work on improving the school from an academic standpoint (and ugh, even the rebrand and killing the fun stuff) clearly was good for the national perception of the school. If she didn’t drop the ball on realignment, from an outsiders point of view, it could be said she was a great president.

Oh, and she went to Duke.

 

[MU in MKE]

I think the comments on the quality of the alumni network are spot on. This is something I had not realized until after I went to Marquette for grad school. The alumni network from my decently well respected regional undergrad university did not have nearly the passion or emotional connection to the school or fellow alumni that Marquette does and the results of that are stark.

This has come into play in a remarkable array of areas in Life. Personally I’ve benefited in such ways as job hunting, business networking, house hunting, buying a car, finding a good baby sitter, making connections for entertainment events, discount on a new water softener because the sales person's son was going there, opening lines of communication with other parents at my kid’s school, and many more. Being a Marquette grad has enriched my life in ways that these USNews rankings just does not account for and high school kids, for the most part, are completely unaware that some schools have these types of intangible benefits. It is very unfortunate.



One small note on the ability for any kid to get a good education at a State Flagship university if they wanted; can we strike Arizona and ASU as exceptions from that? Woof! My experiences with any alumni and students from either Arizona school has been… let’s call them, “less than stellar.” Maybe I’ll make an exception for ASU’s engineering school though.

 

[husky429]

We probably were students around the same time. My issues with her was she killed spring weekend, did the rebrand of the classic logo and was woefully unprepared for conference realignment.

Her work on improving the school from an academic standpoint (and ugh, even the rebrand and killing the fun stuff) clearly was good for the national perception of the school. If she didn’t drop the ball on realignment, from an outsiders point of view, it could be said she was a great president.

Oh, and she went to Duke.

I don't think many people actually care that she killed spring weekend. Most people like the new logo--it was time for an update. I didn't like it at the time... I get it now.

Being unprepared for conference realignment was a disappointment. Biggest failure of the school in its history IMO.

Tom Kat was a very good president IMO. Too bad what went down with him and the Board.

 

[husky429]

That's pretty weird, I always get people making comments if I wear any UConn gear. The comments are always about the basketball program.

Same. I get comments about my UConn gear all over the country, even the world. Basketball fans all know UConn if they're over the age of 20.