% of prestigious undergrads in LS Forum

[crackberry]

In my head it's Berkeley, UVA, UCLA, Michigan in that order, but I'm not sure why I think that.

USNews? That's exactly what the rankings are now.

When I applied for undergrad it was Berkeley, Michigan, UVA, UCLA.

Maybe subconsciously but I swear I didn't look.

[fortissimo]

You don't think UNC's undergrad is an elite undergrad, but Michigan and UCLA are? Interesting. I'd always thought UNC and UVA undergrads were equivalent, with Michigan behind.

Which school are more prestigious is more regional. In the midwest people think Michigan is elite, and think UNC isn't worth shit.

All Midwestern people think Michigan is elite? Haha, people who live west of the Mississippi wouldn't know the difference between Michigan and Michigan State. I think the only big public school to have national elite status is Berkeley. Berkeley is the only one that I think would be really competitive to get into. As for UCLA, it gets overshadowed by Berkeley. I understand though that it's really prestigious in Cali though. As for UVA, if you mentioned to someone from a state like mine (Missouri), they'd have to ask you what you mean. That's true because I had to ask someone where UVA was. just my two cents It's just Berkeley, select privates, and whatever the big state school is in your state area that carry loads of prestige.

Isn't most of the Midwest west of the Mississippi? Aren't we talking mainly about actual prestige, not necessarily lay prestige? FWIW, In the Midwest, Michigan has prestige/lay prestige. In California, UCLA has lay prestige/prestige.

This is what people think in each region. http://www.gallup.com/poll/3634/harvard ... rsity.aspx

[kdw94780]

Sorry for the Michigan hating. I just have had less respect for their undergrad school ever since I met a 2009 Mich ugrad alum (w/ honors) who's been working as a waitress for the past year while having to pay off $60,000 in student loans...ouch.

[fortissimo]

Sorry for the Michigan hating. I just have had less respect for their undergrad school ever since I met a 2009 Mich ugrad alum (w/ honors) who's been working as a waitress for the past year while having to pay off $60,000 in student loans...ouch.

It's called being a liberal arts major. Science majors don't respect LA majors from any school.

Also, are you from Kansas? If so, then that's just weird.

[09042014]

You don't think UNC's undergrad is an elite undergrad, but Michigan and UCLA are? Interesting. I'd always thought UNC and UVA undergrads were equivalent, with Michigan behind.

Which school are more prestigious is more regional. In the midwest people think Michigan is elite, and think UNC isn't worth shit.

All Midwestern people think Michigan is elite? Haha, people who live west of the Mississippi wouldn't know the difference between Michigan and Michigan State. I think the only big public school to have national elite status is Berkeley. Berkeley is the only one that I think would be really competitive to get into. As for UCLA, it gets overshadowed by Berkeley. I understand though that it's really prestigious in Cali though. As for UVA, if you mentioned to someone from a state like mine (Missouri), they'd have to ask you what you mean. That's true because I had to ask someone where UVA was. just my two cents It's just Berkeley, select privates, and whatever the big state school is in your state area that carry loads of prestige.

The only midwest states west of the Mississippi are, Iowa, Minn, and Missouri. I'm not sure about Missouri, but I think Mich is considered a great school in Iowa and Minn.

Midwestern's love their own states schools. Illinoisans love UIUC, Wisconsinites love UW, etc etc. So they will all claim that their school is better than Michigan, but Michigan is regarded as a good school, and as competition.

[Cupidity]

Liberal arts is better prep for Law School than science in all ways except that science possibly cultivates better study habits.

[fortissimo]

In my head it's Berkeley, UVA, UCLA, Michigan in that order, but I'm not sure why I think that.

USNews? That's exactly what the rankings are now.

When I applied for undergrad it was Berkeley, Michigan, UVA, UCLA.

Maybe subconsciously but I swear I didn't look.

haha...

[kdw94780]

Sorry for the Michigan hating. I just have had less respect for their undergrad school ever since I met a 2009 Mich ugrad alum (w/ honors) who's been working as a waitress for the past year while having to pay off $60,000 in student loans...ouch.

It's called being a liberal arts major. Science majors don't respect LA majors from any school.

Also, are you from Kansas? If so, then that's just weird.

Is it weird because you're from Kansas?
Or is it weird that you don't know Kansas City is in Missouri?

[violinst]

Maybe it's just because I'm from the south, but I didn't even consider Michigan because if I was going public, I wanted either UVA or UNC. Michigan seemed a step below (I know US News says otherwise.) So to the person that said it's regional perception, I suppose you're right.

Michigan is a powerhouse, domestically and internationally (I have been to Asia where Michigan and Berkeley are two of the most respected universities.) It has a top b-school, a top law school, a top med school, and several top science programs. It's not a regional school at all.

[09042014]

Sorry for the Michigan hating. I just have had less respect for their undergrad school ever since I met a 2009 Mich ugrad alum (w/ honors) who's been working as a waitress for the past year while having to pay off $60,000 in student loans...ouch.

It's called being a liberal arts major. Science majors don't respect LA majors from any school.

Also, are you from Kansas? If so, then that's just weird.

I'm not impressed by Ivy league liberal arts, or social studies.

[fortissimo]

Liberal arts is better prep for Law School than science in all ways except that science possibly cultivates better study habits.

I think certain sciences (or math rather) teach you to think in ways that help for LS.

[fortissimo]

Sorry for the Michigan hating. I just have had less respect for their undergrad school ever since I met a 2009 Mich ugrad alum (w/ honors) who's been working as a waitress for the past year while having to pay off $60,000 in student loans...ouch.

It's called being a liberal arts major. Science majors don't respect LA majors from any school.

Also, are you from Kansas? If so, then that's just weird.

Is it weird because you're from Kansas?
Or is it weird that you don't know Kansas City is in Missouri?

Both, actually.

[kdw94780]

Maybe it's just because I'm from the south, but I didn't even consider Michigan because if I was going public, I wanted either UVA or UNC. Michigan seemed a step below (I know US News says otherwise.) So to the person that said it's regional perception, I suppose you're right.

Michigan is a powerhouse, domestically and internationally (I have been to Asia where Michigan and Berkeley are two of the most respected universities.) It has a top b-school, a top law school, a top med school, and several top science programs. It's not a regional school at all.

No one will argue that Michigan has prestigious graduate (i.e. Michigan Law) programs...didn't Unabomber get is PhD from there after all? This thread is concerning undergraduate programs...Michigan is clearly respected at the undergraduate level, but I would not call them "prestigious."

[violinst]

Liberal arts is better prep for Law School than science in all ways except that science possibly cultivates better study habits.

NO.

(I have a BA and a BS.)

[fortissimo]

Sorry for the Michigan hating. I just have had less respect for their undergrad school ever since I met a 2009 Mich ugrad alum (w/ honors) who's been working as a waitress for the past year while having to pay off $60,000 in student loans...ouch.

It's called being a liberal arts major. Science majors don't respect LA majors from any school.

Also, are you from Kansas? If so, then that's just weird.

I'm not impressed by Ivy league liberal arts, or social studies.

Employers would agree with you.

[fortissimo]

Maybe it's just because I'm from the south, but I didn't even consider Michigan because if I was going public, I wanted either UVA or UNC. Michigan seemed a step below (I know US News says otherwise.) So to the person that said it's regional perception, I suppose you're right.

Michigan is a powerhouse, domestically and internationally (I have been to Asia where Michigan and Berkeley are two of the most respected universities.) It has a top b-school, a top law school, a top med school, and several top science programs. It's not a regional school at all.

No one will argue that Michigan has prestigious graduate (i.e. Michigan Law) programs...didn't Unabomber get is PhD from there after all? This thread is concerning undergraduate programs...Michigan is clearly respected at the undergraduate level, but I would not call them "prestigious."

Perceptions of Top Schools Vary Widely by Region
Where Americans live appears to have a significant bearing on the colleges they consider to be the best in the country. Harvard wins in all four major regions, but the incidence of other schools varies widely:

* In the East, Penn State comes in second behind Harvard, with 9% of Easterners' votes (Harvard gets 17% in the East). Penn State, by way of contrast, is tied for 40th place on theU.S. Newslist.
* In the Midwest, Notre Dame, with 5%, and Michigan, with 3%, join Harvard (16%) and MIT (3%). (Notre Dame is 19th on theU.S. Newslist, and Michigan is tied for 25th).
* In the West, Harvard squeaks past Stanford by a 12% to 11% margin, with UCLA and U Cal Berkeley also appearing on the list. Stanford is sixth on theU.S. Newslist, Berkeley is tied for 20th and UCLA is tied for 25th.
* In the South, the top two schools behind Harvard (with 17% of Southerners' votes) are Texas A&M (which is not on theU.S. Newstop 50 list at all) and Duke, which comes in tied for seventh on theU.S. Newslist.

[violinst]

Maybe it's just because I'm from the south, but I didn't even consider Michigan because if I was going public, I wanted either UVA or UNC. Michigan seemed a step below (I know US News says otherwise.) So to the person that said it's regional perception, I suppose you're right.

Michigan is a powerhouse, domestically and internationally (I have been to Asia where Michigan and Berkeley are two of the most respected universities.) It has a top b-school, a top law school, a top med school, and several top science programs. It's not a regional school at all.

No one will argue that Michigan has prestigious graduate (i.e. Michigan Law) programs...didn't Unabomber get is PhD from there after all? This thread is concerning undergraduate programs...Michigan is clearly respected at the undergraduate level, but I would not call them "prestigious."

Its undergrad is part of the powerhouse and benefits greatly from overall faculty quality, research capabilities, and reputation. Remember that its b-school and science programs have undergrad divisions (Wall Street recruits heavily from its undergrad b-school, for example). I had classmates who gave up ivies to attend Ross.

I forgot, Michigan also has a top music school (both undergrad and grad).

[$1.99]

If you don't go to harvard, yale, princeton, MIT, or stanford, you are a TTT undergraduate

[violinst]

If you don't go to harvard, yale, princeton, MIT, or stanford, you are a TTT undergraduate

Where the f*ck is Caltech? This means war.

[09042014]

If you don't go to harvard, yale, princeton, MIT, or stanford, you are a TTT undergraduate

Where the f*ck is Caltech? This means war.

Any liberal arts degree is TTT.

[$1.99]

i was about to include caltech, columbia, kids who go to wharton, kids who study economics at chicago, and a couple other groups but i was too lazy to type them in.

[fortissimo]

i was about to include caltech, columbia, kids who go to wharton, kids who study economics at chicago, and a couple other groups but i was too lazy to type them in.

Kids who go to Wharton? Why only Wharton? Isn't UPenn a top 5 undergrad?

[Unemployed]

i was about to include caltech, columbia, kids who go to wharton, kids who study economics at chicago, and a couple other groups but i was too lazy to type them in.

Kids who go to Wharton? Why only Wharton? Isn't UPenn a top 5 undergrad?

UPenn = NYULaw of undergrads

[violinst]

i was about to include caltech, columbia, kids who go to wharton, kids who study economics at chicago, and a couple other groups but i was too lazy to type them in.

Kids who go to Wharton? Why only Wharton? Isn't UPenn a top 5 undergrad?

One has to draw a line somewhere.

[$1.99]

yes upenn is a top 5 undergrad, but wharton is what makes it prestigious, if you tell me you went to upenn to study english i will slap you just like i would slap someone who went to harvard to major in arabic studies, so here is my final list.

"Winners Circle"
1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Princeton
4. MIT

"Winners' Sidekicks"
1. Stanford

"Good Enough Circle"
1. Columbia
2. Wharton
3. Economics Majors at U Chicago
4. Caltech

"Garbage Wannabes"
1. NYU
2. USC
3. All private liberal arts colleges
4. Cornell
5. Brown
6. Dartmouth
7. Rest of UPenn