While true that Pope’s college could change lives, it is hardly relevant to a question about “tiers” in the spirit of the question. Pope’s value “might” lie in defining lesser-known (AND lesser selective) colleges that “might” represent good fits for certain candidates. His members could also benefit from understanding that the schools are not equally selective. Among solid choices, there are a number of schools that clearly should appeal to a finite number of students, and hardly represent academic powerhouses, if not abysmal choices for most readers of CC. Trying to be different should have its limits.
All in all, it has become one of those grossly overrated sources that should have a “Caveat Emptor” permanently affixed to its cover.
Can someone explain to me what is a “directional school?” I have seen that term in several places and I don’t know what type of school it is referring to.
Something like Southern Illinois University or Western Kentucky University. Not a state flagship. Typically identified by a direction in the school name.
Yup. At least in sports parlance. I’m a life long fan of the MACTION, and we refer to Centreal, Western, and Eastern Michigan collectively as “the directionals,” along with Northern Illinois. I think USC-Upstate also counts as a directional.
If we could agree on how to measure the worth of a college, then we could distribute them on a bell curve and make “tiers” correspond to standard deviations.
[url=<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/09/08/frequently-asked-questions-2015-best-colleges-rankings#12%5DUS”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/09/08/frequently-asked-questions-2015-best-colleges-rankings#12]US News Ranking/url interestingly now defines Tier 1 as the top 75% of schools in the country, which they rank, and Tier 2 as the bottom 25% of schools in the country which are Rank Not Published. In that sense, it puts it into a different perspective than seen here on CC, with its top 5% of schools or bust mentality often (not always) found.
So top tier is all based upon popularity? We all know that admit rates are VERY dependent on how many people apply. I prefer quality of applicant over quantity. I also believe that “tiers” are very personal depending upon the goals of the student.
To directly answer the OP, it all depends upon to whom you are talking.
The admit rates make up a vanishingly small portion of USNWR (1.5%). Like or not-like USNWR – your choice – but don’t misrepresent it by suggesting it’s driven by admit rates.
Personally I do think USNWR is useful - for understanding bands of schools. Cutting a line at 16 and declaring those beneath it second-tier is counting angels dancing on the heads of pins.
As Hunt says, there are probably 50 schools in the top 20.