Michigan vs Boston College

hawkette
Fri, 23 Feb 2007 08:30:06 +0000

Alexandre,
We have been over this ad nauseaum about the relative strength of Boston College to Michigan. Based on the available data, the two groups appear relatively equal with a very slight edge to Boston College on SAT and a slight edge to Michigan on class rank. Neither difference is so stark as to conclusively prove that one student body is stronger than the other. IMO, they are roughly equal.

Re % accepted, it may not mean everything for some schools (eg, how it applies to schools with student populations that are clearly self-selecting like U Chicago and other highly technical schools), but it means a lot about selectivity for schools with a broad mandate like Michigan. IMO, it is a very weak and contradictory argument to say, on the one hand, Michigan is very strong because of the breadth of its offerings, and then on the other, say that Michigan’s 47% acceptance rate should be ignored because it has a wide variety of academic offerings and must serve a state population. Boston College’s acceptance rate is 29%.

Re class rank for publics, much of this is determined by state population and quantity of available state university options. As the most populous state, California has the highest percentage of Top 10% ranking students and no other state is really that close (eg, UC-Santa Cruz and others at 95% or higher, U Michigan at 89%, U Virginia 86%, U Florida 85%, U Washington 82%). Boston College’s Top Ten % number is 75%.

Interesting to see you argue that schools with a 100 point differential in average SAT scores have student bodies that are not differentiated. The result of this conclusion, of course, is that you raise Michigan’s average student (1315) to the level of a (what you consider to be peer) school with SAT scores 100 points higher (eg, Northwestern with 1410). The other side of that, of course, that you must accept is that it equates the average Michigan student with the scores of schools 100 points lower. Peer schools for Michigan would thus be the University of Delaware (1205), Clemson (1225), Fordham (1215), Texas A&M (1200), etc. There are many, many more. If you contend that Michigan is a peer for higher ranked schools (Northwestern), then it is also a peer for these other lower ranked schools.