<p>Before I get a lot of responses like “Dont let ranking choose your school” and “you shouldnt look at statistics/numbers” I assure you that I know all this and I am by no means picking my school due to its US News Rank. I am just looking for some feedback on what people think.</p>
<p>I am a little curious as to what people have to say about this. I really love Bucknell(applied RD) and I love Scripps (applied ED2). Both are tied at Top Tier 1 US News Liberal Arts #26. Would one still be better than the other? I know that each program differentiates from school to school, but considering I like foreign languages etc., each school seems to be strong in that aspect. Could Scripps be considered “better” since a student is allowed to take classes at Pomona? Or is Bucknell better since it is bigger and has better resources? I guess I could go back and forth in comparisons, but just wondering what people think. By the way, Barnard is #27, so even though US News claims a school higher in the ranking is better (example: Scripps is considered better than Barnard rank wise because it is #26) wouldnt most people put a school like Barnard above the other schools tied at #26 like Scripps, Bucknell, and Macalester? It seems so weird to think Barnard isnt ranked higher than Bucknell, Trinity, Mt. Holoyoke, etc. I thought Barnard was considered like a “mini Ivy” since its in conjunction with Columbia? Maybe I am uninformed? Anyway let me know what you guys think!</p>
<p>Insane? If they are so insane why are you wasting your time responding. If you don’t like what I have to say then please ignore the post like anybody else who disliked it would. I didnt post a question so that someone like you could post something maybe not insane but rather pointless. Please if your not interested, dont respond!</p>
<p>Both are great schools – but obviously, your overall experience is going to be different at each — In terms of your language question, You may want to do some research on how many lanugage courses are actually offered each semester and how quickly they fill up — and keep in mind that you can not take classes off of the Scripps campus until after freshman year. Even then, there are some restrictions on which classes in the other Claremont colleges are open to everyone in the 5-college curriculum.</p>
<p>From what I have read about Scripps , or any other college in a consortium with others allowing cross registration or a similar system,is that you should equate the idea of taking courses at another institution as a possible novelty,not an expectation. The idea that one can scam the system by applying at a lower ranked consortium school and take significant classes at the higher ranked partner appears to be a fallacy that students are not warned about as clearly as I would like. Catalogs refer to it as the “opportunity to take classes”, it doesn’t guarantee the reality. Get hard numbers on how many kids do it and for how many classes. Buyer beware.</p>
<p>Oh, and BTW Barnard is a wonderful choice and in my opinion and the opinion of D’s great aunt- a Professor at Barnard for 4 decades, the equal of any of the women’s colleges. Anywhere. An amazing school (and Great Aunt is in there pitching it to D every chance she gets. Carolyn, do you think that would be a hook for D? LOL.).You will not do better.</p>
<p>stop worrying about ranking it will only hurt you in the long run. Just see where you fit in a miniscule difference of one spot is not something you should worry about.</p>
<p>Primefactor, enlighten us as to how it works. I have had numerous conversation’s with my wife’s aunt but would like to hear another perspective.</p>
<p>It’s a little complicated to explain exactly. Barnard has its own campus, endowment and budget and makes its own hiring (& admissions) decisions, but professors are tenured by both schools, often have graduate teaching assignments, and have G-TA’s and RA’s. It’s considered an independent but affiliated school, because although it is officially a separate college in an institutional sense, graduates get degrees signed by the president of the University as well as Barnard. Barnard also sets its own graduation requirements, and pays an annual fee to Columbia to cover the shared costs of resources. </p>
<p>Cross registration is almost fully open. Preeeeetty much only Core classes and first-year/senior seminars of schools are special-permission only. You don’t have to fill out any forms or register at a different office. Hiring and course offering decisions are made collaboratively with the schools to avoid wasting resources, with the assumption that students don’t need the same class taught at both schools. Depending on your major and where it’s “based,” you’ll usually have at least one professor each semester hired by a different college than your own. As an econ-math major, my classes are very mixed, both in the sense of the professors and the students of the classes. Clubs, sports teams, and Greek life are all University-wide. </p>