So which is the best public school in the world?

College Search & Lists
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<p>If you want a world ranking just go to THEQS’s rankings and disregard the private schools:</p>

<p>[THE</a> - QS World University Rankings 2009 - top universities | Top Universities](<a href=“http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2009/results]THE”>http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2009/results)</p>

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<p>You do realize that those rankings are for entire universities and NOT for undergraduate education, right??</p>

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<p>My ranking was based on academic prestige as viewed from all over the world. Though I don’t have records of what the consensus is in every country, I’m almost sure that most people would rather have a Michigan or UCLA degree than a Toronto degree. I’m almost sure that, all things being equal, most Canadians would rather attend Michigan or UCLA than Toronto.</p>

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Uh really? Then name me some public schools you think are better regarded than Purdue or Rutgers.</p>

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<p>I’m pretty sure that many students don’t view those criteria as more important the prestige, cost of attending or high employment rate of graduates.</p>

<p>For example, people would rather attend Harvard because of its name which is quite famous despite that many of Harvard students/alumni weren’t really satisfied with the teaching standard of the school. In fact, in the latest survey of USNews for undergraduate teaching, Harvard wasn’t listed, signifying that there are many more schools with better teaching approach than it but aren’t as famous. Yet people students/employers care more about school name.</p>

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I would much rather be in a massive lecture hall with a really good lecturer than in a small class with a bad one. A more important metric might be the availability of office hours, but I don’t think this has been measured.</p>

<p>The Oxbridge schools are very impressive. In addition to the interview, I know that the Cambridge mathematics department (usually considered the best in the world) utilizes STEP tests for conditional offers. Look at a few of the practice booklets:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/digitalAssets/110501_Advanced_Problems_in_Mathematics.pdf[/url]”>http://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/digitalAssets/110501_Advanced_Problems_in_Mathematics.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/digitalAssets/112161_Advanced_Problems_in_Core_Mathematics.pdf[/url]”>http://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/digitalAssets/112161_Advanced_Problems_in_Core_Mathematics.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>This is certainly a more useful entrance exam than the SAT Math IIC Subject Test.</p>

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<p>What about Imperial College and LSE (and UCL/KCL too)?</p>

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All right. As long as we’re clear that you’re measuring popularity rather than academic strength (and that not very well), it’s perfectly fine.</p>

<p>Most people would rather attend NYU than Johns Hopkins, but that hardly makes NYU stronger.</p>

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Minnesota
Washington
Penn State
Arizona </p>

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False dichotomy. It’s possible to have a really good lecturer and a small class. I agree with hawkette that this is the best scenario.</p>

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<p>RML,
We just see it differently. You are what I call a prestige-hound. That’s fine as different things will work for different folks and this is especially true for UNDERGRADUATE study. </p>

<p>I concur with your implicit point that brand power is important-look at how the Ivy label elevates the non-HYP Ivies-but if one is searching for a quality school, there are plenty of excellent reasons beyond prestige to recommend a school. For example, in the case of the non-HYP Ivies, they have some brand benefit, but they also happen to compare very well on all of the questions that are posed. </p>

<p>More broadly, I think that you vastly underrate the importance that most aspiring college students/families apply to the 4 questions that I posed above. In fact, the only demographic where I have found this prioritization to be less than extremely accurate would be among Asians, particularly first-generation Asian-Americans or internationals. For this group, my experience has been that they consider the name and “prestige” as a paramount factor in judging a school (and the people who are associated with the school).</p>

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<p>The OP never said to limit it to undergraduate-only. So I am looking at universities in general.</p>

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<p>LSE, Imperial, UCL and Warwick would fall in group 6. </p>

<p>KCL in group 10 or 11. </p>

<p>Bristol, Durham, Edinburgh in group 8.</p>

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<p>Very little movement on my ranking/list. However, if what you’re asking is for postgrad, the list would vary a lot.</p>

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Obviously true, but class size is then more valid as a SECONDARY statistic for use after cuts based on faculty strength.</p>

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<p>W&M is the premier public undergrad experience in America.</p>

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<p>I don’t get it… why is William & Mary so highly regarded?</p>

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<p>W&M is well regarded due to the quality of students, beauty of campus, history, professors whose focus is teaching and not researching, setting, and the unquantifiable “vibe” that lives there. There is no other public school that can give a Brown or Dartmouth or Haverford experience at a public school price.</p>

<p>W&M cant be accurately described, but it is an amazing experience.</p>

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That’s a huge stretch.</p>

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<p>No its not. Its a statement of fact. Go visit and talk to one. Its obvious you havent.</p>