November 15, 2012

George Washington shouldn't have told so many lies.

Dishonored. De-ranked by U.S. News.
"Students are very, very worried about this,” said Scheckter, 21. "They are worried about graduating, applying to graduate school having a degree from a university that is now ranked the same as the University of Phoenix, which, no offense to them, is not the same institution. A lot of people pay a hell of a lot of money to come here, thinking they will get a degree from a top 50 university.”
The university ought to refund part of that tuition. I'm picturing a lawsuit.

21 comments:

Wince said...

Where are institutional pecking orders more important that academia, government and the media?

You know, the bastions of egalitarianism.

Peter V. Bella said...

Do people really pick their schools because some magazine rates them? No wonder we have so many uneducated people with degrees.

McTriumph said...

All universities lie about rankings, placement and starting salaries. No news here, universities have become country club diploma mills.
The only real advantage to attending an Ivy League school is to tell everyone one you meet within the first three minutes of meeting, they always do.

SteveR said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ann Althouse said...

"Do people really pick their schools because some magazine rates them?"

Do you live in the United States?

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

The alumni association could set things right by donating a cherry tree.

Shouting Thomas said...

The quota systems and institutional vanity collide!

Jesus Fucking Christ! Am I glad that my days in the institutional/corporate environment are just about over. No more quota bullshit! Retirement!

Take Your Quota System and Shove It!
I Don't Work Here Any More!


Remember. Diversity is Our Greatest Strength!

Scott said...

If diversity is our greatest strength, we're seriously fucked.

Peter said...

We need more federal funding- ALL schools should be in the top ten!

Old RPM Daddy said...

Tweet quoted in the WaPo item: "Things I could have spent $250k on that would be more valuable than my GW diploma... #GWU @gwadmissions #OnlyAtGW #hilarious"

You spent $250 thousand on college? When will that "investment" finish amortizing? Ever? Did any of your classes have math in them?

More: "'Students are very, very worried about this,” said Scheckter, 21. 'They are worried about graduating, applying to graduate school having a degree from a university that is now ranked the same as the University of Phoenix, which, no offense to them, is not the same institution.'"

Hugo Scheckter is right. U. of Phoenix may be a better value for the money.

A little snarkiness goes a long way, so I won't go on with it. But I have to ask: At what point does the cost of a particular college's diploma overshadow the value of having it? I'd think the returns would start to diminish at some point.

Shanna said...

What is the reason given why GWU's ranking was removed rather than corrected? Why the different treatment from Claremount and Emory?

Methadras said...

The university system as it stands today in the US is a scam. This is nothing new.

edutcher said...

Two words

Athletic scholarship.

Larry J said...

McTriumph said...

The only real advantage to attending an Ivy League school is to tell everyone one you meet within the first three minutes of meeting, they always do.


In the Air Force, there's a particularly hated group of Academy grads known as "ring knockers." They're the ones who tap the table with their class ring to being attention to the fact that they're Academy grads. It isn't like they have to do it. They always find a way to work in "When I was at the Academy" into any conversation.

By no means are all Academy grads that way. I used to work with one who was particularly competent (EE major with a masters in EE) and a lot of fun. I told her that "If no one told me, I would've never known you were an Academy grad." She took the compliment in the spirit it was intended.

Zach said...

The real lie is that there is any such thing as a "top 50 university." Is there any real distinction between #50 and #100?

In my experience, there are only three classes of school.

1) Harvard (You don't have to like it, but it's true).

2) A top school in the field that you're interested in.

3) A perfectly adequate school.

There are maybe 10 schools in any given field that are genuinely impressive. Everything else is category 3.

jaynie said...

Wee, tiny bit of schadenfreude.Yay for populism. K, done.

Directed our teenager toward public universities only. We told him just as cleats do not make the football player, but are a tool contributing to the defensive lineman's success, so, too, the college education is a tool with which you equip yourself to achieve whatever success you set as your goal. The work itself comes from you in both cases; do the work, from prep to carry through, and, voila, you travel towards success no matter the perceived quality of the tools you possess.

Online MOOC was my thought, but he and my husband draw blank stare when I raise that choice. Ha

Currently in his senior year, he is looking at the universities in the mountain west - Utah and Wyoming. We are from the overwhelmingly blue state of Massachusetts :( and I believe it will benefit him to try life elsewhere. Just the same, I do dread the liberal brainwashing that is part and parcel of university. Just played Greg Gutfeld's gregalogue to college student for him as fair warning!

Old RPM Daddy said...

@Larry J. "In the Air Force, there's a particularly hated group of Academy grads known as 'ring knockers.' They're the ones who tap the table with their class ring to being attention to the fact that they're Academy grads ..."

That, or you'd see the ring when he stuck the finger up his nose.

The best general I ever knew went through University of Mississippi, not USAFA.

Molly said...

EDH: "Where are institutional pecking orders more important than academia?" Wow, what a thought. Shouldn't the government randomly reassign professors to different universities every few years? That would make colleges and universities more equal, and would solve the diversity problem, without any need for affirmative action.

Prof Althouse: East Texas Law School and Sanitarium is in your future.

(and EDutcher: GW is not a big school for athletics.)

rcommal said...

That's quite the fudge, from 58% to 78%.

Larry J said...

Old RPM Daddy said...
The best general I ever knew went through University of Mississippi, not USAFA.


And the best president of my lifetime graduated from Eureka College, not an Ivy League institution. In fact, most of the Ivy League presidents of late have been pretty lousy presidents.

Bayoneteer said...

Who fuckin' cares what some bankrupt no-longer-publishing news magazine's rating is? What credibility do they have given their face plant exit from the media firmament? Sheesh.