Money Magazine 50 "Best College" rankings

bruno

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With the Huge Caveat that I don't put too much stock in any of these college rankings- I still found it interesting to look at this newest one. Maine Maritime comes in at number 12 overall and #1 in Public colleges and VMI comes in at 18 overall and #4 in Public colleges.

http://time.com/money/3024906/moneys-best-colleges-top-50/

and here is the link to their methodology: http://time.com/money/3020574/methodology-long-moneys-best-colleges/

And I like their caveats on how to use these rankings - theirs and all the others:
"Use MONEY’s rankings as an initial screening tool, then seek colleges whose “practices will help you graduate and succeed,” advises Schneider. Those best practices, according to recent research by Gallup, include lots of student participation in clubs and personal attention from great professors."
..."In the end, of course, all the data in the world won’t matter if the student doesn’t fit into campus life and feel motivated to take advantage of a college’s resources."
 
What is also interesting is that unlike USNWR, they do NOT include any service academies in their survey by design.

From the VMI write up: "Unlike traditional military schools, however, VMI charges tuition and does not require students to serve after graduation (which is why it remained on MONEY’s Best Colleges list, while other military schools with a service requirement are not). "

So thus the SMC's were eligible for evaluation, but no FSA's.
 
DD attends Maine Maritime and DS will be attending VMI this fall. I can tell you that MMA ( as well as the other major maritime schools) is top notch and the whole industry in general is not known by many. Many of the kids graduating from MMA start at nearly six figure salaries.

MMA really gives these students hands on experience that is invaluable in the workplace.

Great rankings for both schools!
 
Thank you for sharing Bruno. Our son's best friend will be entering as a Rat at VMI next month, and a great Scout from our troop will be a senior there. Our son will be a FISH at A&M as well.
 
More confusing list than most. I guess if you set up the methodology just right, you can get whatever you'd like. But when common sense comes into play.... these lists just.... take up room.
 
More confusing list than most. I guess if you set up the methodology just right, you can get whatever you'd like. But when common sense comes into play.... these lists just.... take up room.

Money didn't set out to get "whatever they liked". They completely, and in great depth, explain the methodology they used--and it makes total sense. IMHO, both Money and Forbes have a much better methodology of ranking colleges than US News (which has been "called-out" for some of their "less than honest" reporting methods).
 
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Forbes

Interesting info: Just reminded how Forbes Magazine admonished two university officials last year for "lying" about their university information submissions. Seems more rankings sources are starting to hold colleges and universities accountable to integrity standards in their future reportings... good news for everyone--hope US News took notice...
Interesting note... when looking at Forbes' college articles, I noticed an article about 10 colleges that produce the most millionaires--interesting read. Also some good articles on public vs private colleges, and interestingly enough, an advertisement for an on-line internet degree in literacy from the citadel.
 
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