http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2013/07/24/americas-top-colleges-2013/
As expected, USMA leads all.
Leads all ? USMA was ranked 7th. You must have meant leads all service acadamies.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2013/07/24/americas-top-colleges-2013/
As expected, USMA leads all.
Lets be honest. MemberLG is correct. Most people don't give a rat's a$s about college rankings. In the civilian world, the only ones who give it any thought, are those who are trying to "RATIONALIZE", why they paid as much as they did to go to college; or to try and justify their enormous "Student Loan Debt".I agree that it doesn't matter as the target audience for the Forbes College ranking is unsuspecting parents and high school students that don't care about ranking methodology.
I can't recall any high school kid or parents asking me what the ranking methodology when I mentioned the Forbes College ranking.
Lets be honest. MemberLG is correct. Most people don't give a rat's a$s about college rankings. In the civilian world, the only ones who give it any thought, are those who are trying to "RATIONALIZE", why they paid as much as they did to go to college; or to try and justify their enormous "Student Loan Debt".
As for those who apply to the academies, they too don't give a rat's a$s. A forum of highly "Motivated" applicants is the overwhelming minority of applicants. The majority of academy applicants aren't the gung ho individual who has dreamed of attending a military academy since they were a kid. The majority of applicants apply to the academies as just another college. They know that it's highly ranked, but that isn't their biggest concern. Lets be real. The majority who get turned down for an appointment don't even consider ROTC or OTS. They simply move on to another school that they hopefully received a scholarship from. The majority of applicants and their parents see the military academies as a free education. They would have been just as happy if they received a merit, other academic, athletic, or any other type scholarship from a civilian school.
Again; I think our mind set when we discuss topics like this is distorted; because we are on a military oriented forum, where the more motivated applicants come to. More like minded individuals. We always mention to people that when they apply to the academy, to make sure they also have a "PLAN B" school lined up. The truth is: The majority of applicants to the military academies don't have a "Plan B" if they don't receive an appointment. For most of them....... The ACADEMY is one of their "Plan B" schools. The academy is not the first choice of most applicants. They are happy to get the appointment. They are appreciative of the free education. They have no problem serving their country and as a means of paying the government back for the education. But lets not deceive ourselves by believing that the majority of applicants had the academy as their #1 choice. They didn't.
I will say however that cream rises and motivation definitely stands out. As such; I will say that while the majority of applicants don't have the academies as their #1 choice for college; and over 25% WILL Turn Down the appointment; the 1000-1300 who DO accept the appointment, are more Pro-Academy. In other words, while the majority of applicants don't have the academy as their #1 choice, a larger percentage of those starting "I-Day" did have the academy as their primary choice. Is it the majority? I'm not sure about that. But it's definitely a much larger percentage than those who initially apply. Very few appointees turn down prestigious scholarships to other schools to accept the academy appointment. I know some who have; but traditionally, 1600-1700 appointments were offered and approximately 400-500 turned DOWN the military appointment. This is because they got their 1st Choice school.
Leads all ? USMA was ranked 7th. You must have meant leads all service acadamies.
Lets be honest. MemberLG is correct. Most people don't give a rat's a$s about college rankings. In the civilian world, the only ones who give it any thought, are those who are trying to "RATIONALIZE", why they paid as much as they did to go to college; or to try and justify their enormous "Student Loan Debt".
As for those who apply to the academies, they too don't give a rat's a$s. A forum of highly "Motivated" applicants is the overwhelming minority of applicants. The majority of academy applicants aren't the gung ho individual who has dreamed of attending a military academy since they were a kid. The majority of applicants apply to the academies as just another college. They know that it's highly ranked, but that isn't their biggest concern. Lets be real. The majority who get turned down for an appointment don't even consider ROTC or OTS. They simply move on to another school that they hopefully received a scholarship from. The majority of applicants and their parents see the military academies as a free education. They would have been just as happy if they received a merit, other academic, athletic, or any other type scholarship from a civilian school.
Again; I think our mind set when we discuss topics like this is distorted; because we are on a military oriented forum, where the more motivated applicants come to. More like minded individuals. We always mention to people that when they apply to the academy, to make sure they also have a "PLAN B" school lined up. The truth is: The majority of applicants to the military academies don't have a "Plan B" if they don't receive an appointment. For most of them....... The ACADEMY is one of their "Plan B" schools. The academy is not the first choice of most applicants. They are happy to get the appointment. They are appreciative of the free education. They have no problem serving their country and as a means of paying the government back for the education. But lets not deceive ourselves by believing that the majority of applicants had the academy as their #1 choice. They didn't.
I will say however that cream rises and motivation definitely stands out. As such; I will say that while the majority of applicants don't have the academies as their #1 choice for college; and over 25% WILL Turn Down the appointment; the 1000-1300 who DO accept the appointment, are more Pro-Academy. In other words, while the majority of applicants don't have the academy as their #1 choice, a larger percentage of those starting "I-Day" did have the academy as their primary choice. Is it the majority? I'm not sure about that. But it's definitely a much larger percentage than those who initially apply. Very few appointees turn down prestigious scholarships to other schools to accept the academy appointment. I know some who have; but traditionally, 1600-1700 appointments were offered and approximately 400-500 turned DOWN the military appointment. This is because they got their 1st Choice school.
The only list that truely matters
The median starting salary of graduates. We see that Clarkson is #11 Yeah Baby!!
(just ahead of NY Maritime)
But Clarkson is soooo Cold. Is it worth four years in an igloo.
Very few appointees turn down prestigious scholarships to other schools to accept the academy appointment. I know some who have; but traditionally, 1600-1700 appointments were offered and approximately 400-500 turned DOWN the military appointment. This is because they got their 1st Choice school.
X2CC, I'd argue that a good portion of those that decline appointments do so because they got an appointment to one of the other academies. I don't know a single cadet who had USMA as a plan B, except for those that had USAFA or USNA as plan A.
CC, I'd argue that a good portion of those that decline appointments do so because they got an appointment to one of the other academies. I don't know a single cadet who had USMA as a plan B, except for those that had USAFA or USNA as plan A.