Money Magazine's 2024 Rankings

ddiamond

ddiamond

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Last week Money Magazine released their 2024 Rankings. 4 of 6 Senior Military Colleges were recognized. For 2024, Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Virginia Military Institute received 5-stars and are listed in the top 54 Colleges and Universities in the USA.
With the myriad of rankings out there today, Money's ranking rationale and methodology make a great deal of sense.

Money's 4.5 Star Colleges:

Texas A & M
Acceptance Rate```````````````````````````````Estimated Cost`````````````````````````````````````````````Estimated Cost w Grants``````````````````````````````````````````Graduation Rate
63% $33,500 $21,500 83%

The Citadel
Acceptance Rate```````````````````````````````Estimated Cost`````````````````````````````````````````````Estimated Cost w Grants``````````````````````````````````````````Graduation Rate
99% $33,200 $23,100 72%

Virginia Tech
Acceptance Rate```````````````````````````````Estimated Cost`````````````````````````````````````````````Estimated Cost w Grants``````````````````````````````````````````Graduation Rate
57% $33,600 $20,400 85%

Money's 5-Star Colleges: America's Top Schools

Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Acceptance Rate```````````````````````````````Estimated Cost`````````````````````````````````````````````Estimated Cost w Grants``````````````````````````````````````````Graduation Rate
89% $32,100 $22,900 83%

Virginia Military Institute
Acceptance Rate```````````````````````````````Estimated Cost`````````````````````````````````````````````Estimated Cost w Grants``````````````````````````````````````````Graduation Rate
71% $35,100 $19,200 85%
 
Very impressive indeed! Kudos to all the schools that made this prestigious list.

Were the actual service academies included? If so, would be interesting to see where they fell. I am not sure if you excluded them for purposes of your post, or if they were not included by Money.

On a personal note, this reaffirms DS's decision to attend The Citadel starting in August. I guess it may be half a star behind VMI on this list, but still a heck of a school, and VMI isn't in Charleston! ;)
 
FWIW, I count 213 schools that received 4.5 or 5 starts. That's out of 745 schools that "made the cut" to even be included in the rankings, out of more thamn 2,400 four-year colleges universities nationwide. So, any school with 4.5 stars or higher is in the top 8.8% of schools nationwide, at least according to Money's methodology.

Also, I checked, and service academies were NOT included, for the following reason: "We screened out military academies that require a commitment of service in exchange for free tuition because we don’t know how to value the cost of the time commitment and risk."

I read that mean that without an actual dollar figure assigned to a year at an academy, they just didn't fit the mold. That said, safe to assume none of them would score less than 4.5 stars, and most would be in the 5-star category.
 
Great points about service academies--THX! Money's methodology is good.There were less than 200 schools with 4.5 stars and only 54 schools with a 5 star rating. Money's write up on each school does a heck of a job highlighting the differences between the schools. Learned a lot. Did not know The Citadel accepted 99% of applicants!
 
Glad to see my alma mater on there but still staggered by $91K tuition - but also happy to see they are continuing with big merit and need financial aid grants, rigorous and small classes taught by full profs. They have gotten about 1000 bigger in undergrad, have added a School of Engineering and other disciplines, than my time in the 20th C.
Examples of merit scholarships:
financialaid.wfu.edu

Scholarships | Student Financial Aid | Wake Forest University

Most scholarships (including the full-cost of attendance Signature Scholarships) do not require a scholarship application, but only a completed admission application by November 15.
financialaid.wfu.edu financialaid.wfu.edu


They have an AROTC unit there with cross-town affiliates at Salem College and Winston-Salem State.
Just sayin’.
rotc.wfu.edu

ROTC | Wake Forest University

Battalion Updates Check out our newsletter. Join our virtual information session on June 25, 2024 at 7pm EST! Quick Links Our mission is to develop leaders of character who are capable of winning in complex environments. We commission Army Officers to serve, train, [...]
rotc.wfu.edu rotc.wfu.edu
 
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ddiamond said:
Great points about service academies--THX! Money's methodology is good.There were less than 200 schools with 4.5 stars and only 54 schools with a 5 star rating. Money's write up on each school does a heck of a job highlighting the differences between the schools. Learned a lot. Did not know The Citadel accepted 99% of applicants!
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Yeah, it's crazy! It's like if you have a pulse, you get in. Yet, in spite of that, the average GPA for accepted students is pretty high, and the outcomes — in terms of graduation rate, starting salaries, social mobility, etc. — are elite. As a parent of an incoming knob, I have two thoughts on why this is the case:

1. Your average goof-off who wants to party is NOT applying to The Citadel. Also, The Citadel is a backup plan for many service academy applicants. So, just because you don't have to be a whiz kid to get in doesn't mean there aren't whiz kids who go there. Nor does it mean that the "average" students who go aren't highly motivated.

2. It's a testament to what "normal" students can accomplish given the structure, discipline and support to maximize their potential. The Citadel, in particular, and SMCs in general, are wonderful social experiments. I would not bet against a group of SMC cadets when pitted against a similar group of "higher achieving" students from another institution.
 
pa-outdoorsman said:
Yeah, it's crazy! It's like if you have a pulse, you get in. Yet, in spite of that, the average GPA for accepted students is pretty high, and the outcomes — in terms of graduation rate, starting salaries, social mobility, etc. — are elite. As a parent of an incoming knob, I have two thoughts on why this is the case:

1. Your average goof-off who wants to party is NOT applying to The Citadel. Also, The Citadel is a backup plan for many service academy applicants. So, just because you don't have to be a whiz kid to get in doesn't mean there aren't whiz kids who go there. Nor does it mean that the "average" students who go aren't highly motivated.

2. It's a testament to what "normal" students can accomplish given the structure, discipline and support to maximize their potential. The Citadel, in particular, and SMCs in general, are wonderful social experiments. I would not bet against a group of SMC cadets when pitted against a similar group of "higher achieving" students from another institution.
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As a 1994 Citadel alumni we've been discussing this amongst ourselves on some of our FB pages. I think you've honed in on one of the most important points. Yes, the acceptance rate is high BUT I'm rather sure it's because those that apply are those that absolutely know it's where they want to go. The applicant pool weeds itself out so only those that really want to go apply.

And you're right, the grads tend to do quite well in both the military and civilian sectors. For the longest time we had one of the highest ranked civil engineering programs in the country and believe we're still way up there.
 
JKHDelta said:
As a 1994 Citadel alumni we've been discussing this amongst ourselves on some of our FB pages. I think you've honed in on one of the most important points. Yes, the acceptance rate is high BUT I'm rather sure it's because those that apply are those that absolutely know it's where they want to go. The applicant pool weeds itself out so only those that really want to go apply.

And you're right, the grads tend to do quite well in both the military and civilian sectors. For the longest time we had one of the highest ranked civil engineering programs in the country and believe we're still way up there.
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The engineering program is still Top 25 nationally.

The Citadel actually gets more applications than you'd think. I think the last years I saw stats for was like 8,800 to get an incoming class of like 700. So, clearly not everyone who applies wants to go there. But then again, my guess is that MANY of those applicants also apply to SAs and other SMCs. It would be interesting to know how many accepted students at SMCs end up at a different SMC or SA, but I doubt it would really be practical to compile those figures.

Regardless, there's no doubt The Citadel is an excellent school producing excellent outcomes for its graduates. I am sure a big part of that is because Citadel Cadets really WANT to be there. I doubt you can make it through four years without wanting it, and if you DO make it through four years, then yeah, you can probably make it through whatever the military and civilian sector can dish out.
 
JKHDelta said:
For the longest time we had one of the highest ranked civil engineering programs in the country and believe we're still way up there.
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The latest US News rankings (2023) has The Citadel School of Engineering (Civil, Electrical, Computer, Mechanical, Construction) #23 Nationally - in the same category as the federal academies. This should improve when the new Engineering facilities are completed. The General Assembly has already approved the funds.
 
JKHDelta said:
The acceptance rate is high BUT I'm rather sure it's because those that apply are those that absolutely know it's where they want to go.
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Not accurate, but see what you're trying to say. It's a great school and as @pa-outdoorsman said, it's a great backup plan.
"Getting in" may be easy, but staying in may not be so easy.

OldRetSWO said:
The school where I teach got 5 stars in the rankings. It is not an SMC but does have an AFROTC
Unit.

We've got that going for us which is nice. . .
Click to expand...
FLY NAVY?.........😂
 
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pa-outdoorsman said:
It would be interesting to know how many accepted students at SMCs end up at a different SMC or SA, but I doubt it would really be practical to compile those figures.
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Funny you say that. Up until about a month and a half ago my son had a four year Navy scholarship and was finalizing going to The Citadel behind me. Out of left field the Air Force Academy offered him the Falcon Foundation Scholarship for one of the prep schools. End result, he starts the prep school August 2nd to get ready for USAFA next year. It was a VERY hard decision for him and us. But would have had no heartache over him going to The Citadel in the end.
 
glen said:
The latest US News rankings (2023) has The Citadel School of Engineering (Civil, Electrical, Computer, Mechanical, Construction) #23 Nationally - in the same category as the federal academies. This should improve when the new Engineering facilities are completed. The General Assembly has already approved the funds.
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Wondered where you'd been Glen. I knew you'd have some of the info I needed. LOL

Good to see you here.
 
JKHDelta said:
Funny you say that. Up until about a month and a half ago my son had a four year Navy scholarship and was finalizing going to The Citadel behind me. Out of left field the Air Force Academy offered him the Falcon Foundation Scholarship for one of the prep schools. End result, he starts the prep school August 2nd to get ready for USAFA next year. It was a VERY hard decision for him and us. But would have had no heartache over him going to The Citadel in the end.
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Congrats to your son! My son was one who never had the SAs firmly in his sights. He did consider USCGA but ultimately ended up applying only to AROTC and thankfully was able to earn a scholarship. He is extremely excited to start knob year. I'm sorry your son won't be joining him, but I am sure he will do great things at prep and then in the Air Force!
 
JKHDelta said:
Funny you say that. Up until about a month and a half ago my son had a four year Navy scholarship and was finalizing going to The Citadel behind me. Out of left field the Air Force Academy offered him the Falcon Foundation Scholarship for one of the prep schools. End result, he starts the prep school August 2nd to get ready for USAFA next year. It was a VERY hard decision for him and us. But would have had no heartache over him going to The Citadel in the end.
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Excellent choice by your son especially if he is seeking a pilot slot. Falcon scholarships are pretty secure way to the Academy if he keeps his academics up and avoids medical or physical DQs.
 
after having had our daughter attend norwich for a year and being highly impressed with everything there (and saying that as a former college professor), I'm kind of surprised that they aren't even on this list anywhere? seems like an oversight
 
hopefulhockeymom said:
after having had our daughter attend norwich for a year and being highly impressed with everything there (and saying that as a former college professor), I'm kind of surprised that they aren't even on this list anywhere? seems like an oversight
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100% agree with you here. Considering how many similarities Norwich and The Citadel share, thought Norwich would’ve been on the list, especially considering Norwich is more selective in its admissions.
 
ddiamond said:
100% agree with you here. Considering how many similarities Norwich and The Citadel share, thought Norwich would’ve been on the list, especially considering Norwich is more selective in its admissions.
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You can read details about the methodology on the Money site. I'm sure there must have been at least one metric where Norwich did not qualify. Also keep in mind that Norwich has as many regular students as cadets so stats from both populations are probably mixed together when determining the school's graduation rate, post-grad outcomes, etc.
 
pa-outdoorsman said:
stats from both populations are probably mixed together when determining the school's graduation rate, post-grad outcomes, etc.
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Valid point. Could it also be the public v private difference? With 48% regular students at Norwich (private) and 40% regular students at The Citadel (public), seems like outcomes would be similar, but also depends how the schools report the data…
 
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