Are most state universities considered to be 2nd-tier schools?

Question

I know there are some exceptions, such as UC Berkeley and UMich, but are most state universities considered to be 2nd-tier schools?

Answer 1

I suppose. But most private universities are 2nd tier as well.

There's only so much space in the first tier. Most of the flagship state schools make it into the first tier, while the rest of the state schools don't make it (big exception being the UC system where basically all of them are 1st tier). Of course, since there are so many colleges out there, most of the privates can't make it into the first tier either.

If you're trying to compare private vs. state schools, you can't make any generalities. You have to compare individual school to individual school.

Answer 2

Yes and no...

There is no tier 2, there is "top", tier 3, and tier 4 in each category.

In the national universities category, 52% of the schools listed in the top 100 are publics.

In the Liberal Arts colleges category, only 4% of the schools listed in the top 100 are publics.

Of the 4 best undergrad business schools - two are publics. (50%)

I don't know what the ratio of public to private colleges is in the US but it would appear that your premise is true with regard to Liberal Arts colleges but not true with regard to National Universities. It's interesting though that the highest ranked National U is UC Berkeley at 21.

It would take a while to do these same determinations in the regional master's and the baccalaureate colleges categories since they are divided by geographic region.

Add: some people may not agree with the USNWR methodology but the question asked about the tier system which is a part of the USNWR methodolgy. He did not ask whether we agreed with their methodology but instead whether the publics tend to be ranked lower than privates in that study.

Answer 3

No. They may be public, but many have really great programs, and are very well funded. They can also be very picky with students, only wanting top students, so that has nothing to do with it.
To be honest, I think a lot of private schools are overrated, and many of their policies (such as in legacy schools) are dated and pretty stupid. In some (of course not all) cases, the private schools are the same in terms of academics as a state school, they just cost more and may have a more famous name, but when it comes down to it it doesn't mean much.

Really, it would depend on the individual schools you are comparing.

Answer 4

With due respect to CoachT, most people in academia don't put a lot of weight in the USNWR rankings. Their system for ranking universities is qualitative and biased, and absolutely does *not* measure student learning. For instance, one of the major factors in rank determination (I believe it's 40% of the score) is formed from the opinions of university presidents who respond to the survey! Similarly, I think the next largest percentage score has to do with research grant dollars awarded to the university, which may have little to nothing to do with th educational experience for students. Their system is ridiculous... and many universities have declined to participate in the past decade.

Wazup1971's comment is closer to the reality of the situation as I see it. Many state universities are the best in the world for particular programs. The same is true of privates as well of course.

The "best" school for you is the one that you'll learn most effectively in, while also gaining the non-academic skills that you'll need in life. For instance, many people don't do well in large classes, in which case Berkeley, no matter how good it is at some things, will be a problem for those students.

Answer 5

NO!!!!

Look at UC Berkley, UCLA, University of Michigan, College of William and Mary...it really depends on the school! I would say on average there is a balanced ratio of good/bad private schools:good/bad public schools.

Answer 6

ranges are certainly quarter percentile rankings usual by employing USNews. which ability the 1st tier faculties are the perfect 25% in accordance with quite a few components (i.e. attractiveness between teachers, median front point examination rankings, and undergrad GPAs, % of applicants not conventional, application expenses, and so on.). human beings that fall in the 4th tier are of the backside 25% of all those faculties reviewed. desire this facilitates!

Answer 7

It depends of a lot of things, for example Missouri is famous for the Journalist School.

And consider that most of the "important" schools may be good in one field but not in another, for example they may be good in law school but not so good in Medicine.