US News- MU is #90, top 50 Private

[mu_hilltopper]

They really don't as some sort of quality measure. If your family thinks that Marquette is "worse" than when you went to school there because of some media outlet's ranking system, y'all need to get your heads examined.

Marquette may not be the right fit for your kid for a number of reasons no doubt. But the idea that it's "not good enough for him" is hilariously obtuse.

It's quite clear that you super duper want people to believe that rankings don't matter.  Maybe some day, you'll realize you're the outlier and stop personally attacking the vast majority who disagree.

[The Sultan]

It's quite clear that you super duper want people to believe that rankings don't matter.  Maybe some day, you'll realize you're the outlier and stop personally attacking the vast majority who disagree.

They don't matter. The "vast majority" (which isn't the case by the way) are wrong.

Just because you live in a bubble doesn't mean I do.

[Badgerhater]

The only rankings that matter are basketball polls.

[1990Warrior]

A few random thoughts:

Did they report the score that these "rankings" are based on?  I don't see it anywhere. 

I was interested to see that Brandeis has fallen over the years- what did they do wrong?

[The Sultan]

A few random thoughts:

Did they report the score that these "rankings" are based on?  I don't see it anywhere.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings

[Scoop Snoop]

I was interested to see that Brandeis has fallen over the years- what did they do wrong?

Their Marketing department wasn't given enough money to promote the school, so now the brand is on ice.

[marqfan22]

I have multiple kids in high school and the acceptance rate is probably the stat they talk about the most.

I've always wondered how Marquette can be generally a strong academic school, but then have a very high acceptance rate as well. It is a glaring stat that students can't look past and thus rule out MU before they even see it

[The Sultan]

I have multiple kids in high school and the acceptance rate is probably the stat they talk about the most.

I've always wondered how Marquette can be generally a strong academic school, but then have a very high acceptance rate as well. It is a glaring stat that students can't look past and thus rule out MU before they even see it

Because acceptance rate has little to do with being "generally a strong academic school."  It means they are good at generating applications and are selective in their acceptances. But again, that has nothing to do with outcomes.

[1990Warrior]

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings

That's the formula - I wanted our (and those around us) score.

[mu_hilltopper]

They don't matter. The "vast majority" (which isn't the case by the way) are wrong.

Just because you live in a bubble doesn't mean I do.

Enjoy your much, much smaller bubble.

[Galway Eagle]

I have multiple kids in high school and the acceptance rate is probably the stat they talk about the most.

I've always wondered how Marquette can be generally a strong academic school, but then have a very high acceptance rate as well. It is a glaring stat that students can't look past and thus rule out MU before they even see it

Propensity scores. When MU was casting a larger net they realized they were losing money they had projected to have when students were transferring/failing out. MU now uses a targeted system to basically only get students to spppy if they're likely to be admitted, accept, and remain.

I heard this first hand from a guy who was on the board of trustees when it was implemented. Admittedly it was after national MU day so I'd had a few and could be explaining it wrong.

[forgetful]

High achieving high school students generally become high achieving college students. And high achieving college students graduate and generally make their way to high achieving careers.

The amount that your particular school matters to that is based on a ton of factors not measured in these rankings one bit.

This is technically not true. The top predictors of future wealth and upward mobility is your parents net worth, and your social network.

Top performing doesn't matter that much, provide you have a certain degree of baseline ability.

So if you attend a school with more "connected" people, you are more likely to be more wealthy by association. While these rankings aren't perfect, several aspects of the score do capture these elements.

[The Sultan]

Nm

[dgies9156]

U.S. News is a failing newsmagazine that hangs on, barely, to relevance, by ranking medical care and universities. It was a weak sister even in the days when Time, Newsweek and it had an audience that made them an important part of the American news cycle.

Picking a school because U.S. News ranks it highly is akin to picking a school largely because its football or basketball team happens to be nationally ranked. Yes, I don't disagree that a ranking can garner attention but, really folks, other than to grab attention and keep a small number of has-been journalists employed, what's the point of the rankings?

 

[The Sultan]

U.S. News is a failing newsmagazine that hangs on, barely, to relevance, by ranking medical care and universities. It was a weak sister even in the days when Time, Newsweek and it had an audience that made them an important part of the American news cycle.

Picking a school because U.S. News ranks it highly is akin to picking a school largely because its football or basketball team happens to be nationally ranked. Yes, I don't disagree that a ranking can garner attention but, really folks, other than to grab attention and keep a small number of has-been journalists employed, what's the point og the rankings?

 

To make Topper and his kid feel better about where he goes to school.

[mu_hilltopper]

To make Topper and his kid feel better about where he goes to school.

This still going?  Looks like this lives rent free in your head.

I don't know what's more perverse, that you believe rankings don't matter, or that you feel the need to disparage a teenager and the other millions who do.

[The Sultan]

This still going?  Looks like this lives rent free in your head.

Guy responds to a post made almost a week ago...complains that it's "still going."  😂😂😂

I don't know what's more perverse, that you believe rankings don't matter, or that you feel the need to disparage a teenager and the other millions who do.

People believe in Bigfoot too. Is it "perverse" to claim they're wrong?

[swoopem]

5th consecutive year of enrollment growth. They must be doing something right

https://x.com/marquetteu/status/2107812935934320804?s=46&t=j_mwa5PfT9SagCnMRES1jg

[cheebs09]

5th consecutive year of enrollment growth. They must be doing something right

https://x.com/marquetteu/status/2107812935934320804?s=46&t=j_mwa5PfT9SagCnMRES1jg

Well, when you accept everyone it should.

In seriousness, it looks like the recruiting strategy is working. Although, I believe Sultan has said in the past, it sort of depends on how much you had to discount to get those numbers.

[The Sultan]

Well, when you accept everyone it should.

In seriousness, it looks like the recruiting strategy is working. Although, I believe Sultan has said in the past, it sort of depends on how much you had to discount to get those numbers.

Yes, that is true. And we aren't really going to know that because its not disclosed publically. But my understanding is they are doing well.

[MU82]

Well, when you accept everyone it should.

In seriousness, it looks like the recruiting strategy is working. Although, I believe Sultan has said in the past, it sort of depends on how much you had to discount to get those numbers.

The only thing that really matters is that our alma mater can afford to buy better basketball players.

[Porky's Butthole]

Propensity scores. When MU was casting a larger net they realized they were losing money they had projected to have when students were transferring/failing out. MU now uses a targeted system to basically only get students to spppy if they're likely to be admitted, accept, and remain.

I heard this first hand from a guy who was on the board of trustees when it was implemented. Admittedly it was after national MU day so I'd had a few and could be explaining it wrong.

You heard it right.  Porky heard more or less the same thing from several internal sources years back.  What Porky thinks the admin fails to recognize is the degree to which this admittedly meaningless stat as it relates to outcomes.....still negatively influences students that would automatically be in the top 15% of MU's academic profile if they applied and ended up enrolling....from applying in the first place.  That's the issue.  Sure they shouldn't think that way but they do and it's not going to change.  Porky likens it to nightclub admission in major cities.  The more you keep people out, the more they want in so Porky is of the opinion that acceptance rates do matter for internal institutional factors but as far as student outcomes are concerned, acceptance rate is irrelevant.

At the end of the Day MU's ranking hasn't really changed all that much.  What has changed is that there are a lot more schools in the "National University" category than there were 10 years ago, many of which were #1 or 2 in the regional category when they were there.  Villanova is exhibit A.  Their academic profile / acceptance rate is much stronger than MU's so when they moved to the big leagues 8 or 9 years ago they debuted in the top 50 and knocked down schools like MU, Fordham, Tulane, etc.  MU's trajectory is very positive with 5 years of consecutive enrollment growth and increasing geographic diversity....something that Porky believes strongly is extremely important to an institution's national brand strength.  As long as MU remains more or less where they are in rankings they'll be just fine.  Comparing where they were 15 years ago is not apples to apples and fluctuating from 83-95 or whatever isn't all that significant. Rankings in general are pretty useless anyway.