Smartest Public Schools

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Ahem..............

The ACC is well represented on this list.

Interesting. We come in at a very, very respectable #19.

We are right behind most of the Military Academies, who I guess are "public". In fact there are 4 ACC schools in the top 20 and 4 Big Ten Schools. Ga Tech was ranked #1 by this list.

What is surprising, there were only TWO Pennsylvania schools in the top 63 schools. Wait a minute you say. Wait, if we are #19, then that means there is not another Pa school until #63? Isn't PSU a PA School? So, doing simple deduction, that would mean....EGADS, the Nitters are #63? Perhaps a little less worrying about court cases and football and a little more concentration on academic values might be in order. But hey, the President was President at Florida State, so no doubt he knows where his bread is buttered.

#107K! #WEARE! #UNRIVALED! #WEAREBEHIND UCF, ALABAMA, ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE, OKLAHOMA, VERMONT AND NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING!

Oh and our buddies to the south. Well, Appalachian State made the top 100 at 100, but the Harvard of the Appalachians again is nowhere to be found.

http://www.businessinsider.com/smartest-public-colleges-in-america-2014-10

 

[Pitt79]

LOL, no school is more public than the military academies!

 

[GT74]

Good catch. I was just about to post it. Pitt #19, PSU #63, hmmm. BWI posters insist that Pitt is far behind PSU academically, and that employers will testify to that. This refutes that assumption. And, WVU, nowhere in the top 100. Not surprising. US News is often referenced, but Business Insider should be a credible source.

 

[raleighpanther]

And, this is only for main campus students. If Penn State supplied scores for all of their students, well, they would be in WVU's neighborhood.

By the way, I've been tracking this for years. This is not a one year aboration. Pitt has been ahead of PSU for awhile, and the gap between Pitt and PSU continues to widen, year after year.

And it will continue to grow. As a school's reputation grows in this regard, applicants notice, and it attracts better students. Success breeds more success; the rise in the quality of students causes a natural, self-propelled rise in the quality of applicants.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

LOL, no school is more public than the military academies!

Yeah but you have to be "appointed" to get it, right? I mean, not just any schlock can get into it. Of course, they can get into their "branch" campuses.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

And, this is only for main campus students. If Penn State supplied scores for all of their students, well, they would be in WVU's neighborhood.

By the way, I've been tracking this for years. This is not a one year aboration. Pitt has been ahead of PSU for awhile, and the gap between Pitt and PSU continues to widen, year after year.

And it will continue to grow. As a school's reputation grows in this regard, applicants notice, and it attracts better students. Success breeds more success; the rise in the quality of students causes a natural, self-propelled rise in the quality of applicants.

It is. In many cases, they have really sold their soul to their brand, and their beloved football program. You can tell this by the lack of quality discourse within their university on the Sandusky Scandal and everything transpired.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

Yeah but you have to be "appointed" to get it, right? I mean, not just any schlock can get into it. Of course, they can get into their "branch" campuses.

Still weird Navy joined that conference.

 

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

Still weird Navy joined that conference.

Here are the smartest public colleges in America:
Smarts Rank School Average SAT
ACC:
1 Georgia Institute of Technology 1385
5 University of Virginia 1355
10 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 1305
19 University of Pittsburgh 1270
30 Clemson University 1245
34 North Carolina State University-Raleigh 1235
39 Florida State University 1225
42 Virginia Tech 1220
83 University of Louisville (3) 1145

BIG TEN:
6 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 1340
9 University of Maryland-College Park 1310
11 Ohio State University-Columbus 1300
14 University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign 1285
22 University of Wisconsin-Madison 1265
22 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 1265
43 Rutgers, 1210
51 Purdue University-West Lafayette 1200
63 Indiana University-Bloomington 1175
63 Pennsylvania State University-University Park 1175
68 University of Iowa 1165
68 Michigan State University (3) 1165
68 University of Minnesota-Morris (3) 1165
83 University of Nebraska-Lincoln 1145

PAC12:
2 University of California-Berkeley 1375
8 University of California-Los Angeles 1320
36 University of Washington 1230
47 University of Colorado-Boulder 1205
83 Arizona State University-Tempe (2) 1145

SEC:
22 University of Florida 1265
33 University of Georgia 1240
39 Auburn University 1225
47 University of Tennessee 1205
47 University of South Carolina 1205
56 University of Alabama 1185
61 Texas A&M University-College Station 1180
68 University of Missouri 1165
68 Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge 1165
68 University of Arkansas 1165
83 University of Kentucky 1145

BIG-12:
26 University of Texas-Austin 1260
56 University of Oklahoma 1185
83 Iowa State University 1145
83 University of Kansas 1145
83 Oklahoma State University 1145

AAC POSSIBLE EXPANSION FOR BIG-12:
36 University of Connecticut 1230
61 University of Central Florida 1180
65 University of South Florida 1170
83 University of Cincinnati 1145
94 University of Houston 1140

NON-POWER CONFERENCES:
3 College of William and Mary 1365


4 United States Air Force Academy 1360


6 Colorado School of Mines 1340


12 Binghamton University-SUNY 1294


13 University of California-San Diego 1290


14 New College of Florida 1285


16 United States Military Academy (3) 1283


17 United States Naval Academy 1280


18 United States Coast Guard Academy (3) 1275


20 SUNY-Geneseo 1269


21 United States Merchant Marine Academy 1267


22 Missouri University of Science & Technology 1265


26 University of Texas-Dallas 1260


28 University of California-Santa Barbara 1250


28 Stony Brook University-SUNY 1250


30 Miami University-Oxford 1245


30 Truman State University 1245


34 College of New Jersey 1235


36 CUNY-Baruch College 1230


39 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (3) 1225


43 University of California-Davis 1210


43 University of Massachusetts-Amherst 1210


43 University of Maryland-Baltimore County 1210


47 Michigan Technological University 1205


52 University of Delaware 1195


52 University of North Carolina-Asheville 1195


54 St. Mary's College of Maryland (3) 1190


54 University of North Carolina-Wilmington 1190


56 University of Vermont 1185


56 University of Alabama-Huntsville 1185


56 New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology 1185


65 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry 1170





65 CUNY-Hunter College 1170


68 University of California-Irvine 1165


75 College of Charleston (3) 1160


75 Christopher Newport University (2) 1160


77 University at Buffalo-SUNY 1155


77 Salisbury University (9) 1155


77 University of North Florida 1155


80 George Mason University (2) 1150


80 Florida International University 1150


80 Virginia Military Institute 1150


83 University of Alabama-Birmingham 1145


83 James Madison University 1145


83 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 1145


94 University of California-Santa Cruz 1140


94 New Jersey Institute of Technology 1140


94 Georgia College & State University 1140


98 Appalachian State University 1135


99 University of Massachusetts-Lowell 1130


100 Colorado State University 1125


100 University of Wyoming 1125


100 SUNY-New Paltz 1125


100 CUNY-Queens College 1125


100 University of Michigan-Dearborn 1125

 

[HailtoPitt]

Pitt should ask to join the SEC with the argument that we would boost their academic reputation! Pitt would be ranked #1 in that conference.

 

[JoeScaz]

I am the Regional Director for an educational company.. and Pitt's freshman matriculant to main this year was 43 points higher than PSU's main

 

[vulcan80]

I'd like to see the ranking of the public schools football teams SAT scores!That would be real interesting!BWDIK my SATwas 900

 

[Pitt79]

Yeah but you have to be "appointed" to get it, right? I mean, not just any schlock can get into it. Of course, they can get into their "branch" campuses.

The public sector funds it 100%, it is 100% government run. How easy it is to get in doesn't change that, anybody in the USA can be appointed, thus the definition of public. Any schlock with connections can get in. You think there are no rich kids with connections to Congress people etc. getting appointed?

 

[CrazyPaco]

Pitt's preliminary numbers for the standardized test scores of accepted students are way down this year (for fall '15... what was reported in the linked article above used fall '13 matriculated student numbers...U.S. news ranks released later this month will use fall '14).

The Fall '15 numbers aren't final yet, and it's too early of say it is a trend, but they match 2009 levels of identically reported standardized test scores. That could mean five years of gains have been wiped out and it would be the first year-to-year drop in test scores in a decade. This is class #1 of the new administration. Final numbers won't be available for a month or so, and what really counts is matriculated, not accepted, students. But this is definitely something to keep your eye on.

 

[pitt-girl]

Here are the smartest public colleges in America:
Smarts Rank School Average SAT
ACC:
1 Georgia Institute of Technology 1385
5 University of Virginia 1355
10 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 1305
19 University of Pittsburgh 1270
30 Clemson University 1245
34 North Carolina State University-Raleigh 1235
39 Florida State University 1225
42 Virginia Tech 1220
83 University of Louisville (3) 1145

BIG TEN:
6 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 1340
9 University of Maryland-College Park 1310
11 Ohio State University-Columbus 1300
14 University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign 1285
22 University of Wisconsin-Madison 1265
22 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 1265
43 Rutgers, 1210
51 Purdue University-West Lafayette 1200
63 Indiana University-Bloomington 1175
63 Pennsylvania State University-University Park 1175
68 University of Iowa 1165
68 Michigan State University (3) 1165
68 University of Minnesota-Morris (3) 1165
83 University of Nebraska-Lincoln 1145

PAC12:
2 University of California-Berkeley 1375
8 University of California-Los Angeles 1320
36 University of Washington 1230
47 University of Colorado-Boulder 1205
83 Arizona State University-Tempe (2) 1145

SEC:
22 University of Florida 1265
33 University of Georgia 1240
39 Auburn University 1225
47 University of Tennessee 1205
47 University of South Carolina 1205
56 University of Alabama 1185
61 Texas A&M University-College Station 1180
68 University of Missouri 1165
68 Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge 1165
68 University of Arkansas 1165
83 University of Kentucky 1145

BIG-12:
26 University of Texas-Austin 1260
56 University of Oklahoma 1185
83 Iowa State University 1145
83 University of Kansas 1145
83 Oklahoma State University 1145

AAC POSSIBLE EXPANSION FOR BIG-12:
36 University of Connecticut 1230
61 University of Central Florida 1180
65 University of South Florida 1170
83 University of Cincinnati 1145
94 University of Houston 1140

NON-POWER CONFERENCES:
3 College of William and Mary 1365


4 United States Air Force Academy 1360


6 Colorado School of Mines 1340


12 Binghamton University-SUNY 1294


13 University of California-San Diego 1290


14 New College of Florida 1285


16 United States Military Academy (3) 1283


17 United States Naval Academy 1280


18 United States Coast Guard Academy (3) 1275


20 SUNY-Geneseo 1269


21 United States Merchant Marine Academy 1267


22 Missouri University of Science & Technology 1265


26 University of Texas-Dallas 1260


28 University of California-Santa Barbara 1250


28 Stony Brook University-SUNY 1250


30 Miami University-Oxford 1245


30 Truman State University 1245


34 College of New Jersey 1235


36 CUNY-Baruch College 1230


39 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (3) 1225


43 University of California-Davis 1210


43 University of Massachusetts-Amherst 1210


43 University of Maryland-Baltimore County 1210


47 Michigan Technological University 1205


52 University of Delaware 1195


52 University of North Carolina-Asheville 1195


54 St. Mary's College of Maryland (3) 1190


54 University of North Carolina-Wilmington 1190


56 University of Vermont 1185


56 University of Alabama-Huntsville 1185


56 New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology 1185


65 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry 1170





65 CUNY-Hunter College 1170


68 University of California-Irvine 1165


75 College of Charleston (3) 1160


75 Christopher Newport University (2) 1160


77 University at Buffalo-SUNY 1155


77 Salisbury University (9) 1155


77 University of North Florida 1155


80 George Mason University (2) 1150


80 Florida International University 1150


80 Virginia Military Institute 1150


83 University of Alabama-Birmingham 1145


83 James Madison University 1145


83 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 1145


94 University of California-Santa Cruz 1140


94 New Jersey Institute of Technology 1140


94 Georgia College & State University 1140


98 Appalachian State University 1135


99 University of Massachusetts-Lowell 1130


100 Colorado State University 1125


100 University of Wyoming 1125


100 SUNY-New Paltz 1125


100 CUNY-Queens College 1125


100 University of Michigan-Dearborn 1125

I'm actually a bit surprised by VPI's rank. I would have expected it to be higher. I've had the "discussion" a few times on this board, but this list should put to rest that NCSU is not a good academic school.

 

[CrazyPaco]

I am the Regional Director for an educational company.. and Pitt's freshman matriculant to main this year was 43 points higher than PSU's main

That suggests scores of matriculated Pitt students may be down, as seen in the released accepted student scores mentioned above. Very disconcerting.

 

[RINGGOLD94]

Pitt's preliminary numbers for the standardized test scores of accepted students are way down this year (for fall '15... what was reported in the linked article above used fall '13 matriculated student numbers...U.S. news ranks released later this month will use fall '14).

The Fall '15 numbers aren't final yet, and it's too early of say it is a trend, but they match 2009 levels of identically reported standardized test scores. That could mean five years of gains have been wiped out and it would be the first year-to-year drop in test scores in a decade. This is class #1 of the new administration. Final numbers won't be available for a month or so, and what really counts is matriculated, not accepted, students. But this is definitely something to keep your eye on.

Sounds like we should bring back Nordy and STEEEVE to right the ship

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Pitt's preliminary numbers for the standardized test scores of accepted students are way down this year (for fall '15... what was reported in the linked article above used fall '13 matriculated student numbers...U.S. news ranks released later this month will use fall '14).

The Fall '15 numbers aren't final yet, and it's too early of say it is a trend, but they match 2009 levels of identically reported standardized test scores. That could mean five years of gains have been wiped out and it would be the first year-to-year drop in test scores in a decade. This is class #1 of the new administration. Final numbers won't be available for a month or so, and what really counts is matriculated, not accepted, students. But this is definitely something to keep your eye on.

If it means better football, I am fine with the tradeoff.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I'm actually a bit surprised by VPI's rank. I would have expected it to be higher. I've had the "discussion" a few times on this board, but this list should put to rest that NCSU is not a good academic school.

I was surprised by NC State's rank also. I was really surprised PSU's ranking was so low.

 

[CrazyPaco]

If it means better football, I am fine with the tradeoff.

Not that the two have anything to do with one another because there is zero connection between these scores and athletic changes, but that is an embarassingly shameful statement if you really mean that.

A Nitter cultist level of shamefullness.

On the other side, it is as moronically stupid as the thought process of Posvar and Briscoe raising academic admission standards for our athletes beyond peer levels. One need not sacrifice one for the other...ever.

 

[pitt-girl]

I was surprised by NC State's rank also. I was really surprised PSU's ranking was so low.

I'm not but that's because obviously we know a lot about the school. For whatever reason there is this perception that NCSU is not a "good" school, when in reality their acceptance rates/SAT scores are about the same as Pitt's. Their Engineering School is especially hard to get into.

 

[JED_72]

M

Mm

The public sector funds it 100%, it is 100% government run. How easy it is to get in doesn't change that, anybody in the USA can be appointed, thus the definition of public. Any schlock with connections can get in. You think there are no rich kids with connections to Congress people etc. getting appointed?

Members of Congress NOMINATE prospective candidates for service academies. Neither they nor the VP or President make appointments to the Academies. The Acadamies make the appointments through highly competitive processes. There aren't many, if any "schlocks with connections" admitted. Connections getting all five possible nominations might help. But, the nominee won't get in without meeting the published minimums.

 

[JoeScaz]

That suggests scores of matriculated Pitt students may be down, as seen in the released accepted student scores mentioned above. Very disconcerting.

Yeah, we will see when "final" numbers shake out. There are almost 4,100 freshman this year and around 700 transfer/new undergrads in Oakland. Correction, that was a snap-shot over a few years... Sorry Paco, not just 2014..... so I believe the trend is still going the right way...

 

[LivinWell]

At freshman convocation last week, it was reported that the avg SAT of the freshman class is 1298.

 

[pitt-girl]

At freshman convocation last week, it was reported that the avg SAT of the freshman class is 1298.

WOW. That is definitely higher than in previous years. Hail to Pitt!

 

[CrazyPaco]

It was similarly reported as 1297 last year. 1297 last year correlated to a "psudo" average of 1270 that was reported in the common dataset (where "pseudo average" is the average of the mean 25th and 75th percentile marks...that is what US News, Princeton Review, CMUP, and pretty much every ranking uses, including the one originally linked rating above).

So, I don't know what 1298 really means for the things that really impact Pitt's reputation. What I am concerned about can be seen here. Average Honors College scores also went up to 1489 from 1484. So the top quarter /fifth of student scores seem to have went up. This should be expected because Pitt initiated two new major merit awards for this fall: the Stamps Leadership Scholarship and the Nordenberg Scholarship. The increase in class size this year isn't completely out of line this year with the growth over the last dozen years either (6.3% vs 4.8% two years ago or a 12 year avg of 2.9+/-3.1). I don't know how much more they can grow enrollment on the Pittsburgh campus. There is physically just not much more room to increase it, especially considering that maintaining the current 3-year housing guarantee has been somewhat of a priority.

It will be a couple of months before we see the final numbers released for Fall '15. Hopefully, the accepted numbers are deceiving me, but there is no doubt they appear to depart rather strongly from the established trend of the last 15 years.

 

[GT74]

Funny that PSU posters jumped all over the 107k thread over on BWI, but not a post about the 'smartest student bodies' talked about in this thread.

 

[forgeclifton]

Maybe Pitt being the most expensive public university in the country has something to do with the mix of applicants.

 

[pitt-girl]

Maybe Pitt being the most expensive public university in the country has something to do with the mix of applicants.

Technically, PSU is more expensive.

 

[LivinWell]

Gallagher said the 2015 freshman class is one of the largest in Pitt’s history, chosen from more than 30,000 applications. Of the 4,825 new undergraduate students attending Pitt this year, 4,090 are freshmen and 735 are transfer students.

Not only is this incoming class the largest, Gallagher said, but it also boasts some of the most impressive academic scores. The average SAT score of the incoming class is 1298.

“You are one of the best and very brightest classes to come to the University of Pittsburgh,” Gallagher said.

 

[LivinWell]

So glad my daughter chose Pitt over Michigan. She is all fired up for the pep rally tonight and the game on Saturday. It's what it's all about.

 

[vietvet1]

I can't let this go.....cc-LMAOROF! Harvard of Appalachia... oh my, oh my!