The Daily Beast's - Guide to the best colleges 2013

[JAD]

"The Daily Beast crunched the data for nearly 2,000 colleges and universities across the country, factoring in everything that students actually care about—from affordability to future earnings to diversity to activities—to come up with a list of the very best schools in terms of real value. Below, our Top 200, along with category-specific rankings for the partiers and bookworms."

College Rankings 2013 - The Daily Beast

 

[Indiana]

Cool, thanks! Interesting that Cornell got #1 in athletics. I chalk it up to 1. The rabid hockey fans and 2. The wide array if intermurals, including the ever popular broomstick polo (which must be seen to be truly appreciated. Cornell's "real" polo team is one of the best in the country - broomstick polo is a wonderfully happy, joyful, crazy silly support of both the polo team and intermural fun) and, now that I think about it, inner-tube water polo, since most of us would drown if we had to play real water polo in a 10' deep pool. Those crazy up-staters do love their polo

 

[maksoftball]

Interesting to see our local university, Rice, make #12. Wish they had a softball program, but I heard that they are extremely hard to get into as they are very selective.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Always interesting because they are intended to sell copies/spark interest, but whether its US News and World Reports, the Daily Beast, the NCAA Div I fastpitch, or the DFP Top 10 Hitting Drills, any type of ranking list is subjective and is not a magical shortcut for the college selection process. You must do your homework - there are no shortcuts!

 

[RubberBiscuit]

What was interesting from DD's cross-country search for a college was the diversity in the apparent priority & funding of the softball programs at a specific school. Just because the school is big or has a glamorous football program MAY not have any bearing on their SB program. I have seen rinky-dink football colleges have awesome SB programs and also mega-football programs have rinky-dink SB programs. I never expected that diversity prior to all those visits.....

 

[JJsqueeze]

CAL POLY at 79=flawed survey. Go Mustangs!

 

[Sweet Lou]

CAL POLY at 79=flawed survey. Go Mustangs!

Only one spot behind Harvey Mudd, one of my son's dream schools. Unfortunately his other dream schools Cal Tech is also ranked in the 900s for affordability. If he get's in either, GULP.

Cal-Poly on the other hand would be a very affordable alternative.

 

[JJsqueeze]

That's what I'm taking about! Great education, low price. Close to good surf, good hiking, Slo town is a great place to go to school! Girls are chunky but I grew to appreciate that. "Talk about mudflaps my girls got em'"...woohoo it's Quittin time Bi***es!