Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchkin03
Does every school have to be Tier 1, though?
We might have different definitions of what it means to be "Tier 1," so our mileages may vary, but when I think of top-tier schools in large states like Texas, I think of UT-Austin and A&M-College Station (or, in California, the UC system). Those schools have basically every major you can think of, and are major research universities. As a result, their admissions standards are very stringent.
Not every college has to be a Tier 1 Research University, or even Tier 1 in terms of US News's rankings. Especially in terms of public education in a state that's trying to keep its students in-state after graduation, a mix is best--some schools should focus specifically on the education of undergraduates with maybe a few Masters programs thrown in. Some schools should focus on commuters and non-traditional students. In fact, that very emphasis on undergraduate education and/or non-traditional students can preclude a university from ranking "high" on a national list.
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There are a LOT of universities in Texas, so there's something for everyone. The issue with putting all the focus on UT and A+M is that 1) they're overcrowded and 2) they're getting a huge chunk of money designated for education in the state. UT and A+M are both amazing schools, but so are UTD and Texas Tech (for example). They shouldn't be thrown to the side just because they're not the superpower universities in the state.
I think it's also necessary to have at least one Tier 1 university in each of the large Texas metros (we have 1 in Austin and now 1 in Houston. There are 3 candidates in the D/FW area and 1 in San Antonio). We lose a lot of students to Oklahoma, Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana schools because of this.
I can't find the original TX for Tier One website, but here's the FB group (there are some updates with interesting info):
link
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