Harvard newspaper doesn't want a 4th sorority

[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.

[knight_shadow]

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.

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

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

We lose a lot of students to Oklahoma, Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana schools because of this.

Is that why, exactly?

I'm not being difficult--I ask because Florida is a state with a similar situation, but the people I know who chose to go to schools in surrounding states did so not because the Florida schools didn't offer what they needed or they couldn't get into UF or FSU. They just didn't want to go to school in Florida. The same thing applies to the (granted, much smaller number of) people I know from TX who chose to go to school in Oklahoma--either they didn't want to go to school in Texas or everyone in their family went to UT or A&M and they wanted to try something new.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Is that why, exactly?

I'm not being difficult--I ask because Florida is a state with a similar situation, but the people I know who chose to go to schools in surrounding states did so not because the Florida schools didn't offer what they needed or they couldn't get into UF or FSU. They just didn't want to go to school in Florida. The same thing applies to the (granted, much smaller number of) people I know from TX who chose to go to school in Oklahoma--either they didn't want to go to school in Texas or everyone in their family went to UT or A&M and they wanted to try something new.

I think it's no secret that Texans are very proud of our state, so there are a lot of people who would like to stay in state. The problem arises when they're only given 2 "good" options (UT + A+M). Even though there are several top schools in the state who would love to attract these students, many top-performing students end up leaving the state in order to get into "real" schools.

I'm not saying that every university in the state needs to be a high-level research institution. For a state with 25 million-ish residents and 3 of the largest cities/metros in the country, though, we need more than two. Using DFW as an example (since I went to school here and currently live in the area), we have almost 7 million residents and 5 major universities in the area. There's a huge concentration of companies, several of them F500. I think the region would get a boost, though, if one of the universities in the area was more recognized. That would bring top-performing students who will (likely) eventually become top-performing employees at our companies.

I wonder if the OU students from UT/A+M families were ever invited back home

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

I think it's no secret that Texans are very proud of our state, so there are a lot of people who would like to stay in state. The problem arises when they're only given 2 "good" options (UT + A+M). Even though there are several top schools in the state who would love to attract these students, many top-performing students end up leaving the state in order to get into "real" schools.

I'm not saying that every university in the state needs to be a high-level research institution. For a state with 25 million-ish residents and 3 of the largest cities/metros in the country, though, we need more than two. Using DFW as an example (since I went to school here and currently live in the area), we have almost 7 million residents and 5 major universities in the area. There's a huge concentration of companies, several of them F500. I think the region would get a boost, though, if one of the universities in the area was more recognized. That would bring top-performing students who will (likely) eventually become top-performing employees at our companies.

I wonder if the OU students from UT/A+M families were ever invited back home

LOL, one of the families (an Austin family) has UT and OU rocking chairs on the patio. A house divided indeed.

How does UH fit in there? I know of a lot of UH-educated architects here in NYC, so it's got to have a pretty decent A-school.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

LOL, one of the families (an Austin family) has UT and OU rocking chairs on the patio. A house divided indeed.

How does UH fit in there? I know of a lot of UH-educated architects here in NYC, so it's got to have a pretty decent A-school.

UH is the 3rd largest university in the state now, and they've been working overtime to get up to T1 status. They got it a month or so ago, so at least we have a public T1 in Houston now.

I'm somewhat familiar with the school's B-school, but I'm not sure where they stand re: architecture.