UAF named one of the best colleges in the West
Published Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — The University of Alaska Fairbanks was the only university in Alaska to be named one of the West’s best colleges by The Princeton Review.
Six hundred and thirty schools, about a quarter of all four-year colleges, were named “regional best.” UAF is one of 120 schools selected in 15 western states.
According to The Princeton Review, schools were selected based on institutional data, school visits and opinions of college advisers and the school’s students.
The rankings can be found at The Princeton Review’s Web site, www.princetonreview.com.
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The Princeton Review is an arbitrary survey that must be taken with a huge grain of salt...it is the kinder, gentler way of rating colleges and instead of basing the ratings on number and quantitative information...it bases its ranks on student surveys - surveys in which students may vote over and over again....I would stick with the US News rankings if you are serious about college - - and always VISIT the college before deciding!!!!
"So how different are the various guides?
There are lists, surveys and testimonials that shower families with statistics on freshman SAT scores, retention rates, average class size and more. U.S. News Editor Brian Kelly said his magazine presents the only college rankings based on a scientific formula -- which is proprietary -- and that the magazine shouldn't be blamed if colleges make too much of the rankings and students misuse them.
He dismissed the Princeton Review's approach, which is based on interviews with 120,000 students: "Princeton Review just calls up bartenders and says, 'How many people are in your bar?' "
Franek had little nice to say about Kelly's product: "I place no credibility on hierarchical rankings. There is no way you can say 'This school is 1,and this school is 401.' It doesn't resonate anymore. It's useless."
Edward B. Fiske of the "Fiske Guide to Colleges" said he believes his approach has more credibility because it avoids gimmicks and quickly reacts to trends.
Fiske includes student interviews, though not as many as Franek's book, and other information he collects as he travels the country. He said he decides which colleges to include based on a variety of information -- some subjective -- that changes year to year.
The Princeton Review includes 62 lists, not about academics but other elements of school life, including which schools are most accepting of gays. He said a survey of 6,000 people showed that only 9 percent said they would choose a school because it was considered to have the best academics, while 53 percent said they were looking for "the best fit.""
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Seems if your priority is 'best fit' and 'acceptance of gays' then the Princeton Review is for you...if you are worried about actual results...use another...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...
I have two degrees from UAF, and I found the educational experience excellent. Part of what makes the quality of an education is how you approach that experience. I landed a job in my field even before I was graduated and have received two promotions in as many years. As to US News' "scientific formula," it also is proprietary, meaning it is not peer-reviewed. Oh, and while irrelevant to the topic at hand, acceptance of gays is a universal concept. Learn to live with it or crawl back into your bigot hole.
Hah -
Mr Monkey...I have no problem with gays - as a matter of fact, I don't think it should even be part of the discussion when choosing a university UNLESS you are a bigot. Why rate a University based partly on it?
I also didn't bash the actual education at UAF in this post - only the Princeton Review - I tend to prefer numbers to abstract 'concepts' such as those they base the rating on.
Bottom line is this is good publicity for a deserving institution. We should be proud to have UAF in our backyard. Maintaining its stature and promoting its opportunities makes sense if you call yourself a member of the Fairbanks community.
brassmonkey,
You had me right up until your last two sentences. For you and those others who seem to think that we must accept any and all social behaviors within our society, I leave you with a quote from Aristotle.
"Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society."
Ulises,
You are using that quote out of context to your own advantage. Aristotle was referring to apathetic citizens that no longer engage in constructive conversation with government. As long as no one knocks on your door, let the neighbors be damned! In this context, if you continue to tolerate the trampling of personal freedoms to gain perceived securities our society will decline. In contrast, by acknowledging and accepting all people, we only strengthen our society.
akguy: "I have no problem with gays - as a matter of fact, I don't think it should even be part of the discussion when choosing a university UNLESS you are a bigot."
Or unless, perhaps, you are gay -- or prefer to be educated in an atmosphere of political and social equality.
Bigotry *is* relevant. Its presence in my educational environment would diminish my university experience. And I believe its presence in *any* environment diminishes our humanity.
Ulises, brassmonkey is absolutely right about that Aristotle quote. Perhaps you should read "Nichomachean Ethics" and "Politics" by Aristotle instead of cutting and pasting quotes such as this that have been repeatedly abused and used in arguments against illegal immigration. Nice try.
I WENT TO UAF....liberal liberal and more liberal. But the PHd's were amazing...PILED HIGH AND DEEP IN LIBRAL THOUGHT.
Ulises, UAF is a public institution and therefore all qualified students deserve a safe environment for receiving an education. Gay, straight, male, female, Catholic, Jew, Asian, Inupiaq, and so on. That's all. "Acceptance of gays" just means the ability for homosexual individual to receive the same safe and quality education as their straight counterparts.
I went to class this summer and there was an intelligent gal who was gay in there which wasn't a big problem. The problem I had with her (which I kept to myself) was her beligerant outbursts and tendency to force the rest of the class to tolerate the distraction she caused.
I don't have a problem with gays, it becomes a problem when the need to express freedom becomes aggressive and counterproductive in society. IMHO, the silent majority shouldn't be silent when it comes to radicals.
I'm partly at fault for allowing the beligerance to continue.. but I also had to take into consideration that her personality was based on how her parents raised her also. Liberal to the T and from the sounds of it, not very kind.
THoughts:
I've been happy with my UAF experience so far, it's been a good run complete with bumps on the road.
I've never really taken polls seriously since I know that most of them are full of biased agendas. But I have to say, I'm really happy to see UAF get good reviews. It's uplifting for the alumni spirit.
No wonder so many students are going on line for classes.
Amazing - an Alaskan University is ranked as one of the Best in the Region... and the Anchorage Daily News doesn't report it...
Well, to be fair, neither did the Juneau Empire...
I am a student at UAF. I think that the professors are all top grade. I enjoy my classes and am proud that UAF was chosen as one of the top colleges in the West. I also had some classes at UAA and thought the professors there were not as good as the ones we have at UAF.
As for the gays on campus? Who cares as long as they don't try to push their believes on others.
The college is fine. Just like any place else, it has its strong points and its faults.
I don't care who tries to push their beliefs at UAF. It's a place of learning. There are clubs representing a whole lot of interests. If gay people, Jesus people or anyone else wants to address their beliefs, that's fine. I don't have to listen or believe in them, if I don't want to.
I am a master's student @ UAF and find it to be a pretty solid school.
I did my undergrad @ Wisconsin, and UAF compares well for biological sciences!
US News has it as a top tier (top 100) graduate school for multiple disciplines.
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