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There was a thread on the PR parents board that asked about these schools, but most of the responses were not very helpful. Still, the topic struck home. What about these schools? What are the prospects for graduate work at a decent school? Other than USNews and specific school sites, where can you find information about these schools? Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks

By Tobey on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 10:24 am: Edit

If you have an outstanding UG record you will have a chance at a decent school for graduate work. Graduate schools are not oblivious to UG reputations but coming from a regional school per se should not be an obstacle to admission to a solid graduate program.

Can you please explain the advantages to regional universities? Unless a specific one is in mind (this does not apply to you because you're asking about southern regional universities in general and not one particular school) why would someone elect to attend one over a national university? Why would someone narrow the focus of their search that way?

By collegemom aka Anon Mom on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 11:01 am: Edit

These places attract different student bodies from the first and second tier "national" schools. The very definition (Carnegie) of these regional schools (now called something else, like "masters universities" or something), which is that at the UG level less than 40% of degrees awarded are in the liberal arts, means that they are attractive to students who are seeking out specific pre-professional programs. The remaining students who do choose these institutions as liberal arts majors probably do so for any number of reasons, including perhaps geographic proximity to home, the possibility of receiving significant merit money if they are at the high end of the applicant pool, or simply the ability to be admitted with less stringent requirements (for test scores and GPAs, etc). There are a couple of schools in this category that do overlap applicants with some "national" schools, for various reasons--Villanova and U. Richmond come to mind.

So in short, the "advantages" of these schools are that they offer specific undergraduate training programs to students who want to be accountants or other business majors, nurses, physical therapists, etc., and that in many cases admissions standards may not be as stringent as for top tier national schools.

By Rosey on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 11:57 am: Edit

According to USNews these are now called "Universities-Masters" because they have few,if any, doctoral programs, and indicate the school's mission as being directed toward undergraduate and Master's level work with a full range of majors. We are looking at these schools because of the focus on undergraduate teaching, the smaller size, and more professorial contact. They include schools like the University of Richmond, Elon University, Appalachian State University, James Madison, etc. These four are ones my son is interested in, especially Appalachian State and Elon. We have visited, but I'd like more information of how these schools are viewed in the general academic community. Any ideas of where to find out. Thanks again.

By Tobey on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 01:14 pm: Edit

Thank you for your replies.

It's probably just as hard to evaluate and/or assign attributes to a group of schools based on their common course offerings or missions as it is to collectively evaluate them based on any other trait. I imagine it's almost impossible to assess how they are viewed in any collective manner, more likely each school rides on its own reputation. LACs run the gamut.

An exception is the ivy league, where the schools are generally considered to be of good quality (and even that is disputed). But that is a small group and a rare exception. Generally I'd say it is very hard to evaluate schools based of their group or type.

It will be hard to estimate a regional school's reputation from afar. Some regional schools may not be well-known nationally but are well known in their regions. I don't know how well Villanova is known throughout the country but it is very accepted and familiar to Philadelphians. It will take effort to weed out popular misconceptions. I heard through the grapevine that Elon is a conservative school that is focused more on religion than academia but I have no idea how much truth there is to this, if any. I know of Appalachian State because its camp for gifted children was recommended, but that says nothing about the school itself. I know 2 people who went to Richmond and loved it, but that was 30-some years ago. So you see how important it is to try and verify anything you hear, good and bad, with other sources.

I think you were right the first time in looking to USNews categories for an inkling of the schools' caliber and reputation. The numbers may not be absolutely foolproof but they're a start.

By collegemom aka Anon Mom on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 06:29 pm: Edit

Let me add a caution when trying to compare these schools with other schools in the US News rankings. When it comes to the "academic reputation" number, don't try to compare schools between categories using this number. This is because they are being ranked by how they are perceived within their own category. So a regional (or university-masters) school with an academic ranking of 3.8 cannot be presumed to be as academically strong as a "national" school with a 3.8 academic rep. ranking.

My comment, above, about the number of students in pre-professional programs in this category of schools has to be considered when you are trying to compare them to the schools that are much more predominantly liberal arts oriented. Schools where most students are pursuing specific training and learning skills for the workplace, as opposed to majoring in various academic areas of the liberal arts, DO tend to have very different atmospheres because they are attracting different kinds of kids. Where your own child is likely to find the best personal fit will depend to a large degree upon what he or she is looking for in the college experience. If your child is interested in majoring in English or History (or any other LA discipline), you need to be very sure that (a) the academic departments in these areas have strong course offerings and a large enough faculty to support them, and (b) there are enough other students in these majors that your child will have enough peers. To be one of only a handful of English majors, studying in a department that is not strongly supported by the college, can turn out to be a disappointing experience. Again, EVERYTHING depends upon the individual school involved, so it is vitally important to do careful research, through reading the academic catalog and visiting the school, etc.

Something else to be alert to when it comes to this category of schools is the number of full time faculty who are employed and the strength of their academic background. Many of the weaker regional schools have a relatively (compared to the national schools) low percentage of full-time professors, and many of the adjuncts or part-time profs who make up the difference may not have achieved the terminal degree in their fields. Just something to be alert to.

And as is true when researching any college regardless of its category or ranking, look at the number of students who return for sophomore year, along with graduation rates.

By Dadster on Saturday, June 15, 2002 - 01:59 am: Edit

Great analysis and advice, Collegemom! And I agree, Tobey, that getting into a strong grad program doesn't require attending an elite undergrad school - a strong undergrad record at most good colleges should be sufficient.