Academics: ISU vs Big Ten

[ISU_phoria]

I've been spending a little time on the Gophers' main message board (Gopherhole) to have a good conversation with them about the game, etc.

Earlier today I went into a thread that was discussing possibly adding a 12th team to the Big Ten, much like the thread here. During the conversation several posters included ISU in the list of potential candidates, along with a few other Big XII North schools.

Then, one poster, made the comment that none of the Big XII schools would meet the academic standards of the Big Ten.

So, I replied that ISU would probably be in the top half of the Big Ten academically, but said it in a nice way (honestly).

To which a random hawk poster commented that from everything he's heard & read, ISU would be dead last in Big Ten academics.

So, my question is: am I mistaken about ISU academics, thinking Iowa State is a strong academic school? I've always made fun of some of my Iowa buddies for going to school to get a second high school diploma.

Can somebody either help me out or set me straight on this?

[IcSyU]

They're a majority of public institutions. They're pretty much all one in the same, with Northwestern being the obvious exception.

[Cyclone_Grav]

Iowa state is a good academic school, but according to us news ranking and reviews, they are 88th in the nation which would make them dead last in the big 10. nothing to be ashamed about, the big 10 might be the best academic conference in the country. I would also disagree that no big 12 schools fit there criteria. texas would be the third or fourth ranked school in the big 10.

interestingly enough, iowa is currently the last ranked team in the big 10 conference.

[SCNCY]

In the Big 12, the better institutions are ISU, Baylor, and Texas as was reported in cyclone report (the article in which was free to read that discussed people wanting to kick ISU and Baylor out of the Big 12). I think the Big 10 has better Academics then the big 12 and ISU would probably be considered in the middle/middle bottom. A lot of the big 10 schools are rated pretty highly in US news world report best universities. Off the top of my head Northwestern, Michigan are pretty hard to get in to while schools like Illinois and Indiana and Wisconsin are also pretty competitive to get in to as well. I just don't see that across the Big 12.

[jaretac]

Are they talking athletic academics or overall academics? I heard just recently that ISU is currently the top school in the Big 12 for athletic academics.

If they can let Iowa stay a part of the Big 11, then ISU should have no problem.

[Tornado man]

So, my question is: am I mistaken about ISU academics, thinking Iowa State is a strong academic school? I've always made fun of some of my Iowa buddies for going to school to get a second high school diploma.

Can somebody either help me out or set me straight on this?

The only two Big 12 schools that would be considered "peer universities" in the Big Ten would be Texas and Texas A&M. Those are the two best academic schools in our conference.

[SCNCY]

Are they talking athletic academics or overall academics? I heard just recently that ISU is currently the top school in the Big 12 for athletic academics.

If they can let Iowa stay a part of the Big 11, then ISU should have no problem.

It may be that our athletes have the highest GPA and we Graduate more of them then any one else in the Big 12.

[Klubber]

ISU is certainly on par/better academically with most of the Big Ten, with Northwestern being a slight cut above everyone else.

Per the Big Ten by-laws, a school must be both a member of the AAU (Association of American Universities), and also either border or reside in a current Big Ten state.

ISU, along with TAMU, Mizzou, KU, Texas, Nebby, and CU are all members of the AAU, putting all on par with the Big Ten schools academically. Again, private school Northwestern is a slight cut above.

The US News and World Report list should not be used by anyone to actually "rank" schools academically. Their criteria is entirely subjective rendering their list completely worthless. If you do some research on how they compile their rankings, you'll see what I mean.

[Klubber]

The only two Big 12 schools that would be considered "peer universities" in the Big Ten would be Texas and Texas A&M. Those are the two best academic schools in our conference.

I completely disagree with this.

[SCNCY]

The US News and World Report list should not be used by anyone to actually "rank" schools academically. Their criteria is entirely subjective rendering their list completely worthless. If you do some research on how they compile their rankings, you'll see what I mean.

Isn't most of the rankings based on how other university presidents rank other universities along with acceptance ratings being the main sources of ranking the schools via US world new report?

[twincyties]

They're a majority of public institutions. They're pretty much all one in the same, with Northwestern being the obvious exception.

Northwestern is undoubtedly the cream of the crop. Along with Standford, probably the best non-Ivy League schools. However, I would put Michigan on the list of elite academic institutions in the Big 10.

I don't think ISU would be in the top half of that conference, but I also don't think they'd be dead last.

[Clonehomer]

Several of ISU's individual colleges rank very high nationally, but I think the school in general doesn't get rated that high because of the low standards they have for admittance. It isn't that hard to get into ISU, but it can be difficult to get in or stay in some of the programs such as: Vet Med, Architecture, and engineering.

I don't know exactly how other schools in the Big10 handle admitting students, but from what I've been told most are more difficult to get into than ISU and Iowa. Our legislature pretty much guarantees that anyone that finishes high school above a 2.0 has an opportunity to attempt to get an in-state college degree.

[Klubber]

Isn't most of the rankings based on how other university presidents rank other universities along with acceptance ratings being the main sources of ranking the schools via US world new report?

Yep, here are a couple of articles on these very subjects:

Why US News’ College Rankings Are a Joke - CBS MoneyWatch.com

News: 'Manipulating,' Er, Influencing 'U.S. News' - Inside Higher Ed

[Klubber]

Several of ISU's individual colleges rank very high nationally, but I think the school in general doesn't get rated that high because of the low standards they have for admittance. It isn't that hard to get into ISU, but it can be difficult to get in or stay in some of the programs such as: Vet Med, Architecture, and engineering.

I don't know exactly how other schools in the Big10 handle admitting students, but from what I've been told most are more difficult to get into than ISU and Iowa. Our legislature pretty much guarantees that anyone that finishes high school above a 2.0 has an opportunity to attempt to get an in-state college degree.

For out of state students admissions requirements for most Big Ten schools is about the same as ISU and Iowa. But a lot of that depends on the number of students seeking admission in a given year.

You bring up a good point with regards to the Iowa legislature. This very thing would actually hurt Iowa universities in the US News rankings even though the state of Iowa has one of the top public education systems in the country.

[SCNCY]

Aren't out of state students held up to higher admission standards then in state students. I remember the recruiting people at Iowa State saying that if you were in the top 30% of your class (out of state resident) then you were guaranteed admission in to ISU as opposed to in state Residents where it wsa 50%.