SEC "Smart" ratings

[RocketDawg]

Saw an article on the al.com app a few minutes ago that rated the SEC schools on "smarts", not sports (for a change). The article was somewhat random, and gave different data for each school so in some cases it's hard to compare.

Vanderbilt, of course, was #1. The average SAT score of students is 2230 and the average ACT is 33. Pretty darn good. Acceptance rate is 13%.

MSU and Ole Miss brought up the rear, being 13th and 14th (in that order). Ole Miss had an average SAT score of only 1612, and ACT not given. Acceptance rate of applicants is 81.2%, the second highest in the conference (Auburn is first at about 85%).

MSU's acceptance rate is better than OM's ... 71% (still way too high IMO). It didn't mention either our SAT or ACT scores, only that our tuition is low.

At least we're not on the bottom of this rating, but that Ayers ruling (I think that's what it's called) really dilutes the ratings of our school, I think.

For what it's worth, the second best school is Florida with an average SAT of 1890, and third is Georgia with an ACT average of 28 (tied for second best in the conference). Acceptance rate at both schools is about 50% so public schools CAN be selective.

I guess we can't crow too loudly about our academics, but the Bears certainly can't.

 

[The Maroon Pug]

That's shocking Auburn's is that high. You have to kill your first-born child to pay tuition there. I know smart people that could get a full ride anywhere but chose to go to Auburn and pay to go.

 

[121Josey]

Surprising TAMU is not #2. Damn Texas schools and all. Must have lost points for weirdness and milkmen.

 

[RocketDawg]

Not sure what Auburn's tuition is, but I think it's about the middle. If I remember correctly from other publications, Alabama is a little higher than Auburn. Tennessee is the highest in the SEC, and it's quite high. I think out of state was something like $28K, not all that far off Vanderbilt's $44K.

 

[RocketDawg]

The story has rotated off the app already, but I think A&M was 3. It's also the largest school in the SEC at >62,000. They have almost as many grad students as we have undergrad.

 

[KeyserSoze1999]

Not surprised that Ole Miss is at the bottom---aTm interviewed that Ole Miss girl in the Grove a couple of years back and she confirmed just about everything I already suspected.

View attachment 3484

 

[wtw2400]

The smartest people are the ones that dont pay. I went to a high school in Alabama and most of the smart ones picked Alabama or Mississippi State. Frankly Auburn gave less than MSU and the people that got accepted to Vandy or Duke declined to go because of the tuition. I turned down Georgia Tech myself so this whole bs about acceptance rates needs to be thrown out of here. If you take the people who get these scholarships, then I would like to see you compare them to the Vandy kids and the Duke kids because MSU has done a good job in attracting the beightest and the smartest. Frankly though if you see what Alabama is doing its pretty scary. They are rising up for multiple reasons. Just read around.

 

[WayboDawg]

I remember reading somewhere that MSU's average ACT score was around a 21 a few years ago, and Ole Miss's was about the same. Frankly, I don't know a good reason why a Mississippi high school student would choose an out of state university over one of our three big schools here unless you have a full ride to an Ivy League school or something. We have 90% of the majors covered (Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, Teacher, Veterinarian, Nurse, etc.), and you will pay a fraction of the cost versus all the states that border us. It's not like having LSU or Florida on your degree is going to make you look like an academic wizard up against one from MSU or Ole Miss. No offense to the ones who went there, but I have heard of instances where people who graduated from William Carey got looked down upon when applying for jobs. Unless you plan to work in education or ministry, I would think twice about attending.

 

[StillTbonewannabe]

UGA acceptance rate is lower due to not having any more room. One of my friends kid just started last year. It is similar to Texas where you can transfer in if you go somewhere else for a year or two but tough to get in as a freshman. Kennesaw State is growing like crazy due to no room at UGA. Their baseball team won the FSU regional a couple of years ago and they just started a football team. I think the school is already almost 15,000. The schools that don't have a higher acceptance rate looks like is out of necessity since they just don't have room except Vandy.

 

[dawgman42]

MSU's average ACT score for entering freshmen is 24.

 

[aTotal360]

Let's cut to the chase...what's the average of the English portion of the test?

 

[RocketDawg]

She only has one thing going for herself, and you can see it in the picture. Apparently beauty and brains are certainly not mixed in this young lady.

 

[johnson86-1]

I remember reading somewhere that MSU's average ACT score was around a 21 a few years ago, and Ole Miss's was about the same. Frankly, I don't know a good reason why a Mississippi high school student would choose an out of state university over one of our three big schools here unless you have a full ride to an Ivy League school or something. We have 90% of the majors covered (Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, Teacher, Veterinarian, Nurse, etc.), and you will pay a fraction of the cost versus all the states that border us. It's not like having LSU or Florida on your degree is going to make you look like an academic wizard up against one from MSU or Ole Miss. No offense to the ones who went there, but I have heard of instances where people who graduated from William Carey got looked down upon when applying for jobs. Unless you plan to work in education or ministry, I would think twice about attending.

If you're going to a public school that's not Michigan, UVA, or a couple of others, you should just go to school where you think you want to live. Even at a school like UGA that has really gotten tough to get into, the reputation doesn't travel as well as you'd think.

 

[OleMissLogo]

MSU's average ACT score for entering freshmen is 24.

IHL's numbers:

Ole Miss - 24.7
MSU - 24.0
System - 22.9
USM - 22.7
W - 21.5
DSU - 20.6
JSU - 19.3
ASU - 18.4
MVSU - 17.5

http://www.mississippi.edu/research/downloads/fast_facts_1516.pdf

Interesting note: USM awarded the most Doctoral degrees with 149, compared to 146 for MSU and 120 for Ole Miss (though I don't think that includes JDs and MDs, since UMC grants near 100 MDs alone). What doctoral programs is USM giving so many degrees in?

 

[Philly Dawg]

I assume JD and MD degrees are considered "professional" degrees rather than "doctoral" degrees.

 

[BiscuitEater]

Clearly ..

Vanderbilt, of course, was #1. The average SAT score of students is 2230 and the average ACT is 33. Pretty darn good. Acceptance rate is 13%.

Vandy is the superior academic school in the SEC, no contest. BUT, I keep hearing about 'athletes' choosing Vanderbilt for that higher education and for the most part, that is a total fallacy.

State had 17 baseball players on this springs honor roll, Vandy & OM with 14, LSU with 8.

Largest major (6 of the 14) those at Vandy is "Interdisciplinary studies" where you just pick out some BS general classes and 'pretend' they are a real major. Like 'Interdisciplinary studies - Crime & its Social Dimensions' or 'Organizational Behavior & Management' Vandy also had five majoring in Sociology, Philosophy, Psychology, 'Medicine, Health, & Society' and three in Economics.

Largest major at State is Business Admin (5), Kinesiology (5), and Business Administration.

Bottom Line .. Preston Brown's degree in Biological Engineering at Mississippi State is a better 'real world' education than any of the HR players at Vandy.

 

[OleMissLogo]

That would make sense. So what would MSU's 80 Professional degrees be? It would be something that at least the minor 6 don't offer since they're all at 0.

 

[dawgstudent]

I think the Vet School is considered to be a professional degree.

 

[WayboDawg]

Exactly. The only reasons I would pay to send a child of mine out of state would be if the school had some special program that wasn't offered in Mississippi, or if that is where they planned to live once they graduated. Alumni are funny creatures, and tend to favor their own before they give an outsider a chance. I would argue that a Vanderbilt or Georgia Tech grad would actually be at a disadvantage in Mississippi or parts of Alabama. If you were an engineer, you would be competing against MSU engineering students for a job with MSU alumni probably doing the hiring.

 

[RocketDawg]

I have heard that some of Vandy's football players, and possibly other sports' athletes, don't even go to Vandy but are at Peabody. Don't know if that's true or not. It is at Tulane ... they have something called Tulane College (or some such) with lower entrance standards.

Isn't kinesiology sort of a fabricated degree that's pretty much set up as an easy path for athletes (not only at MSU but at many schools)?

Gotta agree about Preston Brown's degree in Biological Engineering ... he certainly didn't take the easy way out. We've had others like that, and so do other schools. They're pretty much the exception rather than the rule though.

 

[KurtRambis4]

Looks like the ACT is racist*******

*

 

[Shooter McGavin.sixpack]

Ayers ruling (I think that's what it's called) really dilutes the ratings of our school, I think.

It does. The fact the Supreme Court dictated that we have to have standardized admissions requirements is a joke. That post by the anchor of gold morons about acceptance rates just reminded how ridiculous it is. Most students who come to state are far above the minimum requirement to get in, but no one wants to dig that deep. It just looks bad to have the entrance requirements so low. We all know that you can get a high quality education here but outsiders may think MSU is a diploma mill.

 

[moneydawgs]

I have heard that some of Vandy's football players, and possibly other sports' athletes, don't even go to Vandy but are at Peabody. Don't know if that's true or not. It is at Tulane ... they have something called Tulane College (or some such) with lower entrance standards.

I can say with 100% certainty that this isn't true. I played high school football with a guy that's now playing for Vandy. He nowhere near had the grades to get into Vandy but for an athletic scholarship all they required for him to be admitted was the minimum NCAA requirements. If I remember correctly it's like a 18 on the ACT and 2.0 or 2.5 High School GPA (don't quote me on those numbers but I think they're right).

 

[DawgatAuburn]

Auburn's is as follows:

In-State is $367 per credit hour. Anything above 12 is not charged, so to be full time it's $4,404 per semester for tuition. There's also an $808 student activity fee, so $5,212 per semester. Plus meal plan, plus other potential fees based on major.

Out of state is three times the credit hour rate, so $1,167 per hour. To be full time, that's $13,212 per semester for tuition, plus the $808 is $14k. Plus meal plan and fees based on major.

http://www.auburn.edu/administration/business_office/pdf/tuition_15-fall.pdf


Alabama's is $5,085 per semester in state and $12,975 out of state. That's for 12-16 hours. If you take more hours, it costs more - $415 per hours in-state, $1,090 out of state. I don't know how many other fees Alabama has.

 

[was21]

Moreso than it was at one time

 

[wtw2400]

Auburn's is as follows:

In-State is $367 per credit hour. Anything above 12 is not charged, so to be full time it's $4,404 per semester for tuition. There's also an $808 student activity fee, so $5,212 per semester. Plus meal plan, plus other potential fees based on major.

Out of state is three times the credit hour rate, so $1,167 per hour. To be full time, that's $13,212 per semester for tuition, plus the $808 is $14k. Plus meal plan and fees based on major.

http://www.auburn.edu/administration/business_office/pdf/tuition_15-fall.pdf


Alabama's is $5,085 per semester in state and $12,975 out of state. That's for 12-16 hours. If you take more hours, it costs more - $415 per hours in-state, $1,090 out of state. I don't know how many other fees Alabama has.

The big difference for instate students is at Alabama if you have a 30 on the ACT then you get full tuition. At Auburn I believe you have to have a 33 for a chance at full tuition if i am not mistaken I think they combine GPA like MSU now does. For out of state if you have a 32 then you get full tuition at alabama. You still have a good chance for some 3rd party scholarships but you still have to pay for room and board which room and board is way more expensive at UA. You are looking at 4500 per semester for room and 1800 for meal plan. Whereas at State its about 3000 per semster and 1700 for meal plan. There are not as many step down dorms at UA either so thats why MSU was a easier choice whereas at Auburn you still have to pay living expenses with less scholarships. Thats why many Alabama students choose between UA and MSU.

 

[KeyserSoze1999]

You have to round down the Ole Miss ACT average score to account for the Saunders assistance factor.**

 

[coach66]

Truly frightening

Nm

 

[AFDawg]

This is incorrect. Peabody is just another part of Vanderbilt--like their music college or college of nursing or any other--and like our education college is part of Mississippi State. They're subject to the same admissions standards.

(That said, I'm sure they get by with meeting Vandy's minimum standard.)

 

[DawgatAuburn]

Auburn doesn't have the scholarship resources some of our peers have, making the scholarship pool much more competitive. It's currently 33 for full tuition in state, but it's been lower recently but has moved back up tp 33. A 30 can get you $8,000 a year though, which is pretty close to full tuition. A 3.5 high school GPA is also required. Out of state is a little higher than that and even the highest level doesn't pay all the tuition.