What's Missing from These 50?

Now as many of you know, I am not a fan of the "Best" school lists. I think they put way too much emphasis on marketing, and no emphasis on what is the best school for your student. That said, I'm going to discuss a recent article from Business Week magazine. There is something very peculiar about it.

In the February 28th issue of Business Week, the magazine ran an article on the top 50 schools to get a Bachelors degree in Business. The article starts with Rutgers University and finishes with the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. But there are some glaring omissions from this list that everyone would assume would be in the top ten. No where in this list will you find the names of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, or many other excellent schools. Harvard, home of the Harvard Business Review, the gold standard of business case study education did not even make the list?

Does this mean that Harvard, Princeton, and the like have not been putting enough resources into their business schools to compete with schools like the University of Illinois, the University of Texas, or Brigham Young? No, obviously that is not the case. What this article does show is there is no practical standard that anyone can use to come up with a list of the 50 "Best" schools of anything. I will say it once again, the "Best" school lists are not much more than beauty pageants that do little to nothing to help your student find the best school for them. Avoid them.

Hawaii & FAFSA Truth

Weather like what we've been having here in the Midwest makes me think of warmer places. So I'm profiling two schools in Hawaii: The University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hawaii Pacific University.
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University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawaii
www.manoa.hawaii.edu

Out of state COA: $24,782
In state COA: $15,518

Family Need Met: 68%
Avg Free Money: 39%
Avg Self Help: 61%

Founded in 1907, the University of Hawai`i at Manoa is the flagship campus for the University of Hawai`i System. A land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant institution, it is the only public university in Hawai`i. UH Manoa is a diverse and doctorate-level university that emphasizes academic quality; research in Hawaiian, Pacific, and Asian studies; and community services.

• Founded: 1907
• Location: Honolulu, Hawai`i; in the Manoa valley on the island of O`ahu
• Campus size: 320 acres
• Colleges: 11
• Schools: nine
• Degrees: bachelor’s degrees in 87 fields; master’s degrees in 87 fields; doctoral degrees in 51 fields
• Average class size: 31 (freshman and sophomore)/20 (junior and senior)
• Student-faculty ratio: 16:1
• Percentage of faculty with doctoral degrees: 80
• Accreditation: Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges

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Hawaii Pacific University
Honolulu, Hawaii
www.hpu.edu

COA: $26,740

Family Need Met: 79%
Avg Free Money: 40%
Avg Self Help: 60%

Hawai'i Pacific University is more than an excellent university with outstanding and rigorous academic programs, an ideal location, faculty who are well-respected in their fields, students from all over the world who come to learn in a multicultural environment, and a service orientation emphasizing individualized attention to each student. It is also a comprehensive university offering a number of unique experiences, events, and traditions for its students, faculty, and staff as well as the community.



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A recent issue of US News and World Report contained an enlightening article on the college financial aid system. Two Harvard University economists have completed a thorough study of the FAFSA process. Not surprisingly, they concluded that the FAFSA on average takes ten times longer to complete than what the schools and Department of Education claim.