Academic rankings are sometimes hard to understand. This is because there is no “single list” that ranks all colleges from high to low. The reason is that colleges and universities are so disparate in terms of their offerings and their overall intent. In addition, each group who ranks colleges does so by their own criteria.
One ranking, from the Washington Monthly, ranks colleges based on their graduation rates. Here are the bottom ten, along with their percentage of students who graduate within 6 years.
1. Southern University at New Orleans, La. 4.98 %
2. Allen University, S.C. 6.09 %
3. Martin University, Ind. 6.67 %
4. Bellevue University, Neb. 6.99 %
5. Calumet College of Saint Joseph, Ind. 7.14 %
6. Baker College of Auburn Hills, Mich. 7.14 %
7. Visible School–Music and Worships Arts College, Ind. 7.50 %
8. University of the District of Columbia, D.C. 7.94 %
9. Nyack College, N.Y. 7.94 %
10. Saint Augustine’s College, N.C. 8.24 %
Something a Little More Fun
Here are some of the worst schools, showing up at or near the bottom in their category, according to Radar Online. It’s not exactly scientific, but does take into account academics, campus safety and course offerings. It’s not exactly the Princeton Review, though.
1. The University of Bridgeport, Connecticut – This school seems to come up as the “worst of the worst” for several reasons. It has poor academics, and a “shady” administration, according to Radar Online. It is also in a very unsafe neighborhood. At orientation, all incoming students are given a “personal alarm locator” that will send swarms of campus policemen racing to their rescue whenever they press a panic button. Not a place I would want to spend four years.
2. Worst Christian School – Liberty University. I happen to disagree with this one. Bob Jones is also a Christian school, and it isn’t even accredited anymore. At least Liberty can still hold onto its accreditation.
3. Worst Military School – Virginia Military Institute – this school gets its low ranking primarily because they refused to allow women until 1996 when the Supreme Court forced them. I can’t imagine it’s a real welcoming place for the ladies, even today.
4. Worst Women’s School – Texas Woman’s University – Apparently not so great on the academic scale. One of their courses is called “Cultural Perspectives of Personal Appearance”. It still might be better than going to VMI.
5. Worst Ivy League School – It was Cornell this year. Brown must be so relieved.
6. Worst of the Big Ten – Not sure why the Big Ten got singled out. I don’t see a “worst of the ACC” or “worst of the SEC” but anyway, it was Michigan State. They received their low ranking because over 1000 students were arrested for drug and alcohol offenses last year. Yikes.
7. Worst Party School – This one was a tie between San Diego State and California State University at Chico.
8. Worst Trust Fund Baby College – Bennington College gets this distinction. The actually offer a course described as: “SHHH! The Social Construction of Silence,” a class focused on breaking down the classification of silence as an absence of sound and “establishing it as a presence.” In preschool, we called that nap time.
Phyllis Z. covers topics focusing on how to choose a school based on their Online Universities Ranking.
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