October 2, 2006
Does ‘Ivy’ by a new name smell as sweet?
 Burdick |
n August, the national newsmagazine Newsweek selected Rochester as one of 25 schools to highlight as a “New Ivy” in its 2007 Kaplan/Newsweek “How to Get into College Guide.” The elite list, produced for the first time, includes institutions whose first-rate academic programs and top students rival traditional Ivy League schools. The rankings are based on admissions statistics as well as interviews with administrators, students, faculty, and alumni.
Jonathan Burdick, dean of admissions and financial aid in the College, talks about the new ranking.
Why was Rochester selected as a ‘New Ivy’?
I think what initially got the magazine’s attention was simply word-of-mouth. We have tried very hard over the last several years to emphasize personal, friendly contacts through alumni interviews and other initiatives to get prospective students and their parents familiar with us and thinking about us as a good choice for college. Our yield—the number of admitted students who chose to attend—jumped 16 percent in one year, which provided an indication to Newsweek just how strongly students want to go to Rochester. The other aspect that stood out for the magazine was the success of the Rochester Curriculum and our overall success in moving away from the general education model that most universities still use.
What does the ranking mean for Rochester?
It’s great recognition for Rochester—for the University and for the whole community. Some people might think, ‘Wow, we were plucked from obscurity, and isn’t that fantastic for us?’ But I think Newsweek has caught on to something that we’ve known all along and that the College has worked very hard to emphasize. We’ve been demonstrating that as a prominent research university in a small city, we provide incredible opportunities for the right students—from the choices they get to make under the curriculum to doing research with faculty and even to the ability to work with the city and play a role in the connections between the city and the University. You can’t do that at many other topflight universities.
Do rankings influence students’ decisions to enroll at Rochester?
We’ll know more about Newsweek after we have had a chance to survey some of the students who are in the process of applying right now. It probably will spark some interest in Rochester, but generally, by the time they get to enrolling, students are a little more savvy than to let one ranking have a major influence on their decision. If students end up choosing to go here, it’s always for much more substantial reasons. At least 90 to 95 percent of students who enroll have visited campus, for example, so they have a good sense that this is the right place for them.
What should students and parents make of this ranking—and all the other rankings out there?
There are more than 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States to choose from, and it’s a confusing process to pick one. So anything that cuts through the confusion is probably not a bad thing. But students and their parents have to realize that universities and colleges are really complicated places and they’re not going to get a complete answer from any single ranking.
What about alumni?
This is an excellent opportunity for alumni to talk about education with their children and with their neighbors. When the topic of where to go and why comes up, it’s a concrete example that can help explain how to think about choosing a college, about how to find the right place for an individual student, and why that’s important. That sort of “word-of-mouth” publicity is invaluable. I wouldn’t want anyone to say, ‘Choose us because Newsweek chose us.’ That’s not a good way to guide students. We’re not ‘Me, too,’ to anyone.
| Previous story | Next story |
