Interesting study from the Brookings institute trying to measure the value added of a college degree. Scroll down the page and they have a tool you can use to search schools. We are 1st in occupational earnings potential, 3rd in earnings value add, and tied for 4th in loan repayment rate in the state of Virginia.
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Suck it UVA.
What is occupational earnings power? I'm not following that.
Who could've guessed VMI was so high? 15th in the Nation
A big part of this is that VMI for about ten straight years was listed in the Top Five Highest Percentage of Graduates to obtain Graduate degrees in the nation.
Connections, kids who go to school there are ALOT closer to each other than most colleges. My wife often asks me why I still stay I contact with so many kids I went to high school with, it's because of the military environment. It forces you to learn to trust and learn about your classmates, connections are a huge draw to schools like VMI and to a lesser extent Hampton Sydney.
you can also add Washington & Lee to that list, too. small school, great Liberal Arts education AND strong alumni ties... it's a severely underrated university amongst high school kids considering going to college in-state...learned this working in Admissions
at 1600 students, of course the alumni ties are strong.
As a VMI grad I take offense to... just kidding I went there and I was floored the first time I saw VMI as high on lists like these as it usually finds itself. I know that I am a moron and struggled to get my poop in a group and expected that most others were in a similar mold as I am (although I did realize that I should not have actually been accepted in the first place based on the quality of those around me). Like one of the other commenters said, the close bonds formed while there coupled with a strong alumni network (took a hit before I got there, but still seems strong) many of my classmates are doing very well.
Also:
Corporate recruiter ranking survey by WSJ: http://www.collegeatlas.org/recruiters-college-picks.html
Student loan payback is an interesting one - currently non-technical degrees (e.g., arts & sciences) have a much higher default rate than technical degrees (e.g., engineering, business). Given the mix of majors between the two universities, I can see that being a big factor.
There is a set of people who are trying to adjust student loan interest rates based upon degree pursued - similar to the credit ratings / appraisals completed for traditional loans. Engineers and Accountants tend to pay off their student debt a lot faster - possibly due to them getting jobs immediately after school and not pursuing graduate degrees that incur higher debt.
And careers here tend to pay more than being a bartender as well as continued career ladders and good careers outside of academics.
I don't think loan payback rate statistics are impacted by graduate level studies as the payments are deferred until 6 months after graduation.
My wife's Dr. Payments didn't start until after she'd graduated post grad school.
While this is nice, I'm not too ruffled about UVa or their perceived higher rankings than us. Anyone who's been to both schools know that both are academically very sound, so I feel like we're just splitting hairs.
Now football though, that's a whole different ball game.
All I know is when I was looking for an apartment for my first job, I stopped for linch and overheard a family talking about Tech. Turns out their daughter was visiting it and it was "nicer than they expected." Both her parents were UVA alums, and when I said I went to Tech they asked me "were you able to find a job with a degree from there?"
Unfortunately I was with my mother at the time, so I couldnt just tell them off, so I just said, "Yeah, actually I'm going to be a rocket scientist. I start next week."
They got really quiet after that.
that's awesome to hear. i love to dispel notions that VT is inferior or doesn't meet their expectations as a premier institution of learning.
as a graduate, i like to point out that we're a top 75 national university (per USNWR), top 30 public university and have top 25 programs in business, engineering, agriculture and architecture. i also let people know the Princeton Review ranked our alumni network #5 in the nation besting all Ivy League schools save for Dartmouth (and three spots ahead of UVA).
Don't know if you'll come back to this, but who do you work for. I work in the space realm on the military side and am fascinated about job possibilities on the outside as I am not quite the young buck I once was. Not looking to punch anytime soon (next 8 years anyway), but I am intrigued by the strength of the market on the outside WRT space... and have a leg.
I work on the defense side of things as well, so I can't tell you what it's like in the other space realms.
If you've got the experience though, it shouldn't be too hard to move to the commercial side of things.
Rog Rog. So many questions I would love to ask. Another time and another forum. Thanks for helping to build the rides our satellites use to get in space a keeping me employed.
Hate to disappoint you again but what I work on doesn't give rides to space. It can, however, remove certain things from space.
You work on intergalactic missile launchers? Star Wars is real!