I agree that self-report is a problematic method, by a number of reasons. However, to find a fair method to compare universities would take a long time to develop and we are not there yet. The problem is also how to define “excellence.” Lastly, despite I went to one of the 2 top schools in the US, I see no need to show contempt and put down other schools. Maybe there ARE good reasons to rank Clemson high? Maybe there are reason to rank your school at the bottom, considering you obviously did not learn manners and respect during your education?

First, “The Professor” should know that I teach at one of the top three medical schools in America as judged by several, not one SURVEY. Moreover, these surveys are not based on what undergraduates think they know or “feel”. Second, although I did not go to “one of the 2 top schools in the US,” at least I am capable of writing a sentence in my native language. Third, my schools were not ranked low by your so-called survey, rather they are ranked much higher by surveys based on graduation rates, faculty-to-student ratios, resources, and publications of the faculty. Actually, I believe in the Old Testament, rather than the New Testament, which says an “eye for an eye….” I will continue to denigrate the South because evey time I read a newspaper I am reminded of their politics (yes, I say “their” politics because they vote in blocks like robots), I get sick to my stomach. My country is a mess because of them. If they want to be hateful, I will respond in kind. You are just trying to protect your financial interest in this garbage survey.

Mr. Battington,
First, I am actually not a native English speaker, but learned the English language in my 20′s and eventually graduated with my third doctoral degree from the American institution I mentioned. This very institution happen to be ranked as #2 on all kind of surveys. However, just like you, I don’t give much credence to these kind of surveys and am I not even certain my university is better than Clemson. Good students and bad students are present in all universities. Unfortunately, the same goes for professors. Maybe there is a higher concentration of good students and professors in higher ranking universities? I don’t know. I know these surveys suffer from poor methodology and my experience is limited to only my “home” university.

Second, I think I can express myself perfect in my native tongue. Perhaps my inability to write in grammatically correct English is an expression of my intellect, but I hope not.

Thirdly, I have no investment (positive or negative) in the South, either politically or ideologically. I simply reacted to your (seemingly) unmotivated urge to debase people who live in rural areas or don’t attend Ivy League schools. I did not understand you were targeting the South. I understand now that your urge goes deeper than that and I am sorry.

I actually agree with the comments made by Mighty Mouse regarding the Princeton Review and the quality of the survey; however, I should like to clarify my comments about the South. First, I do not know anyone who considers Louisiana to be in the same category as the SOuth…Of course, it is geographically in the South, but they have always been bluer than the rest of the region (probably the French and Spanish as opposed to Anglo influence). This is also true for parts of South Florida. Indeed, if you want to cherry pick places (e.g. Chapel Hill, Maryland….which again, by virtue of DC, is fairly blue, parts of Atlanta, etc.), I am sure you could find open-minded individuals in large numbers, but proportionately, the numbers would be small. Rather, I am referring to the masses of conservatives who voted for the congressman and senators and executive leadership that have made us the laughing stock of the world. It is clear that a change began in the South in the early 70s and much of that was the result of Northerners moving there because it is cheap to live there and there were jobs because of government subsidies and deals made by the federal and state governments to enrich this poor area of the country. My major gripe with the South is that as a block it has consistently stood for hatred, whether it be of blacks, jews, catholics, or gay people. You can talk about all the so-called changes in the South, but this is still the most conservative place in the country and as a liberal, I no longer will ignore them. I am grateful that we now have national television stations such as MSNBC to counter the conservative agenda. I also notice that you did not respond to the comments made about gun ownership….. Is this something you value in the South? How about the huge number of corrupt politicians?

You may be impressed with Duke, but to me it is like Disneyland. Fake buildings made to look old, a climate where one can not go outside for four months of the year because of the swamp like climate, the school that produced Richard Nixon, and the school that was built on the backs of lung cancer victims.
I have nothing bad to say about Rice, other than the fact that it is in Texas, the scum of the USA. This is a state that not only produced GW, but which has the highest homicide rates, one of the highest in poverty, no support for education, limited cultural opportunities, in which barbeque is gourmet food.

The Princeton Review is nothing morethan an attempt to make money. I doubt many people know it (or at least those who are influenced by it) but it has no association with Princeton University. Rankings like this one and that of US News and World Report are meaningless in terms of judging quality of a college or university. Consider this as well: Is the quality of a medical facility judged by how healthy the patient is when she goes in or when she comes out? Is it any surprise that the graduation rate of a highly selective institution is high? How much value is added? Not much — start with “the best” and graduate “the best.” People would be better off looking at the results from the National Survey of Student Engagement and Community College Survey of Student Engagement in selecting places to obtain an education — far better than Princeton Review or US News and World Report.

I would be out of my mind to write on here using my actual name. You guys have guns and you know how to use them. Have you read the lates polls from even the “Wall Street Journal” about the South and the kinds of beliefs your populace has about the rest of the world, about our president, about how you get your news? Can you actually keep a straight face and ask that people in other parts of the country not respond to your hatred with disgust and ridicule? There will be no more turning of the cheek for you. This country was almost destroyed by you hypocrites. Venom is too good for you. It is ok for you to say (56%) that Obama was not born in America or that Hawaii is not part of America, it is ok for you to say that the vast majority of you get your news from Fox, but it is not ok for me to tell you that you are scum? The problem with this country is that we (the Northeast, Midwest, Far West) have allowed you to run wild in the streets.

Does the use of a pseudonym make my comments any less true? The only time in the history of this country that the South was derided more than now was before and after the Civil War. You have earned your place in American History.

From one Jewish librarian with black ancestry, whose family has experienced the holocaust and just about as much bigotry in the north as in the south, whose family did settle in places in the South, who voted for Obama, who greatly admires Hillary, and there are many, many, like us here in Battington’s dreaded South–Duke has access to Web of Science. You may have a right to express your ignorance here, Battington, but your inability to tell the truth and your fragile state of mind (you focus only on histories in the mainstream, which says a lot about your poor mind to real scholars) won’t get you an ounce of respect. I’m sorry for others who want to discuss these surveys, but shame on educational institutions (primary, secondary, college, graduate, professional, and even technical) for taking publications like the Princeton Review seriously. I won’t tell Battington he should shut up, but his mind is a rotten apple for any liberal cause. This includes supporting education. With “friends” like you, the book burners would have won a long, long time ago.