“Hello, Wisconsin!” President Obama chooses UW-Madison for key rally

Ace! NewsFlash

President Obama greeted supporters on Tuesday at a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

MADISON, Wis.

Would it be all right if the Leader of the Free World stopped by your campus for a little while?

He wants to surround himself with hordes of enthusiastic young people, toss out a few oratorical gems — as you know, he’s got the gift — and reinvigorate his anxious political party. The Secret Service has the usual security concerns, of course, but we’ll pay for any inconvenience. Interested?

The offer by the Democratic National Committee to theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison would seem like a no-brainer, conjuring images of university officials ostentatiously checking their calendars before saying: It just so happens that the Badgers of Wisconsin are free that day.

The offer, though, forced the university’s chancellor, Biddy Martin, to weigh the many benefits of a visit by a sitting president against the naked political purpose of that visit. After all, the event would be a kickoff rally for Democrats as they approach the midterm elections, and Barack Obama would be appearing as a party leader more than as a president.

In the end, the university said: Yes!

Tuesday afternoon, thousands of students crammed cheek-by-jowl into the university’s Library Mall, both to see a world leader up close and to provide that same world leader with a photo-op backdrop exuberant enough to offset reports of his flagging popularity.

But his visit wasn’t an easy call. Before the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and the Democratic National Committee signed a contract last week, in which the committee agreed to pay $10,500 to cover expenses, Ms. Martin had to satisfy herself that it was the right thing to do.

“There was never a question whether we wanted President Obama to come to our campus,” Ms. Martin said. “That was clear. But the question was how to do this in a way that was fair to everyone in the community.”

Over the decades, two other sitting presidents have visited the campus of this famously liberal, progressive university in this famously liberal, progressive city. They, too, had their reasons.

In the fall of 1932, President Herbert Hoover, a Republican, spoke at an event that a university fact sheet says was “somewhat marred by the president’s tired voice and a faulty amplifier.” The Depression would tire any president, especially one who probably sensed that in days he would be soundly voted out of office.

And in May 1950, President Harry S. Truman delivered a “peace” address in which he said that only together can nations build a strong defense against aggression. A few weeks later, the Korean War broke out.

Now, 60 years later, a third president was offering to visit, not to deliver a policy speech on the weak economy or the quicksand war, but to begin a four-city effort to rally Democrats in key states. Why Madison?

Derrick Plummer, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, provided this answer by e-mail: “President Obama has always had a special place in his heart for the city of Madison. And, as you know, President Obama visited the city in 2008 and is glad to be a part of the enthusiasm and activism that has been a strong tradition of the University of Wisconsin.”

True, President Obama may well remember that night in February 2008, when a series of wins in state primaries all but ensured that he would be the Democratic candidate for president, and thousands wildly cheered during his victory speech in Madison.

He may also have heard how, on election night, throngs of University of Wisconsin students spontaneously gathered in the streets to celebrate. Ariel Shapiro, a junior who works for one of the student newspapers, The Daily Cardinal, remembers how hundreds of students climbed Bascom Hill to serenade the statue of Abraham Lincoln with “God Bless America.”

“It was ridiculous,” she says, still smiling at the sweet memory.

Finally, the president may also have taken note of the relatively low unemployment rate in Madison, which stands at 5.5 percent. In Racine, a little more than 100 miles to the east, unemployment is at 14.1 percent, while in Beloit, 55 miles to the south, it’s at 15.3 percent.

So, Badgers, how about it?

Ms. Martin, who has been chancellor since September 2008, was thrilled by the chance. You couldn’t buy this kind of educational experience, or, quite frankly, this kind of publicity; it’s an honor. But she worried about the fairness of having campus life disrupted by a political event. A day or so of fretting followed.

Then, amid the many documents and manuals that provide guidance in the administration of a campus of 42,000 students and 21,000 faculty and staff members, someone uncovered a written policy called “The Use of University Facilities for Political Purposes.” Among other things, it said that each major political party can hold one event on campus during an election period.

And don’t forget: Library Mall, where the Democrats wanted to hold their rally, is a vibrant nerve center for the university and the city, with a rich tradition of political events and free speech.

Ms. Martin and the Board of Regents signed on, then received validation of that decision in the plans of students and faculty members to gather after the political rally to debate everything from the economy and the wars to the political process itself. The only dissent has come by e-mail from a couple of alumni, objecting to the use of the campus for the rally.

“This is a campus that values political speech,” Ms. Martin said.

But political speech comes at a cost. It meant the complete or partial closing of several buildings, from the University Bookstore to the spectacular State Historical Society building. It meant a day off for all the food vendors in Library Mall. It meant the cancellation of the 5 p.m. Mass at the St. Paul’s University Catholic Center.

It also meant enough logistical challenges to spawn a doctoral dissertation on time management, or homeland security, or Kafka. Setting up magnetometers. Removing all bikes. Establishing a plan for protesters. Banning laptop computers, drink bottles, sharp objects, and bags or purses larger than a sheet of paper.

Oh, and portable lavatories. “Specifically, about the number of porta-potties,” Ms. Martin said. “There’s a potential difference of opinion of how many will be needed.”

This and other matters were ultimately resolved. By 3 p.m., a line a mile long and three and four people deep was disappearing into the distant horizon of University Avenue, an assertion that at least here in Madison, the president still rocks. Campus police estimated an overflowing crowd of 26,500.

As the crowd waited, political ideas and conspiracy theories bounced among them like so many beach balls.

Suddenly, the signal was given and the crowd rushed, thwarting many who had waited patiently in line. They passed through the banks of magnetometers and poured onto the Library Mall, where the leaves on the trees were turning and the sharpshooters on the roofs were watching.

They played music. They recited the Pledge of Allegiance. They cheered earnest student speakers. Then, shortly after 6, President Obama appeared in shirtsleeves and no tie, taking his place in front of a collection of students adorned in Badger red. A sustained roar, or release, followed.

“Hello, Wisconsin!” the Leader of the Free World said.

NYT, Published: September 28, 2010

*** Ace! is a member of the EducationUSA global educational advising network affiliated with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. We provide free EducationUSA counseling services to students in the northern provinces of Thailand; our faculty of U.S.-trained Test Prep Experts can help you with cost-effective result-driven training programs for SAT-1, SAT-2, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, GED, AP, IB, TOEIC, IELTS etc ***

SAT Score Analysis 2009-2010 Season

Ace! NewsFlash

Stagnant SAT Scores

September 14, 2010

 

The overall scores on the SAT were unchanged for those who graduated from high school this year, with the critical reading average remaining at 501, the mathematics average going up by 1 point to 516 and the writing score dropping by 1 point to 492.

Scores in all three sections are down modestly from where they were a few years ago. The College Board continued its push, in releasing the scores Monday, to argue that the scores are a measure of academic rigor and that the SAT encourages college preparation. Board officials noted that students who take recommended college preparatory courses do much better than those who don't. "There are no tricks and no shortcuts to college readiness," said Gaston Caperton, the College Board's president.

But the figures released Monday also show a continuation -- and in some cases a growth -- of gaps by racial and ethnic group that are much larger than the one or two point shifts in the national averages. The College Board also announced Monday that its figures were counting more students than in the past who took the SAT later in the school year -- a move that some College Board critics see as a way to hide the extent to which the ACT has gained ground on the College Board in the entrance examination market.

Here are the the total figures. (Male students had higher averages than females on the reading and mathematics portion, and females scored higher on writing -- with only modest changes from last year.)

SAT Averages, 2006-10

	Critical Reading	Mathematics	Writing
2006	503	518	497
2007	502	515	494
2008	502	515	494
2009	501	515	493
2010	501	516	492

The more significant changes are evident when race and ethnicity are factored in. 

* Asian-American test takers gained 13 points this year (across all three parts of the SAT), followed by Mexican Americans, who gained 7 points. 

* Comparing scores over two years, Asian Americans gained 26 points, Mexican Americans gained 5 points, and all other groups lost ground (modestly). 

* Asian Americans now outscore African Americans by 90 points on reading, 163 points on math, and 106 points on writing. 

* Asian Americans score better than all other groups on all parts of the test -- except that the white average exceeds the Asian American average on the reading portion. On that portion of the test, however, Asian Americans gained 3 points this year, while white scores were flat.

Group	Critical Reading Score	1-Year Change, Reading	Math Score	1-Year Change, Math	Writing Score	1-Year Change, Writing	Total 1-Year Change	Total 2-Year Change
American Indian	485	-1	492	-1	467	-2	-4	-5
Asian American	519	+3	591	+4	526	+6	+13	+26
Black	429	+0	428	+2	420	-1	+1	-3

[Click to view full table]

Another demographic trend that continued this year -- as in all past years -- was the apparent link between family income and SAT scores. At every income level, those with higher family incomes do better than others on all three portions of the SAT. And those who indicate that they plan to apply for financial aid have lower scores, on average, than those who say they will not apply for financial aid. Those who don't think they will need aid, for example, have an average math score of 554, compared to 510 for those who expect to apply for aid.

Another of the demographic indicators -- all cited by those who criticize the role of the SAT -- is parental education. The more education parents have, on average, the better a student's SAT scores. On reading, for example, those whose parents have only a high school degree have an SAT average of 464. Those whose parents have a bachelor's degree have an average of 521.

Robert Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, released an analysis of the numbers that said they show the failure of the testing movement embraced by No Child Left Behind and the College Board. Proponents of testing, he said, "promised that overall achievement would improve while score gaps would narrow,” Schaeffer said. “Precisely the opposite has taken place."

The SAT vs. the ACT

The College Board report said that it covered 1,597,329 college-bound seniors in the class of 2010. That is slightly more than the 1,569,000 students who took the ACT this year. The ACT -- whose participation is up 30 percent since 2006, a period in which the SAT has had more modest gains -- has never been effectively neck-and-neck with the SAT in this way. In fact, some of the detail released at the briefing Monday suggests that the ACT may have more test-takers -- or would have, had the College Board not changed the way it counted. The College Board said that it included 50,000 test-takers this year who took the exam in May or June of their senior year -- whereas in past years, the board stopped counting at the end of March. While the College Board counted these people in their totals for the exam, their scores were excluded from averages, in the interest of having comparable year-to-year comparisons, since these students likely were those who were deciding only late in the process that they wanted to consider college.

Laurence Bunin, the College Board's senior vice president for operations and the general manager of the SAT Program, said that the College Board has noticed a 44 percent increase since 2006 in test-taking this late in students' senior years -- and he said this was a good thing. "What this means is that students who in the past did not consider college are now thinking about and preparing for post-secondary education. This is positive news in the movement to increase college completion in America," he said.

Schaeffer suggested that this was really a way to hide the extent to which ACT now has a majority of the market. (A spokesman for the ACT said that the organization didn't know enough about how the College Board is counting to be able to determine if the organization has more test-takers now.)

In recent years, the ACT has expanded significantly outside of its Midwest base and it is accepted by every college in the United States that requires a standardized admission test. The College Board and the ACT produce a "concordance table" that matches scores on the two exams.

An executive director of admission test prep programs said that she read the numbers to mean that the ACT has more test-takers, but warned that the numbers may be hard to interpret because many students are taking both exams -- and then deciding which scores to submit. She said that about 60 percent of their students report that they either have taken or are considering taking both the SAT and the ACT. As all colleges have moved to accept the ACT, she said, "there has been a shift that has translated into a choice for students, and students are taking both tests."

Inside Higher Ed, September 14, 2010

*** Ace! is a member of the EducationUSA global educational advising network affiliated with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. We provide free EducationUSA counseling services to students in the northern provinces of Thailand; our faculty of U.S.-trained Test Prep Experts can help you with cost-effective result-driven training programs for SAT-1, SAT-2, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, GED, AP, IB, TOEIC, IELTS etc ***

New International Visitor Leadership Program for STEM Education

Ace! NewsFlash

New International Visitor Leadership Program
“A New Beginning: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education

Office of the Spokesman

U.S. Department of State

Washington, DC

September 24, 2010

---

In a new initiative responding to President Obama’s June 2009 speech in Cairo, the U.S. Department of State is bringing 25 science teachers from as many countries to the United States for an International Visitor Leadership Program called “A New Beginning: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education,” September 27 through October 15. 

The teachers will engage in a professional, cultural and educational examination of the building blocks of STEM education at the primary and secondary levels in seven cities across the United States. Participants will visit several schools to explore how to nurture and support hands-on science education, how to demonstrate the relevance of science for children, and how to create a setting in which children actively engage in scientific learning. 

This exchange will lay the groundwork for long-term relationships and foster international collaboration in an effort to develop rising leaders in the field of science and technology. After the teachers return home, their students and those of their American counterparts will be invited to take part in global “virtual” science fairs.

The program begins in Washington, D.C., and is also being hosted in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Seattle, and Los Angeles. 

The International Visitor Leadership Program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs annually brings over 4,500 potential or established leaders to the United States from around the world for professional projects with U.S. peers and for firsthand experience of American society and culture. Over 320 current and former chiefs of state and heads of government and many other distinguished world leaders in the public and private sectors have participated in the program, which this year celebrates its 70^th anniversary.

*** Ace! is a member of the EducationUSA global educational advising network affiliated with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. We provide free EducationUSA counseling services to students in the northern provinces of Thailand; our faculty of U.S.-trained Test Prep Experts can help you with cost-effective result-driven training programs for SAT-1, SAT-2, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, GED, AP, IB, TOEIC, IELTS etc ***

SOUTHEAST ASIA FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2011

Ace! NewsFlash

East-West Center in Washington

The East-West Center in Washington (EWCW) is accepting applications from scholars and analysts who wish to undertake policy-relevant research and writing in one of the following areas: 1. International relations of Southeast Asia; 2. Political change in Southeast Asia; and 3. ASEAN integration and community-building efforts.

The fellowship finances a three-month residence at theEast-West Center in Washington, D.C. While in residence in Washington the fellows will complete an article or monograph to be considered for publication in a peer-reviewed publication, such as the East-West Center’s Asia Pacific Bulletin series or Asia Pacific Issues series. The first full draft of the manuscript should be completed before the end of the residency period. Fellows will also give a public presentation on their topic.

Fellowships will include a monthly stipend of US$2,500 to $4,500 (dependent upon experience) while in residence at EWC in Washington and round trip airfare to Washington, D.C. Residency at the Center will start in September 2011. Additionally, at the discretion of the Director, a small grant to cover field research, in Asia only, may be available. Fieldwork in the region will be completed prior to residence at the East-West Center in Washington.

Applicants with or without a Ph.D. will be considered. Applicants without a Ph.D. will be considered based on their relevant professional experience. Applicants must be nationals of a country within the scope of their Fellowship or the United States and eligible to receive a fellowship stipend. Successful applications will include a completed fellowship application form, cover letter, a full CV, two letters of reference, and a policy-relevant research proposal of ten pages (double spaced). The proposal should discuss the policy problem or issue to be examined, tentative hypothesis and arguments, a review and short bibliography of the relevant literature, plans for fieldwork (if any), and project time frame. If field research funds are sought, please briefly explain why and how they are to be used. All materials must be received by October 15, 2010, at:

Southeast Asia Fellowship Program
East-West Center in Washington
1819 L St., N.W., 2nd Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036-3866

Applicants will be notified of selection decisions on or before December 20, 2010.

For more information please email: washington@eastwestcenter.org

*** Ace! is a member of the EducationUSA global educational advising network affiliated with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. We provide free EducationUSA counseling services to students in the northern provinces of Thailand; our faculty of U.S.-trained Test Prep Experts can help you with cost-effective result-driven training programs for SAT-1, SAT-2, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, GED, AP, IB, TOEIC, IELTS etc ***

GRADUATE DEGREE FELLOWSHIP 2011 THAILAND COMPETITION

Ace! NewsFlash

GRADUATE DEGREE FELLOWSHIP 2011
THAILAND COMPETITION

The East-West Center works to "promote better relations and understanding between the United States and the Nations of Asia and the Pacific through cooperative study, training and research."

GENERAL INFORMATION

The U.S. Congress established the East-West Center (EWC) in 1960 to foster mutual understanding and cooperation among the governments and peoples of the Asia-Pacific region, including the United States. The Center is a public, non-profit institution with an international board of governors. Principal funding comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals and corporations and more than 20 Asian and Pacific governments.

The Center promotes the building of an Asia-Pacific community through programs of cooperative training, dialogue and research. Areas of emphasis include regional institutions, mutually beneficial economic development and cooperative solutions to significant, region-wide problems. The primary areas of Center’s research include: Economics, Environment, Pacific Islands Studies, Politics / Security and Governance, and Population and Health.

GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS

East-West Center Graduate Fellowships Degree Program is contingent on admission to the University of Hawai’i (UH) degree program. However, it is not necessary to obtain admission to the graduate field of study at the UH before applying to the East-West Center (EWC). Application to both the UH and the EWC may be done concurrently.

Graduate fellowships at the EWC provide an opportunity for fellows to become involved in Center research projects (see attached list of thematic areas). Fellows also participate in a program of seminars and colloquia focusing on contemporary issues and community building in the Asia-Pacific region, including the United States. Students can work for certificate programs in Leadership Studies, International Cultural Studies, Population Studies, and Resource Management to supplement their degree work with interdisciplinary studies in these areas.

AWARD CONDITIONS

The Fellowship may be renewed up to a maximum of 24 months for the master’s and 48 months for the doctorate. Funding provision includes:

• Housing in a Center dormitory based on single occupancy or on an off-campus housing allowance if eligible,
• A stipend to cover partially for food and incidentals,
• Tuition and fees at the University of Hawaii,
• Health insurance, and
• Allowance for books, materials and supplies.

Fellows are expected to cost share on the living expenses.

ELIGIBILITY for Center Awards is based on outstanding academic achievement and professional experience. Applicants must also satisfy the following conditions:

• Thai citizen or citizens of Asia Pacific countries
• Cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 at the 4 year-undergraduate level / or minimum cum. GPA 3.0 during the 3 rd and 4 th year of study at the undergraduate level.
• Minimum TOEFL score of 550 (213 for computer-based, 79-80 for Internet-based TOEFL examination)
• Other required tests: GRE (Graduate Record Examination) for some fields of study and GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) for the Accounting, and Business Administration areas, refer to the UH application Graduate Program Requirements Table for 2009-2010 for specific requirements of each field of study.

Applicants are recommended to take the required test(s) as early as possible or no later than the scholarship application deadline. Visit the www.eastwestcenter.org for detailed guidelines of application information and instruction.

Application

Application Form and Instructions are posted in the East-West Center’s Website for free download: www.eastwestcenter.org or directly to the website:http://www.eastwestcenter.org/semedu-program.asp?program_ID=1&Topic=Student&Area=Education

or Email to: EWCUHM@EastWestCenter.org

Submission of Application

Applicants should send the following documents directly to the East-West Center in Hawaii, USA, postmarked no later than November 1, 2010 for the term commencing in Fall Semester (August) 2011.

1. East-West Center / ADB-JSP Graduate Degree Fellowship Application Form and Essays requirement;
2. University of Hawai’i Application Form (included in the Fellowship Application package);
3. Two (2) official transcripts bearing the actual signature of the Registrar and the embossed seal or inked stamp of the institution;
4. TOEFL (minimum requirement is 213 for Computer and 79-80 for Internet);
5. GRE or GMAT score (as applicable);
6. Three (3) Letters of Reference by using the form provided in the application package; and
7. Written Sample (required for all doctoral degree applicants and some fields of study).

Award Announcement

The East-West Center will announce Award Winners by April 2011.

*** Ace! is a member of the EducationUSA global educational advising network affiliated with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. We provide free EducationUSA counseling services to students in the northern provinces of Thailand; our faculty of U.S.-trained Test Prep Experts can help you with cost-effective result-driven training programs for SAT-1, SAT-2, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, GED, AP, IB, TOEIC, IELTS etc ***

WSJ 2010 Tables on Recruiter Rankings of U.S. Universities by Major

Ace! NewsFlash

  

In a report published by WSJ on September 14, 2010, these schools produced the best graduates in each major, according to recruiters.

*** Ace! is a member of the EducationUSA global educational advising network affiliated with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. We provide free EducationUSA counseling services to students in the northern provinces of Thailand; our faculty of U.S.-trained Test Prep Experts can help you with cost-effective result-driven training programs for SAT-1, SAT-2, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, GED, AP, IB, TOEIC, IELTS etc ***

Top 25 U.S. Universities for Job Recruitment 2010

Ace! NewsFlash

Below are the Top 25 schools whose graduates were the top-rated by recruiters.

 

News Hub: State Schools Top Recruiter Rankings

3:08

Jennifer Merritt discusses a new Wall Street Journal survey, which reveals recruiters are shifting their attention away from elite private schools to focus instead on state universities.

Paths to Professions

• The Next 20 Recruiter Picks
• See a sortable chart of the industries and the number of companies in each that answered the survey.
• Rankings by Major: These schools produced the best graduates in each major.
• See the List of 100 Schools
• See the complete Paths to Professions report.

Under each school you'll see any individual majors where companies also ranked the school, along with other general information about the school's location, application deadlines and student body. Click on each school name to go to the university's website.

Where possible, we've pulled school-related data on number of students, tuition, application deadline, undergraduate enrollment and admissions contact information directly from each institution's website.

In some cases, data was collected via school profiles on collegeboard.com. Logos were requested from the schools.

1. Pennsylvania State University

Penn State, with its main campus located in University Park, Pa., has undergraduates enrolled in more than 160 different majors. It has 20 undergraduate campuses, 10 of which offer University-owned housing. The school is 54% male and 46% female, representing 50 states and 131 countries. The average student/faculty ratio is 17:1.

How majors match up

• Accounting (5)
• Business/Economics (11)
• Computer Science (7)

• Engineering (9)
• Finance (6)
• MIS (2)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 30 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $15,250; Out-of-state $27,114 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 38,630 
Admissions Phone: 814-865-5471 
Admissions Email: admissions@psu.edu

2. Texas A&M University

This Texas school's main campus is in College Station, about 100 miles northwest of Houston and 100 miles northeast of Austin. The school has 10 individual colleges and boasts more than 800 student organizations ranging from athletics and recreation to professional and community service.

How majors match up

• Finance (5)
• Engineering (16)
• Business/Economics (24)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Jan. 15; Dec. 1 (priority) 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $8,387; Out-of-state $22,817 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 38,810 
Admissions Phone: 979-845-3741 
Admissions Email: admissions@tamu.edu

3. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, centrally located between Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis, has more than 150 majors and 1,000 student organizations. Students come from all 50 states and 118 countries. The school is 54% male and 46% female.

How majors match up

• Accounting (3)
• Engineering (4)
• Computer Science (9)
• Business/Economics (10)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Jan. 2 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $13,658-$18,386; Out-of-state $27,800-$32,528 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 31,209 
Admissions Phone: 217-333-0302 
Admissions Email:ugradadmissions@uiuc.edu

4. Purdue University

More than half of this Indiana university's students are from the state (62%) with 38% coming from elsewhere. Its West Lafayette campus offers more than 200 majors for undergraduates along with 18 intercollegiate sports teams and more than 850 student organizations.

How majors match up

• MIS (1)
• Engineering (2)
• Computer Science (8)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 15, other programs March 1 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $9,070-$10,408; Out-of-state $26,622-$27,960 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 29,851 
Admissions Phone: 765-494-1776 
Admissions Email:admissions@purdue.edu

5. Arizona State University

Arizona State University's four campuses are within the metro Phoenix area. The West campus is known for professional and liberal arts, its Polytechnic campus focuses on technology and innovation, the downtown Phoenix campus hosts the school's professional programs like journalism and public administration, and its Tempe campus is home to the university's research-based programs.

How majors match up

• Business/Economics (19)
• Engineering (24)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Feb.1 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $8,132; Out-of-state $20,296 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 54,277 
Admissions Phone: 480-965-7788 
Admissions Email: ugrading@asu.edu

6. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

This Michigan school's campus is in Ann Arbor offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and several thousand undergraduate research opportunities. There are more than 150 first-year seminars, with no more than 15-18 students each. The university boasts the most living alumni in the world: more than 400,000.

How majors match up

• Business/Economics (1)
• Finance (1)
• Computer Science (3)
• Accounting (6)
• Engineering (6)
• Marketing/Adv (7)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (early); Feb. 1 (regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state: $11,837, Out-of-state: $36,001 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 26,208 
Admissions Phone: 734-764-7433
Admissions Email: n/a

7. Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia Institute of Technology has nine schools and two outreach campuses -- one in Savannah and the other in Metz, France. The student body is 64% male. More than 60% of the university's students come from Georgia, with roughly 30% coming from out-of-state; another 10% are international students.

How majors match up

• Engineering (1)
• MIS (3)
• Computer Science (4)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Oct. 1 (early); Jan. 15 (regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $8,716; Out-of-state $26,926 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 13,515 
Admissions Phone: 404-894-4154 
Admissions Email:admission@gatech.edu

8. University of Maryland, College Park

This Maryland school's campus, stretching 1,250 acres, is about 10 miles from Washington D.C. It enrolls 67% in-state students; the student body is made up of 47% women. There are 13 colleges and schools within the university, which offers 127 undergraduate majors.

How majors match up

• Engineering (3)
• Accounting (7)
• Computer Science (10)
• Business/Economics (21)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (priority); Jan. 20 (regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $8,415.44; Out-of-state $24,830.44 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 26,542 
Admissions Phone: 301-314-8385 
Admissions Email: um-admit@uga.umd.edu

9. University of Florida

University of Florida, located in Gainesville, is home to 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. Its freshman retention rate hits 94%, with almost all students attending from in-state (97%). There are 60% women in the student body. Alumni, topping 330,000, live in all 50 states and 135 countries.

How majors match up

• Finance (12)
• Business/Economics (23)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $5,045; Out-of-state $27,322 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 36,386 
Admissions Phone: 352-392-1365 
Admissions Email: n/a

10. Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon, located in Pittsburgh, Penn., sits on 143 acres in its urban campus. The university boasts a student/faculty ratio of 10:1. It consists of seven schools and colleges with just 17% of students coming from in-state. The school's motto "My heart is in the work," comes straight from Andrew Carnegie.

How majors match up

• Computer Science (1)
• Finance (4)
• Business/Economics (7)
• Engineering (21)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early I); Dec. 1 (Early II); Jan. 1 (Regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): $42,136 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,023 
Admissions Phone: 412-268-2082 
Admissions Email: 
undergraduate-admissions@andrew.cmu.edu

11. Brigham Young University

This Utah school's campus is situated in Provo, about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City. The most popular majors are exercise science, management and psychology. Students come from 110 countries and are almost evenly split between male and female. Almost one-quarter of students are married.

How majors match up

• Accounting (1)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Dec. 1 (Priority); Feb. 1 (Final) 
Tuition (2010-2011): Latter Day Saints $4,420; Non-Latter Day Saints $8,840 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 30,745 
Admissions Phone: 801-422-2507 
Admissions Email: admissions@byu.edu

12. Ohio State University

Ohio State, located in Columbus, was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university. It's the second-largest university campus in the United States, offering 14 colleges, 175 undergraduate majors and about 12,000 courses. Almost 80% of first-year classes have fewer than 40 students. The campus stretches across 1,700 acres and 457 buildings.

How majors match up

• Business/Economics (2)
• Accounting (10)
• Engineering (13)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Feb.1 
*Tuition (2009-2010): In-state $8,706; Out-of-state $22,278 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 41,348 
Admissions Phone: 614-292-3980 
Admissions Email: askabuckeye@osu.edu

13. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

This school offers nine colleges and 65 bachelor's degree programs. The main campus, located in Blacksburg, includes more than 125 buildings and 2,600 acres, which includes an airport. There's an average of 16 students to every faculty member.

How majors match up

• Engineering (5)
• Computer Science (5)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early); Jan. 15 (Regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $9,458; Out-of-state $23,217 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 23,558 
Admissions Phone: 540-231-6267 
Admissions Email: vtadmiss@vt.edu

14. Cornell University

This Ivy League school is located in the Finger Lakes region of central New York, about 225 miles to New York City. There are more than 500 student organizations, with attendees coming from all 50 states and more than 100 nations. Undergraduates pursue studies in more than 80 academic programs in the university's seven undergraduate colleges.

How majors match up

• Engineering (7)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early); Jan. 3 (Regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): $39,450 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 13,931 
Admissions Phone: 607-255-5241 
Admissions Email:admissions@cornell.edu

15. University of California - Berkeley

This Northern California school's Berkeley campus is just 15 miles from San Francisco. Almost three-quarters of undergraduate classes have fewer than 30 students. There are 14 colleges and schools with 130 academic departments and more than 80 interdisciplinary research units.

How majors match up

• Computer Science (2)
• Marketing/Adv (3)
• Finance (3)
• Business/Economics (6)
• Accounting (8)
• Engineering (12)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 30 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $12,462; Out-of-state $35,341 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 25,530 
Admissions Phone: 510-642-3175 
Admissions Email:ouars@uclink4.berkeley.edu

16. University of Wisconsin, Madison

This Wisconsin school's campus in Madison sits on almost 1,000 acres. The university also has an arboretum and experimental farms. About 65% of students are Wisconsin residents, 24% out-of-state and 11% come from Minnesota; the school offers discounted tuition to Minnesotans.

How majors match up

• Accounting (2)
• Marketing/Adv (5)
• Finance (8)
• Engineering (20)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (First Notification Period); Feb. 1 (Second Notification Period) 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $9,050; Minnesota resident: $10,820 Out-of-state $24,300 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 30,343 
Admissions Phone: 608-262-3961 
Admissions Email:onwisconsin@admissions.wisc.edu

17. University of California, Los Angeles

This California school is situated in Westwood Village in Los Angeles, about five miles from the Pacific Ocean. There are 174 buildings on 419 acres. It has 12 professional schools with 118 undergraduate degree programs. There are more than 4,000 teaching faculty.

How majors match up

• Finance (7)
• Accounting (9)
• Business/Economics (17)
• Engineering (19)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 30 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $10,781; Out-of-state $33,660 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 26,687 
Admissions Phone: 310-825-3101 
Admissions Email:ugadm@saonet.ucla.edu

18. Texas Tech

Texas Tech is located in Lubbock in the South Plains of West Texas. It boasts students from every county in Texas -- about 95% of students are in-state. The school offers 150 undergraduate degree programs within 11 academic colleges. The school, founded in 1923, is in the Big 12 conference.

How majors match up

• Engineering (25)

Upcoming Application Deadline: May 1 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $8,260; Out-of-state $17,560 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 24,236 
Admissions Phone: 806-742-1480 
Admissions Email: admissions@ttu.edu

19 (tie). North Carolina State University, Raleigh

North Carolina State, an NCAA Division I university, has 10 undergraduate colleges serving students from all North Carolina counties. The majority of students -- 91% -- comes from in-state, and just more than half --56% -- are male.

How majors match up

• Engineering (15)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Oct. 15 (Early Action 1); Nov. 1 (Early Action 2); Feb. 1 (Regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $5,829; Out-of-state $18,314 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 25,255 
Admissions Phone: 919-515-2434 
Admissions Email: undergrad—admissions@ncsu.edu

19 (tie). University of Virginia

Thomas Jefferson founded this school, located in Charlottesville, in 1819. It offers more than 60 majors in six undergraduate schools. Almost three-quarters are Virginian, with 54% women and 46% men. The university offers more than 480 public service and outreach programs.

How majors match up

• Business/Economics (9)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Jan. 1 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $10,836; Out-of-state $33,782 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 17,981 
Admissions Phone: 434-982-3200 
Admissions Email:undergradadmission@virginia.edu

21. Rutgers University, New Brunswick

This New Jersey school's main campus is in New Brunswick, about 35 miles from New York City. There are 27 schools and colleges offering more than 100 major undergraduate programs. Almost all -- 96% -- students are in-state, with 45% of the student body comprised of women.

How majors match up

• Business/Economics (3)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early); Dec. 1 (Regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $12,560; Out-of-state $24,316 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 29,095 
Admissions Phone: 732-932-4636 
Admissions Email:admissions@ugadm.rutgers.edu

22. University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, founded in 1842, is an independent, national Catholic university adjacent to South Bend, Ind. and 90 miles east of Chicago. It stretches across 1,250 acres containing two lakes with 138 buildings in its four colleges and six major research institutes. The school also offers more than 40 centers and special programs. Just 7% of students come from Indiana.

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early); Dec. 31 (Regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): $39,919 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,372 
Admissions Phone: 574-631-7505 
Admissions Email: admissions@nd.edu

23. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

This main campus of The Massachusetts Institue of Technology is located in Cambridge, extending 168 acres, some of which are across the Charles River Basin. The school accepted 10.7% of applicants in 2009, with just 10% in-state.

How majors match up

• Engineering (8)
• Computer Science (6)

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early); Jan. 1 (Regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): $39,212 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,232 
Admissions Phone: 617-253-3400 
Admissions Email: admissions@mit.edu

24. University of Southern California

This California school's campus is in University Park, the heart of Los Angeles' downtown arts and education corridor. A little more than half of the students are Californians, and the school enrolls more international students than any other U.S. university. Out of almost 36,000 applicants, 24% were admitted. The student body is made up of 53% women.

Upcoming Application Deadline: Oct. 15 (Part 1); Dec. 1 (Scholarship Consideration); Jan. 10 (Regular) 
Tuition (2010-2011): $41,172 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 16,751 
Admissions Phone: 213-740-1111 
Admissions Email: admitusc@usc.edu

25. (tie) Washington State University

Four campuses with 12 colleges make up this Washington school, which is across the state -- or about 300 miles -- east of Seattle. There are four campuses with 12 colleges offering more than 200 fields of study and more than 100 majors. The student/faculty ratio is 15:1.

Upcoming Application Deadline: Jan. 31 (Priority) 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $9,488; Out-of-state $20,530 
Undergraduate Enrollment: 21,726 
Admissions Phone: 509-335-5586 
Admissions Email: admiss2@wsu.edu

25. (tie) University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

UNC-Chapel Hill

Set in the town of Chapel Hill, this flagship state university has a diverse student body and offers 77 majors for undergraduates. Nearly 80% of the school's freshman are typically in the top 10% of their high school class.

Upcoming Application Deadline: 
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state ; Out-of-state
Undergraduate Enrollment: 17,981
Admissions Phone: 919-966-3621
Admissions Email: unchelp@admissions.unc.edu

WSJ 13 September 2010


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