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The Daily Orange asked Syracuse University students their opinion about SU’s placement in recent college rankings lists.

SU ranked 113th on the Forbes top colleges list, an increase of 43 from 2019, the publication’s previous ranking. The university also increased seven places on the Wall Street Journal’s rankings list to 117th and decreased by one on the U.S. News & World Report rankings to 59th.

 Overall, students’ sentiments with the rankings were positive, with some even saying SU should have received a higher rank.  

Will Smithson, a graduate student at SU, said that he would have ranked SU higher than what it was. Although Smithson said he has fond memories of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received his undergraduate degree, he has also enjoyed his time at SU so far. He said that college rankings may not take that community he’s enjoyed into account.

“There’s something to be said about the community of a university, especially for Syracuse.” Smithson said. “It’s seemed very welcoming so far whereas, for some other universities, I didn’t quite get that feel. I think that plays a part and it might not be captured in these rankings.”

Sophomore graphic design major Arlo Stone agreed, saying that at the end of the day, the ranking is just a number.

Vikrant Nakhate, a masters student from India, said that he believes SU welcomes students from all cultures, making it a safe space for students from around the world. Ameya Mangaonkar, another masters student from India, said that SU lives up to its high academic reputation. 

“(SU is) very welcoming for different cultures, different societies,” Nakkate said. “I personally felt very welcome and very warm after coming hundreds of miles away from India to write, so that’s a good point.”

Winston Tsui, a freshman, said he looked at the rankings lists for colleges when he was first applying to schools, and schools that were ranked higher were more attractive to him. Kelly Dugan, a public communications major, said SU’s reputation for its academics is attractive to many students. 

“I could see it going up, like I know we do have a lot of great programs,” Dugan said. “The professors here are, for the most part, pretty dedicated to their students and want them to do well and succeed in life.”

Ava Lombardi, a sophomore majoring in writing and rhetoric, said she loves SU, and she said that students feel at home at the university. 

“I can’t speak on peoples GPAs and academics, but morale is good here, and people like it,” Lombardi said. “With COVID everyone hated college, and while we all hated college, we still liked Syracuse, so that is definitely a testament to the school.”

Sydney Baldridge, a sophomore health and exercise science major, said that she believes SU is a great school with a lot to offer.

“My main reason for coming to Syracuse was because the school is so well rounded in everything. It had good academics, it was a good size, but it also had a good social life and there are so many organizations you can join,” Baldridge said.

Students’ perception of the rankings vary as they believe the cost, programs, faculty and social life are interconnected. While some believe SU’s rise in ranking is well-deserved, others beg to differ due to the past events that occurred, such as the hate crimes that occured on and near campus during fall 2019.

Some students feel that SU’s ranking was justified due to the supportive faculty while other students felt as though SU does not deserve the steep increase on the Forbes rankings.

Sammi DeLuca, a CRS major, said she believes SU is a fun school, but she thinks the university does not care about their students. DeLuca also said that she feels like she hasn’t learned as much at SU as she might have somewhere else. 

Maya Goosmann | Digital Design Director

Eva Newhill-Leahy, a freshman graphic design major, also critiqued the university’s amount of care and attention for their students, saying she wished SU valued accessibility more.

“Some of the professors don’t have their PowerPoints available for students who can’t hear or can’t see, or they won’t let you record,” she said. “So, there are some things that are like to the outward, ‘Look how accessible we are,’ but, in practice, it’s not being enforced.”

Newhill-Leahy questioned how the rankings were conducted, and she said she believes that the people who rank these schools aren’t able to see them from the perspectives of current students.

Smithson recognized that creating the rankings could be somewhat of a futile task.

“It can be hard to boil down the value of a university just to these rankings,” he said. “It’s hard to rank these schools — what’s the difference between the 58th and the 57th school?

Amelia Thibault, a sophomore majoring in history and geography, said she believes the more expensive the school, the higher the rating.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t get a scholarship, so I think that also plays a role into ranking,” Thibault said. “Because the more expensive the school, people usually think it’s better. I don’t know if that’s always the case, though.”

Published on October 7, 2021 at 12:17 am

news@dailyorange.com