after posting, i dragged myself to the shower to wake up. while in there, i thought of a couple points:
1. "NU is near the top in many categories and usually much higher than either CU or CSU" - let's see the backup. i am sure that they are - in some category that would impress anyone from a 12-count town. personally, i find that they are proud of their medical complex, before considering what other campusses have. however, there is NO WAY that a university with no nobel prize winners, no links to arguably the hottest agency in the nation for technology (NASA) will eclipse what is going on at CU. CU does rate among the best. for nebraska to eclipse that, they would have to be a top ten school. that just isn't so.
2. this "about the same" comparison thing - i find that to be a copout for people who knowingly sacrifice quality and prestige in order to skimp on bucks. i would bet that some aggys of the north think that csu's recruiting this year was "about the same" than cu's. in reality, they are practically polar opposites. to bluster your way and claim they are "about the same" is an exercise in blurry vision.
3. relevance and rigor - that is what the school argument really boils down to. can schools with slightly to divergently lower admission standards, and a less qualified staff punch out graduates with as much respect and perstige as a cu diploma carries? a number of people argue no. ny parents argued no, when i thought for a second to follow some less-academically inclined friends to csu. i got a "hell no" and a schooling from my father, who has no ties to either institution, but who was savvy enough to realize what a degree from the better school would mean. it is a "hell no" from swchool boards across the country. how i know that is that they gushed about my transcripts in comparison to other applicants they have run across from colorado. it very much favorably compares to requirements from universities here. they said "WOW! we have never seen so much science in our lives!" all but one district offered me, following an interview, and the one was leaning towards a teacher-coach. i think that suggests that everyone can respect relevance and rigor when they see it. in addition, there is no shortage of sources that give the nod to cu with respect to rankings, love, honor, and prestige. frankly, all that love is missing from nu and csu. another b12 school i DO see getting love is oklahoma, with the fact that per capita, they have more rhodes scholars than any other university in the world. that demonstrates rigor and relevance, too.
i am sure that there are a number of schools that csu and nu compare to, but it is NOT cu. while i may be a homer, i am also a realist. nu grads? not in my district. there IS a nu grad at a district down the road. but his district is not on the cusp of a district-wide exemplary rating. ours was literally a small handful of students away from the highest rating this year. we are still sitting very pretty, and have an eye to give our students meaning, relevance, and rigor. it is all about the mindset to be the best and most sought after district in the state. it has happened, and will continue to happen. it is the same with cu vs. the other schools compared in this thread.
