This list is about getting into the best possible university in the future that could you could get into now. That’s probably the wisest strategy for you as getting into a school that you stretched to get in and never qualified for or getting into a school that you are overqualified for or getting into a school that will decline in important metrics will likely not be good for you nor your career. The first five to ten years of work life is really about the fundamentals anyway where pay is much lower than at higher levels. Let’s be honest, if you could get into top 30 schools now you would likely already accepted one of those acceptance letters but since you didn’t, the reality is outside of the top 30 or so the fall in prestige is probably exponential anyway. The West of the Mississippi is where the land and growth are for the foreseeable future. I would probably stay away from liberal arts colleges if I only wanted best bang for my resources unless the said liberal arts college is moving to R2 and/or R1 national level. The thing about getting a good deal is not necessary the price but rather the value. You mind not get what your dream of initially, but by making incrementally good deals, you might just get there even if that might mean taking long detours due to roadblocks.
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Rankings
- The University of Texas at Dallas: Texas is likely to surpass California as the most populous state and biggest economy in the US. Dallas, more than Houston, the biggest benefactor of this growth with all the Fortune 500 companies moving to “Y’all Street.” Dallas doesn’t have any real prestigious universities and the nearest large metropolitan in Austin and Houston are three plus hours away. Dallas is growing so fast that it might one day become the largest metropolitan area in the US. I foresee UTD becoming a top 40-50 university rivaling UT Austin.
- California State University, Los Angeles: This school is so cheap to attend and so easy to get into. For someone who wants to get the best bang for their prestigious bucks, this school literally has the name “Los Angeles” in it when many people only heard of University of California, Los Angeles. Yes, this school and UCLA are literally a billion miles apart from a prestige standpoint, however, this school physically closer to Downtown Los Angeles (about 5 miles away) with a direct view of Downtown Los Angeles than UCLA is (about 15 miles away). Academically this school is rising fast and getting more donations in the last few years than it probably has ever gotten in its history previously. This school is basically a gem in a landfill if you are willing to wait for its ascension that will likely occur later in your career. Similar universities in San Bernardino is already ranked around 100 in national university rankings. CSULA likely will have more growth opportunities and I foresee it landing somewhere in the 65-75 national university ranking level within a few decades.
- University of California, Riverside: People will laugh at this schools and will choose random California State University over this school even though the University of California system is much more prestigious and is typically considered the greatest university system in the world, public or not. Literally anyone who are eligible to attend a university with a functioning brain and some form of work ethic can probably get into this university right now. The Inland Empire is experiencing rapid economic growth. It’s a huge geographical area with UCR being its consensus and unquestionable flagship university. If UC Merced can be a top 65 national university, UCR can probably be a top 50 university.
- Villanova University: This school played its cards rights. It now has an additional campus and another one by 2028. They also have name recognition plus Philly will likely be the center of attention for due to the Sixers and US 250th anniversary. They just moved up to a football league with a lot of prestigious schools. Their basketball program is getting back to blue chip form and academically and from a selectivity standpoint they are progressive extremely well. Think school won’t be at S-tier level within the next 50 years but it will likely be within the top 15-20 range within that time period of time.
- Brigham Young University: They are probably not as loonie as you think they are. At near $4 billion in endowment, extremely cheap tuition and high quality education, it’s the best deal you can probably get even with all the non-academic requirements that probably term some people off. The US is becoming less religious due to the new generation and technological progression and the Mormons are not growing as much in the US although they are growing internationally. Salt Lake City, a city less than an hour away from Provo, is developing pretty well. This means within the next 50 years the very same reasons why they are currently ranked so low and dropped so steep in rankings from their peak two decades or so ago, will likely be the same reason why it will rise dramatically in the future once those reasons dissipate significantly. I believe this university likely could be a 40-50 ranked school within a few decades which is not far from its historical high anyway.