TrendTopper MediaBuzz College Guide
Encyclopedia
TrendTopper MediaBuzz College Guide is an American-college guide based on what it calls "Internet brand equity" based on Internet data, social media, blogs and the top 75,000 print and electronic media outlets. It ranks the what it calls the Top 300 United States colleges and universities. The guide includes specialty and for profit schools inncluding Art, Business, Design, Music, and Online Education. The TrendTopper MediaBuzz College Rankings are produced twice a year by the Global Language Monitor
of Austin
, Texas
.
. GLM describes their rankings as measuring the Internet “Brand Equity” of the colleges and universities. Time Magazine described internet brand equity as "a measure of who's talking about you online, based on Internet data, social media, blogs and the top 75,000 print and electronic media outlets.
GLM ranks the schools "according to their online presence -- or internet brand equity ... By focusing on online presence, the Monitor hopes to avoid the biases that characterize other rankings, which commonly rely on the opinions of university officials and college counselors rather than that of the greater public." GLM believes the rankings provide an up-to-date perspective on which schools have the most popular brand.
for example, it cites the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania (ranked fifth in 2010 by U.S. News) fared almost equivalently to Penn State (ranked 47th in 2010 by U.S. News), ranking 22nd and 24th respectively." The resulting tool, the group claims, gauges the relative value of the various institutions and how they change over time.
The MediaBuzz list also compiles the Best of Class (BOC) from among all, the designation being awarded to those schools that are first in terms of brand repute and impact, either in the overall ranking or in a specific classification, such as Top Catholic College or University."
The TrendTopper MediaBuzz Analysis uses the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching’s classifications as the basis to distinguish between Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges. The schools were ranked in the last week of December with a mid-year snapshot, and the last day of 2009 as the base.
GLM claims that TrendTopper MediaBuzz utilizes a mathematical model that ‘normalizes’ the data collected from the Internet, social media, and blogosphere as well as the top 75,000 print and electronic media and that the end result is a non-biased analytical tool that provides a gauge of relative values among various institutions, as well as measures of how that value changes over time. The basics of the methodology are available for download directly from the Global Language Monitor site.
The Global Language Monitor also sells the TrendTopper MediaBuzz Reputation Management solution for higher education for which "colleges and universities can enhance their standings among peers". The Global Language Monitor states that it "does not influence the Higher Education rankings in any way".
College and University rankings, which suggest that "a brand equity service based on buzz is certainly important, and reflects a more democratic perspective. It is a good contender against rankings posted by U.S. News and World Report or The Princeton Review. However, there are others who question the value of using brand equity studies with higher education.
The Top 25 Colleges by TrendTopper MediaBuzz
Rank / Colleges Fall 2011
The Top Specialty Schools
Global Language Monitor
The Global Language Monitor is an Austin, Texas-based company that collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language...
of Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
College Brand Equity
The TrendTopper MediaBuzz College Rankings are produced twice a year by the Global Language MonitorGlobal Language Monitor
The Global Language Monitor is an Austin, Texas-based company that collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language...
. GLM describes their rankings as measuring the Internet “Brand Equity” of the colleges and universities. Time Magazine described internet brand equity as "a measure of who's talking about you online, based on Internet data, social media, blogs and the top 75,000 print and electronic media outlets.
GLM ranks the schools "according to their online presence -- or internet brand equity ... By focusing on online presence, the Monitor hopes to avoid the biases that characterize other rankings, which commonly rely on the opinions of university officials and college counselors rather than that of the greater public." GLM believes the rankings provide an up-to-date perspective on which schools have the most popular brand.
for example, it cites the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania (ranked fifth in 2010 by U.S. News) fared almost equivalently to Penn State (ranked 47th in 2010 by U.S. News), ranking 22nd and 24th respectively." The resulting tool, the group claims, gauges the relative value of the various institutions and how they change over time.
Inclusion of Specialty Schools
The rankings are the only ones that contain specialty schools which are typically assigned to "unranked" or "other' categories. "The rankings include specialty (and for profit) schools as well, such as Art, Business, Design, Music, and even Online Education. Most specialty schools are included in the College category with the exception of the online university, which is assigned to the University category ...The MediaBuzz list also compiles the Best of Class (BOC) from among all, the designation being awarded to those schools that are first in terms of brand repute and impact, either in the overall ranking or in a specific classification, such as Top Catholic College or University."
The TrendTopper MediaBuzz Analysis uses the Carnegie Foundation
Carnegie Foundation
The Carnegie Foundation is an organization based in The Hague, Netherlands. It was founded in 1903 by Andrew Carnegie in order to manage his donation of US$1.5 million, which was used for the construction, management and maintenance of the Peace Palace...
for the Advancement of Teaching’s classifications as the basis to distinguish between Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges. The schools were ranked in the last week of December with a mid-year snapshot, and the last day of 2009 as the base.
GLM claims that TrendTopper MediaBuzz utilizes a mathematical model that ‘normalizes’ the data collected from the Internet, social media, and blogosphere as well as the top 75,000 print and electronic media and that the end result is a non-biased analytical tool that provides a gauge of relative values among various institutions, as well as measures of how that value changes over time. The basics of the methodology are available for download directly from the Global Language Monitor site.
Criticism
TrendTopper MediaBuzz uses narrative tracking technology, where the words, phrases and concepts are tracked in relation to their frequency, contextual usage and appearance in global media outlets. This exclusive ranking is based upon GLM’s Narrative Tracking technology. NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the 75,000 print and electronic media, as well as new social media sources (such as Twitter). NarrativeTracker replaced the controversial PQI index, which had been criticized by a number of linguists, but no media tracking, or computer scientists or other members of the academic community, for its use in the counting of the number of English words.The Global Language Monitor also sells the TrendTopper MediaBuzz Reputation Management solution for higher education for which "colleges and universities can enhance their standings among peers". The Global Language Monitor states that it "does not influence the Higher Education rankings in any way".
Comparisons to Other Rankings
Milwaukee Magazine stated that "a study by Kiplinger’s that buttresses Global Language Monitor’s findings, researchers conclude that UW-Madison is one of the best values in higher education. The study ranked schools based on academic caliber – graduation and retention rates, student-to-teacher ratios and the SAT and ACT scores of incoming students – and affordability". Comparisons are frequently made between the TrendTopper MediaBuzz College rankings and the Princeton Review and the U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
College and University rankings, which suggest that "a brand equity service based on buzz is certainly important, and reflects a more democratic perspective. It is a good contender against rankings posted by U.S. News and World Report or The Princeton Review. However, there are others who question the value of using brand equity studies with higher education.
2012 The Top 25 Universities by Internet Media Buzz Rankings
Rank/University/Last- Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(3) - Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
(31) - University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(8) - Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(5) - California Institute of TechnologyCalifornia Institute of TechnologyThe California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
(19) - Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(4) - Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
(11) - University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(2) - University of Texas, Austin (10)
- Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
(7) - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (6)
- University of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
(17) - Pennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania State UniversityThe Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
(24) - Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(9) - University of Wisconsin, Madison (1)
- Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(12) - University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
(22) - University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(16) - University of California, DavisUniversity of California, DavisThe University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
(13) - Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Institute of TechnologyThe Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
(27) - Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
(14) - New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(18) - Indiana University, Bloomington (46)
- Boston CollegeBoston CollegeBoston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
(39) - University of California, San DiegoUniversity of California, San DiegoThe University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
(23)
The Top 25 Colleges by TrendTopper MediaBuzz
Rank / Colleges Fall 2011
- Williams CollegeWilliams CollegeWilliams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
- University of RichmondUniversity of RichmondThe University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate...
- Union CollegeUnion CollegeUnion College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
- Claremont McKenna CollegeClaremont McKenna CollegeClaremont McKenna College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college and a member of the Claremont Colleges located in Claremont, California. The campus is located east of Downtown Los Angeles...
- Harvey Mudd CollegeHarvey Mudd CollegeHarvey Mudd College is a private residential liberal arts college of science, engineering, and mathematics, located in Claremont, California. It is one of the institutions of the contiguous Claremont Colleges, which share adjoining campus grounds....
- Pomona CollegePomona CollegePomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
- Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
- The Juilliard School
- Carleton CollegeCarleton CollegeCarleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
- Bates CollegeBates CollegeBates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
- Pratt InstitutePratt InstitutePratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
- Amherst CollegeAmherst CollegeAmherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
- Wellesley College
- Bryn Mawr CollegeBryn Mawr CollegeBryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
- Middlebury CollegeMiddlebury CollegeMiddlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
- Bowdoin CollegeBowdoin CollegeBowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
- Smith CollegeSmith CollegeSmith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
- Scripps CollegeScripps CollegeScripps College is a progressive liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California, United States. It is a member of the Claremont Colleges. Scripps ranks 3rd for the nation's best women's college, ahead of Barnard College, Mount Holyoke College, and Bryn Mawr College at 23rd on the list for...
- Bucknell UniversityBucknell UniversityBucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...
- Oberlin CollegeOberlin CollegeOberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
- Colorado CollegeColorado CollegeThe Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Babson CollegeBabson CollegeBabson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
- United States Military AcademyUnited States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
- United States Air Force AcademyUnited States Air Force AcademyThe United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
The Top Specialty Schools
- Top Engineering Schools: CalTech, MIT, Georgia Tech (College: Harvey Mudd)
- Top Online/For Profit Schools: University of PhoenixUniversity of PhoenixThe University of Phoenix is a for-profit institution of higher learning. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Group Inc. which is publicly traded , an S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona...
- Top Business School: Babson CollegeBabson CollegeBabson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
- Top Christian School: Wheaton College, IL
- Top Military Academy: United States Military AcademyUnited States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
- Top Multi-disciplinary Art & Design School: Pratt InstitutePratt InstitutePratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
- Top School of Art: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Top Music School: Juilliard SchoolJuilliard SchoolThe Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
- Top Catholic University: Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
- Top Catholic College: College of the Holy CrossCollege of the Holy CrossThe College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...