I don't think people understand how low these rankings are. These are horrible rankings compared to most states. Utah's flagship university is third tier. This is horrible and nothing to be proud of. Luckily, there are programs inside Utah's top schools that are respectable. The state has two respectable law schools and business schools (at BYU and the U). The U has a respectable genetics program, psychology department, and pharmacy program.

I'm not sure I would agree that the U. of Utah is Utah's "Flagship" University....

Is anyone surpised by this information?

I'm not sure how anyone could dispute that the U of Utah is the flagship university. What other university in Utah would be the flagship university?

Considering that the University of Utah and USU are both ranked as third-tier national institutions, it seems that the spot for Utah's "flagship" university is in dispute.

It is really embarrassing that Utah's top two public universities are solidly ranked in the third tier of national univerities. These rankings are cearly not perfect. However, when you look at their acceptance rates, classes sizes, ACT averages, reputation rankings, etc., it is clear why they are third tier. It is time for them to step up and address these major deficiencies. Having a good medical school at the U or excellent ice cream at USU doesn't make up for these problems.

Snooty ratings aren't all they're cracked up to be. And just because some of you think that Utah's universities basically stink doesn't mean the students who actually attend them agree. I am a proud 2001 graduate of the U. I had an awesome education as I earned my degree in communication. The classes in my major had no more than 30 people. If people complain about class sizes, then they should get their rear in gear and take some AP classes in high school! I have a good job that I love, and I make at least twice as much as comparable jobs in the valley. My education was definitely not "third tier," nor did it have any "major deficiencies" or "problems." I wonder how many of the people on here even went to Utah universities, or just like to spout off their opinions on message boards.

Well, hooray for Westminster and BYU. Personally, I'd like to stay out of debt. I'm at the U. right now, and loving it, thank you very much.

It�s very interesting to see some of these comments and perceptions as someone who has worked in a variety of universities across the nation and knows a lot about this subject. My below statements are not reactionary or bias in nature so please do not take them that way. I hope I am able to shed light on this. The primary reason why the universities in Utah are ranked so low is because there is very little competition to get into these universities at the undergraduate level (which effects the rankings dramatically). It is somewhat unusual for a high school student to be able to get into a state�s flagship university without having relatively high SAT/ACTs and high school GPAs (by the way, University of Utah is the flagship University of the state�flagship universities have nothing to do the U.S. News� rank). In short, the ease of entrance at the undergraduate level combined with low undergraduate average GPAs/test scores brings down Utah�s rankings. The professors are nationally respected at the University of Utah and Utah State University. Utah�s universities, especially the University of Utah, attract very high caliber Ph.D. students as well. I have seen time and time again faculty that come to our state�s top universities expecting our undergraduates to be at the same caliber as students at other state run research institutions shocked by the variance in undergraduate quality. I have heard faculty say time and time again that the best students at Utah�s schools could also compete at other quality public universities such as UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, etc. etc (where only the top 3-10% of high school students ever get in). The middle to low end of undergraduates at Utah�s public universities are numerically below students at other top public research institutions.