Harvard tops U.S. colleges in media buzz

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The first-time rankings of U.S. colleges according to their presence in the media puts Harvard in the top spot over Columbia and the University of Michigan.

The Global Language Monitor in Texas said Tuesday that Harvard was the school most often mentioned by name on the Internet as well as in the word print and electronic media.

Paul J.J. Payack, president of GLM, said in a written statement that the "brand name" of an institution tends to add some panache to the individual student once they are out in the real world.

"Prospective students, alumni, employers, and the world at large believe that students who are graduated from such institutions will carry on the all the hallmarks of that particular school," said Payack.

Rounding out the top 10 were the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford, the University of Chicago, Wisconsin, Yale, Princeton and Cornell.

Vanderbilt and Virginia were among the schools showing the most momentum forward while Colorado College was ranked the top liberal arts college in the nation.