Understanding University Rankings

While it is a good idea to be skeptical of published school rankings, as the ideal school for one student may be a terrible fit for another, it is hard to deny that this peer-reviewed form of hearsay has become highly influential for students and their parents as application deadlines draw near. Fortunately, there are enough lists out there that, even at first glance, a prospective student (or their parent) can get a reasonable idea of how major universities compare in a number of different categories and by several sets of criteria. The US News and World Report rankings, which are by far the most publicized, and therefore most likely to be considered valid by the majority of the population, are calculated using such indicators as SAT scores of incoming freshmen, percentage of applicants admitted, reputation among peers, and contributions of alumni. The 2010 Top 10 lists of National Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges are as follows:

US News and World Report - National Universities

1. Princeton University
2. Harvard University
3. Yale University
4. Stanford University
5. The University of Pennsylvania
6. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
7. The California Institute of Technology
8. Columbia University
9. The University of Chicago
10. Duke University

US News and World Report - Liberal Arts Colleges

1. Williams College
2. Amherst College
3. Swarthmore College
4. Middlebury College
5. Wellesley College
6. Bowdoin College
7. Pomona College
8. Carleton College
9. Davidson College
10. Haverford College

Forbes Magazine bases its rankings on such indicators as statistics of student satisfaction (as reported on Rate My Professor), post-graduate employment rates, "on-time" (four years) graduation statistics, estimated average debt of students after four years, and student and faculty success rates with regard to research awards. The Forbes Top 10 list (which, aside from 1 and 7, is a combination of the two US News lists) for 2010 is as follows:

1. The United States Military Academy at West Point
2. Princeton University
3. The California Institute of Technology
4. Williams College
5. Harvard University
6. Wellesley College
7. The United States Air Force Academy
8. Amherst College
9. Yale University
10. 1Stanford University

The Washington Monthly list, which weighs much more heavily on "social mobility," and "service" has a much different Top 10 list of National Universities (2009 most recent available), while their Liberal Arts Colleges list is mostly a rearrangement of familiar names:

Washington Monthly – National Universities (2009)

1. UC Berkeley
2. UC San Diego
3. UC Los Angeles
4. Stanford
5. Texas A&M
6. South Carolina State University
7. Penn. State University
8. College of William and Mary
9. University of Texas, Austin
10. UC Davis

Washington Monthly – Liberal Arts (2009)

1. Amherst
2. Mount Holyoke
3. Williams College
4. Harvey Mudd College
5. Haverford College
6. Smith College
7. Bryn Mawr College
8. Swarthmore College
9. Carleton College
10. Wellesley College

If a student is considering several possible majors, perhaps the most useful way to consider ranking lists is where they intersect. For example, the fact that Amherst College and Williams College both rank highly on Top 10 lists from US News, Forbes, and Washington Monthly is a good sign that those schools have a lot to offer in a number of different areas. Beyond this, it is helpful to explore the schools that rank highly on general lists such as these, as well as lists relating to specific majors and professions. If a school is excellent in Engineering and Liberal Arts, that speaks very well for the school as a whole. Obviously, the ideal way to go about choosing schools is to visit the schools and investigate those programs that appeal to the individual in question on a personal level. However, since the vast majority of high school students are unsure about their social identities, not to mention their ultimate careers, it does not hurt to have access to rankings based on exactly that which students seek in the most general sense: prestige, social identity, and likelihood of enhanced success after graduation and later in life. Using the lists presented here, along with supplementary research, it is likely that most students can get somewhat of an idea where they want to apply.