Local implications for Chicago and WashU falling in 2024 college rankings

[Anonymous]

Chicago and WashU dropped significantly in the recent USNWR rankings. Will this hurt their perception locally as great midwestern alternatives to Ivy League schools?
Chicago (12th) had been in the top 10 every year since 2007 and hadn't been lower than a tie for 6th in over a decade. However, they were regularly outside the top 10 in the 90s and early 2000s, when many current parents were going to college.
WashU (24th) had been in the top 20 every year since 1991 and was top 15 the last two years and in most years since 2005.
Both have been ranked lower in other publications too. Forbes, for example, ranked them 28th and 40th, though to be fair that was in a combined ranking with the top LACs as well.
I've read on DCUM about the Big 3 connection to Chicago. Will that willingness to apply ED2 to one of these schools continue? Parents on this board use "T10" regularly when talking about prestige.
In the midwest, Northwestern moved above Chicago and Notre Dame moved above WashU (both also occurred in the Forbes ranking too). Is there a reshuffling again in the top midwestern schools? Northwestern was commonly the highest ranked school in the midwest in the late 90s and early 2000s. It is a little funny that the rankings are coming full circle back to when we were looking at colleges ourselves.

[Anonymous]

If people want to look at old USNWR rankings over time, this is a useful site: https://andyreiter.com/datasets/

[Anonymous]

Meh. Nothing about the schools changed. Nor should their reputations.

[Anonymous]

Too many people mad tbe kids had tempered of beds in the dorms. They have to be like UM with no AC.

[Anonymous]

Shooty and Snooty

[Anonymous]

Chicago is fine, but the change for WashU is really dramatic

[Anonymous]

Rice needs to drop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice needs to drop.

Your comment is completely irrelevant, but Rice is underrated if anything.

[Anonymous]

Anyone who actually knows what UChicago is about knows it doesn’t matter what ranking it is.

UChicago was a phenomenal school in the 90s and early 00s when it was ranked outside the top 10. If anything, the school abandoned its true character when it tried to appeal to all the mainstream kids who never would’ve looked at it before.

The fact that you’re even asking the question shows me you don’t know anything about the school. And that’s fine. If you know you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chicago is fine, but the change for WashU is really dramatic

WashU is a highly need aware school that funnels UMC kids into professional schools. Nothing will change other than USNews dropping their ranking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chicago is fine, but the change for WashU is really dramatic

Sounds like you’re being dramatic. This ranking changes nothing for either school esp with its
New methodology

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chicago and WashU dropped significantly in the recent USNWR rankings. Will this hurt their perception locally as great midwestern alternatives to Ivy League schools?
Chicago (12th) had been in the top 10 every year since 2007 and hadn't been lower than a tie for 6th in over a decade. However, they were regularly outside the top 10 in the 90s and early 2000s, when many current parents were going to college.
WashU (24th) had been in the top 20 every year since 1991 and was top 15 the last two years and in most years since 2005.
Both have been ranked lower in other publications too. Forbes, for example, ranked them 28th and 40th, though to be fair that was in a combined ranking with the top LACs as well.
I've read on DCUM about the Big 3 connection to Chicago. Will that willingness to apply ED2 to one of these schools continue? Parents on this board use "T10" regularly when talking about prestige.
In the midwest, Northwestern moved above Chicago and Notre Dame moved above WashU (both also occurred in the Forbes ranking too). Is there a reshuffling again in the top midwestern schools? Northwestern was commonly the highest ranked school in the midwest in the late 90s and early 2000s. It is a little funny that the rankings are coming full circle back to when we were looking at colleges ourselves.

Do you really think year-to-year fluctuations in rankings that literally everyone knows are meaningless will have local "implications?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice needs to drop. [/quote

Oh not this one. If anything, it needs to RISE!

[Anonymous]

Chicago and W&M have a similar problem - kids don’t want rigorous academics without a big dose of fun. W&M is hampered by the VA rule that requires 2/3 of students cone from VA. W&M is more like a LAC and most of those schools have 2000 kids, not 6500. Trying to squeeze so many admits out of VA plays to the strengths of NOVA, which is wealthy and educated. Then, W&M gets hit for insufficient Pell and first-gen, who if they’re going to go to college want STEM, which W&M partly has, but not engineering.

WUSTL is a a great school, but also a rich kid’s school. Not a lot of poors there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chicago and W&M have a similar problem - kids don’t want rigorous academics without a big dose of fun. W&M is hampered by the VA rule that requires 2/3 of students cone from VA. W&M is more like a LAC and most of those schools have 2000 kids, not 6500. Trying to squeeze so many admits out of VA plays to the strengths of NOVA, which is wealthy and educated. Then, W&M gets hit for insufficient Pell and first-gen, who if they’re going to go to college want STEM, which W&M partly has, but not engineering.

WUSTL is a a great school, but also a rich kid’s school. Not a lot of poors there.

UChicago got 37,000 applications for the Class of 2026. About 2,000 kids were accepted, and 1,700 enrolled.

I don’t think they have a problem with kids not wanting to go there.