Wake Forest ranking drop?

[Anonymous]

I noticed that Wake Forest's ranking is now #46 according to US News & World Report, which I found surprising. I remember Wake Forest being ranked far higher than schools like Lehigh but now they're tied? Have they been getting fewer applications?

[Anonymous]

In all the years we have surveyed the rankings, the 2024 has brought the most dramatic changes. The main reason is a much greater emphasis on metrics of social mobility and related outcomes versus traditional metrics of test scores, class sizes, and institutional wealth.

Some critics of the rankings, and they are legion, claim that US News changes its methodology so frequently that year to year comparisons are almost meaningless. And it is certainly striking that the flagship universities of Kentucky, Alabama, and Nebraska could have fallen 73, 63, and 48 places respectively between 2017 and 2024. Yet the new rankings are a boost to many public universities, whose rankings as a whole have risen an average of four places since 2021 and almost two places since 2017.

Indeed, when compared to rankings for 2017, eleven public universities have gained at least 20 places, led by UC Riverside with a gain of 42 places. Rutgers, NC State, Stony Brook, and Oregon all rose 30 or more places.

Most complaints have come from private universities–and with reason. The average 2024 rankings for the 62 private universities in our continuing survey declined by a whopping 14 points since 2017 and by 8 points since last year. Although the most dramatic declines have occurred for private universities ranked out of the top 50 in most years, even elite institutions such as Chicago, Dartmouth, and Columbia have dropped 9, 7, and 7 points respectively during that timeframe.

“With rankings, sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug,” consultant Teresa Valerio Parrot pithily explained to the influential site Inside Higher Ed (IHE). “I feel like we got to see a number of institutions who in the past have either been silent or have praised where they are in the rankings, and with this year’s methodology change suddenly have objections and grievances … that’s not really a great look.”

In the same piece, Christopher Newfield, a higher education scholar and the research director of the Independent Social Research Foundation in London, said that now “the product that’s being sold is social mobility. That’s an improvement over status and prestige. But neither of those things are about the intellectual, nonpecuniary benefits of a college education.”

Nothing other than a dramatic shift in methodology can explain a one-year drop of 18 points for Wake Forest, 29 points for Tulane, 26 points for Brigham Young, and 33 points for American.

https://publicuniversityhonors.com/2023/09/23/average-and-year-by-year-u-s-news-rankings-for-123-national-universities-2017-2024-big-changes/

[Anonymous]

It is not the school that has changed. It is the ranking formula.

US News has been changing its formula over the past few years to put greater emphasis on Pell grant and other social mobility factors. This tends to favor public universities and disfavor some private universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I noticed that Wake Forest's ranking is now #46 according to US News & World Report, which I found surprising. I remember Wake Forest being ranked far higher than schools like Lehigh but now they're tied? Have they been getting fewer applications?

Water seeks its own level. 46 seems about right, maybe even a little high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I noticed that Wake Forest's ranking is now #46 according to US News & World Report, which I found surprising. I remember Wake Forest being ranked far higher than schools like Lehigh but now they're tied? Have they been getting fewer applications?

Water seeks its own level. 46 seems about right, maybe even a little high.

+1

[Anonymous]

It always seemed to be a little high before the recent drop.

[Anonymous]

Is there a noticeable difference between Wake and Elon?

[Anonymous]

Lots of mid-size schools had their rankings change after US News started favoring poor people schools. Case Western, Tulane, William and Mary, Dartmouth, Emory, Northeastern, Boston College, Tufts, etc. all had ranking drops even though nothing changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a noticeable difference between Wake and Elon?

Yes. One has test scores comparable to UVA (Wake) and the other is essentially a public school that doesn't receive state funding (Elon).

[Anonymous]

US News instituted social equity metrics into its rankings so colleges that serve a higher percentage of lower SES students benefited.

For example, UC Merced in California has a 90% acceptance rate and a 10% yield. Its average SAT scores pre-test ban was 1070.

Yet US News now states that it is a top 50 college in the US.

[Anonymous]

This week’s Wake Forest troll post right on schedule. Get a new hobby folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:US News instituted social equity metrics into its rankings so colleges that serve a higher percentage of lower SES students benefited.

For example, UC Merced in California has a 90% acceptance rate and a 10% yield. Its average SAT scores pre-test ban was 1070.

Yet US News now states that it is a top 50 college in the US.

Which is one reason among many others that US News rankings are not nearly as influential as they used to be. I doubt anyone seriously cares about its rankings anymore. The information age has overtaken a magazine's influence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:US News instituted social equity metrics into its rankings so colleges that serve a higher percentage of lower SES students benefited.

For example, UC Merced in California has a 90% acceptance rate and a 10% yield. Its average SAT scores pre-test ban was 1070.

Yet US News now states that it is a top 50 college in the US.

Insane

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a noticeable difference between Wake and Elon?

Yes. One has test scores comparable to UVA (Wake) and the other is essentially a public school that doesn't receive state funding (Elon).

What about all the TO students.

[Anonymous]

Wake has stayed true to itself while the rankings have changed. It is a tier above Elon and we’ll work a look for the serious student who wants the total college experience.