USNWR College Rankings 2018 - Reactions?

[Anonymous]

Where can i find archives for prior years? I keep getting redirected to 2018 whenever I Google.

[Anonymous]

UVa ahead of Michigan? According to DCUM, that just can' be!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVa ahead of Michigan? According to DCUM, that just can' be!

and where was Maryland? Way down the list I suppose.

[Anonymous]

Of local interest: American University rose 5 places to #69, with an admit rate of 26% (compared with 40% for GW, ranked #56). Maybe some admissions gaming going on there, but also a great new president who seems to be doing good things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of local interest: American University rose 5 places to #69, with an admit rate of 26% (compared with 40% for GW, ranked #56). Maybe some admissions gaming going on there, but also a great new president who seems to be doing good things.

I just read her bio. Very impressive!

But doesn't the prior prez get the credit for the jump in rankings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anybody else thinks USNWR messes with the weights every year to get a respectable-but-not-too-shocking shakeup that's "newsworthy"?

Having built indices myself, I know that messing with the weights is really easy to do, even as you publish the indicators that go into your index. Who knows, maybe they publish an unchanging set of weights too, although I don't respect this enough to investigate (even though DC's college is at #5 this year).

For sure! It'd be interesting to see the formulas from the last decade or so put side by side. I bet they tweak things just enough to shuffle the order.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of local interest: American University rose 5 places to #69, with an admit rate of 26% (compared with 40% for GW, ranked #56). Maybe some admissions gaming going on there, but also a great new president who seems to be doing good things.

Selectivity has nothing to do with the President. It's a simple stat that can be gamed with VIP applications that are almost completely filled out, fee waivers for non-need reasons, counting partial applications, using Early Decision, using demonstrated interest, and waitlisting a ton of people and only offering to those you know will accept back.

[Anonymous]

Bowdoin higher than Pomona? Wtf?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin higher than Pomona? Wtf?

what's the problem? Seems about right to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of local interest: American University rose 5 places to #69, with an admit rate of 26% (compared with 40% for GW, ranked #56). Maybe some admissions gaming going on there, but also a great new president who seems to be doing good things.

Selectivity has nothing to do with the President. It's a simple stat that can be gamed with VIP applications that are almost completely filled out, fee waivers for non-need reasons, counting partial applications, using Early Decision, using demonstrated interest, and waitlisting a ton of people and only offering to those you know will accept back.

ED admit rate is something like 85%...that surely has had an impact. Stats like average test scores have gone up, too, though that seems to be a trend everywhere. A strong president with good connections and ideas will also improve programs, which I predict will make a difference going forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin higher than Pomona? Wtf?

what's the problem? Seems about right to me.

Lol

[Anonymous]

The list is garbage. The peer assessment score just have universities helping one another. Mortimer Zuckerman and the entire overpriced college system in this country is corrupt. Everyone making money from overpaid college administrations to people at the college board. The entire system is making money off of you and guess what it is corrupt at the top. Admissions clearly are bias and corrupt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of local interest: American University rose 5 places to #69, with an admit rate of 26% (compared with 40% for GW, ranked #56). Maybe some admissions gaming going on there, but also a great new president who seems to be doing good things.

Keep on wonking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parchment is full of fake submissions.

And even if it weren't, it would only show the preferences of kids who applied to and were admitted to both. My UofC kid had zero interest in Yale, so no app there. But a clear preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin higher than Pomona? Wtf?

what's the problem? Seems about right to me.

Lol

lol what? Sounds correct to me. Any specifics suggesting otherwise????