Whether we like it or not, the current version of U.S. News rankings is considered the gold standard. Period.

NP. Standard for who? DCUM parents?

Employers did not suddenly change their perception of universities when the universities' rankings changed dramatically in the last few years.

Families can use whatever rankings they want, or better yet, rank their preferences their own way. US News jumped the shark the last couple of years. I find it interesting that I'm not the only one referencing older editions of US News.

Whether we like it or not, the current version of U.S. News rankings is considered the gold standard. Period.

The problem is that, outside of MIT, Stanford, the Ivy League, and a few others, the perceived “elite” or “near-elite” status of schools is largely determined by these rankings for most of the U.S. population. And this matters if you are seeking status. Any change in methodology causes widespread concern because it can lead to dramatic shifts in rankings, often impacting how a school is perceived. For example, if a school like Washington University were to drop 50 places, it could severely harm its reputation for eliteness, even though the quality of education hasn’t changed in the short term. For current students and alumni, this is particularly troubling because the ranking likely played a significant role in their decision to attend. A sudden shift in rankings undermines a key factor in that decision, which is understandably disconcerting.

My solution? Either attend an Ivy League school, MIT, or Stanford—or stop worrying about outside rankings and the perception of near-peer institutions. If the ultimate goal is a quality education, why should rankings matter?

Anonymous wrote:It's definitely flexible, since we're talking about US News here, which is crap to begin with. It would be nicer if DCUM could all use QS, THE or ARWU.

If you use those rankings, then a number of top 50ish schools are literally ranked like 450.

Anonymous wrote:Actually the 2020 list is the best - right before the world went insane: https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/u-s-news-world-report-posts-2020-college-rankings

Yes! This is the list we use as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't matter because if you fall outside of the Ivies and non-Ivy top 10, you're the loser when playing the eliteness game.

Exactly. Although I would say T12-T15, with schools like UChicago, Duke, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, ND, Hopkins added to the Ivies.

I like the tier ideas. Does anyone really see that major of a difference in terms of "prestige" between WashU and Emory? Or BU and NEU? BC and Tufts? GWU and American? Miami and Wake? Tulane and SMU? USC and UCLA, etc.

None of what you said is consistent. How is Notre Dame and Georgetown different than Emory and WashU? Nortre Dame and Georgetown are the weakest T25 schools actually they have the lowest global ranking of 378 and 310 respectively compared to 67 and 30.

Global rankings are nonsense in the realmworld

Less nonsense than national rankings? Georgetown and Notre Dame are only respected in the American context. The others have international cashe. They all have the same reputation scores for the undergrad ranking as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about Syracuse and RPI? Both have been in the Top 50 from time to time.

I think of them as Top100. Because I know students recent grads. They aren’t in the same league as say BC

Wrong. Syracuse and BC are both in the ACC. RPI is D3.

T60 or even T70 is new T50.
Then ignore the overrated ones especially due to Pell Grant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't matter because if you fall outside of the Ivies and non-Ivy top 10, you're the loser when playing the eliteness game.

Exactly. Although I would say T12-T15, with schools like UChicago, Duke, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, ND, Hopkins added to the Ivies.

I like the tier ideas. Does anyone really see that major of a difference in terms of "prestige" between WashU and Emory? Or BU and NEU? BC and Tufts? GWU and American? Miami and Wake? Tulane and SMU? USC and UCLA, etc.

None of what you said is consistent. How is Notre Dame and Georgetown different than Emory and WashU? Nortre Dame and Georgetown are the weakest T25 schools actually they have the lowest global ranking of 378 and 310 respectively compared to 67 and 30.

Global rankings are nonsense in the realmworld

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't matter because if you fall outside of the Ivies and non-Ivy top 10, you're the loser when playing the eliteness game.

Ted Pick and John Waldron might disagree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't matter because if you fall outside of the Ivies and non-Ivy top 10, you're the loser when playing the eliteness game.

Exactly. Although I would say T12-T15, with schools like UChicago, Duke, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, ND, Hopkins added to the Ivies.

I like the tier ideas. Does anyone really see that major of a difference in terms of "prestige" between WashU and Emory? Or BU and NEU? BC and Tufts? GWU and American? Miami and Wake? Tulane and SMU? USC and UCLA, etc.

None of what you said is consistent. How is Notre Dame and Georgetown different than Emory and WashU? Nortre Dame and Georgetown are the weakest T25 schools actually they have the lowest global ranking of 378 and 310 respectively compared to 67 and 30.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T50 using USNWR 2018 - pre TO, pre pandemic, and not the current methodology that places mobility over academics. To be clear I do not disagree with the institutional policies that promote social mobility, I just disagree that it should be part of ranking methodology.

2018?

Nope.

2017, Which is the last year without Social Mobility and DEI policies included.

All rankings since the 1964 Civil Rights Act are invalid.

The Make Rankings Great Again contingent.

Maybe, when I say T20 I mean Emory, Georgetown etc.