<p>For the most part, USC News and World Report college rankings are static year-to-year, with some minor shuffling of +1 or -1. I do not see it likely that any university within the Top 25 changes by any meaningful amount in the near future, USC included. </p>
<p>The rankings don’t change much from year to year but they definitely do change over time. Under Dr. Sample, USC went from 51st to 23rd in the U.S. News rankings, reflective of the university’s growth, fantastic location at the dawn of the 21st century with lots of relevant programs, and dogged pursuit of excellence. Conversely, a school like the University of Michigan has been sliding in the rankings over that same period - a school historically considered on par with the Ivies that some years has fallen out of the U.S. News top 30. Schools like Duke and Wash U. have only been considered truly elite in the last few decades while, for example, Miami of Ohio also used to be considered one of the very best universities in the country, although that certainly isn’t the case nowadays.</p>
<p>I expect USC to continue growing, and it’s ridiculous to presume that it will lose its character in the process. USC’s character is pretty set in stone and very similar to schools like Duke, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, and the like. They tend to attract similar kinds of students, with a strong pre-professional focus and a “work hard play hard” attitude. This isn’t Arizona State, but it certainly isn’t Reed either.</p>
<p>^ I agree with the above. However, in fairness to Michigan, the drop in ranking has been more due to change in USNWR methodology versus a slippage in quality. Michigan is a very wealthy university. It has also become more competitive for admission and recently switched to the Common Application, which will likely boost selectivity. Student selectivity is the major driving force in USNWR rankings. </p>
I question the impact of USC’s unabated growth on its culture. USC used to be a mid sized private school and now it’s perhaps the largest one in America, larger than Cal at the undergrad level and distancing itself forever from hopes of breaking into the elite ranks of private universities. But hey, we have football and will settle for being a private version of a public school but not quite on par with Michigan, UCLA, Cal, or Virginia. As our illustrious Nikias said earlier this year, USC has reached maturity, suggesting that USC, led by the “pantheon” of the top “land grant” universities, will settle comfortably in the top echelons of the second tier, forever out of reach of the perennials yet basking in the quaint platitudes of mythical Greek characters he loves to quote, as though dilletantism will ultimately save the day and convince the world of USC’s academic greatness.
These rankings are such a farce. Did you look what they use to determine your ranking? “Selectivity” is one, so itp ays for universities to go out and solicit as many applications as they can, even from no-hopers. Research figures large too, but not quality of teaching. University of Chicago admitted 40% of applicants in 1990; today it admits 5% but the university admits there has been no change in the quality of the “true” applicant pool.
Michigan also offers very good financial aid, better than USC (and I’m referring to OOS students).
You can find plenty of things to criticize in any university ranking system, and I don’t know that any of them do a good job teasing out quality of teaching.
I strongly recommend the college rankings & college analysis comparisons available at colleges.niche.com. They provide a very thorough category by category analysis with their ranking methodology.
As a parent, back when my daughter was considering various colleges, I did my very best to research all of America’s elite colleges as thoroughly as possible. I of course looked at various college rankings, but I also dug quite a bit deeper into a number of various articles, blogs, alumni statements, etc. To me, and eventually to my daughter, USC (U. of Southern California) clearly emerged as a Top Ten program overall. Eventually, I analyzed the methodology used by a number of different college ranking sources, and I found that the one source that most accurately mirrored our own concerns and priorities was the Niche College Rankings. Coincidentally, Niche also (as this post suggests) concluded that USC is a Top Ten program overall.
https://colleges.niche.com/university-of-southern-california/rankings/
My daughter eventually was accepted by USC and attends there currently. I am surprised though that USC itself does not emphasize the Niche College Rankings, especially as a counter-point to the U.S. News College Rankings. I have noticed that the USC International Office does feature USC’s rank via Niche prominently right next to the U.S. News Ranking, but I have failed to see any USC news reports or Admissions Office features or marketing that also emphasize such. Comparing the two services methodologies side-by-side, I am personally far more impressed with the way that Niche determines its rankings vs U.S. News.
We do think that Niche’s college ranking system s a great tool for prospective college-bound juniors and seniors. Clearly, no one should simply make any college decision based on a single college ranking list. I suggest using many sources, visiting each finalist school and then coming to your own personal decision.