What colleges do you believe are going to be climbing up the us news rankings. I was looking at Lehigh and it seemed relatively low on the us news rankings because it was based off the 2014 statistics. Since then, Lehigh has decreased it’s acceptance rate by 10% so I was thinking it would climb up quite a lot since the acceptance rate is now as low as colleges that are ranked in the #30s. Does anyone believe any other colleges are on the rise?
Why do you care about US News rankings? Is this just to have fun with meaningless data or to cheerlead your favorite school? The school is what the school is. It isn’t going to be any different if it goes up 5 spaces or down 5 spaces.
@me29034 Even though US News rankings can be biased they still set the basis for highly ranked universities like the HYP and other very prestigious universities. To me it is a big deal if Lehigh goes from the equivalent of UGA to University of Michigan, but whatever I’ll just try to match your negativity from now on!!!
@collegeguru2017 You don’t understand. These ratings are not important. The only people who really place much emphasis on them are high school students. What do you mean when you say that they “set the basis for highly ranked universities”?
@collegeguru2017 I imagine that most of the top schools have seen their acceptance rates decline, so in comparison, it may not help Lehigh that much.
Please look at the methodology for the USNews rankings. Acceptance rate accounts for a whopping 1.5% of the total ranking. So a change in acceptance rate will have a minimal effect of the ranking. Lehigh’s lowest ranking component is the subjective “peer evaluation” component and that only changes over time.
Also ignore those who say that the rankings are irrelevant.
I agree with @TomSrOfBoston on both counts. Keep in mind that these rankings exist for only one purpose…to make money for those publishing them. Each year the methodology is “updated” to ensure some changes. Nobody wants to see HPY & S as the top 4 every year (the very fact you know who I’m referring to is a bit sad).
Lehigh is an interesting study in change, but more so as a comparison to some of the neighboring peer schools. Lafayette has moved up in similar ways to Lehigh’s fall. Why? Is there really that much change in the past few years in the quality of the education or experience? I doubt it.
@TomSrOfBoston I didn’t say the ratings were irrelevant. They are taken seriously by high school students and so the schools do try to get as high on the list as possible as part of their marketing efforts. There is no purpose for the lists beyond marketing. I was just concerned that the OP has indicated that it is a big deal to him if the school moves up in rankings. This is just not the way you should pick a school.
Northeastern has been “on the rise” for a decade now and is currently tied at 47th place with Lehigh. Both schools have the same low peer evaluation score which holds them back from rising further. Many evaluators have a disdain for Northeastern because of its unapologetic emphasis on career preparation instead of a classic liberal arts education. I have no idea why Lehigh scores low on peer evaluation because it is an outstanding school.
@TomSrOfBoston could you explain the “peer evaluation” component
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings
Thats’s odd, the website will not let me copy and paste the relevant section. It is half way down the page and is called “Undergraduate Academic Reputation”. It is based on opinions of those supposedly in the know. It accounts for 22.5% of the total score!
The rankings matter to the schools because they matter to the students. And therefore they matter to the alumni. And as a result they matter to the administration.
That being said there are multiple rankings and historical trends within the rankings. Lehigh has historically been in the low to mid 30s and highly ranked for many years. Let’s see if Lehigh returns into that range and some of the recent risers have peaked. There is a newcomer to the ranks this year in Villanova they should be in the top 50-60.
@ClarinetDad16 Villanova is a confusing school they should be nationally ranked with schools like Lehigh but Villanova is only regionally ranked and compared to Emerson even though they are very different schools…
This year Villanova enters the National rankings moving out of the regional.
@ClarinetDad16 when are the national rankings coming out
September
UNC Wilmington is on the rise…still waiting for USNWR to give us the proper respect we deserve and put us in the Top 10 Southern regionals.