<p>Best</a> Colleges - Education - US News and World Report</p>
<p>Princeton second.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, in the rankings that matter, Dartmouth is going downhill. Do you have any thoughts on why?</p>
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<p>Who’s to say that the National University Ranking matter at all? Personally, I’m just fine with my undergrad school being known as having the best undergrad teaching in the nation and <em>only</em> being ranked 11th compared to schools with huge grad programs… :)</p>
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<p>Huh? Last year in the National University rankings Dartmouth was ranked #11. This year it is ranked #11. That doesn’t seem like a very steep “dowhill” to me.</p>
<p>Yeah Dartmouth has been #9-11 for a long time. I think one issue is that Dartmouth doesn’t game data - for better or for worse. One huge issue is student/ faculty ratio. Big Universities (cough cough Chicago and WashU) game the system by including EVERY prof (often graduate or research profs) including those who might not even teach undergrad, whereas at Dartmouth the ratio is far more accurate. Happens in other areas as well.</p>
<p>slipper: Every professor at Chicago is required to teach undergrads as well. Don’t make statements unless you can back them up with facts. Also, student:faculty ratio comprises a very small part of the actual USNWR ranking, so said universities don’t “game” the system.</p>
<p>Trolly, unfortunately what matters to most on these boards is the focus on undergraduate education and not graduate school. As many think, Dartmouth is the best Ivy just ahead of Princeton for undergraduate education. That ranking matters more than the one you cite, doesn’t it? Phuriku, that isn’t what Slipper said- having to teach undergrads is different than wanting to.</p>
<p>I think the “problem” for Dartmouth, if there is one, is the PA. It is supposed to measure the undergraduate experience, but in reality it more reflects graduate school reputation. See Berkeley.
Having been a student and degree holder at the University of Chicago, and living and working here now, I can speak about that. Much higher PA than Dartmouth. In my PhD program at Chicago, none of the professors wanted to teach undergraduates, and they weren’t shy about telling us graduate students that. Even the profs who had the reputation of being student friendly wished they didn’t have to do it. The senior professors generally managed to avoid undergraduates altogether. Those are the folks the PA is based upon.
I am a happy parent whose kids ended up at Dartmouth and Princeton, if you want my bias.</p>
<p>this is exactly why I applied to and chose Dartmouth. :)</p>
<p>I heard an hypothesis (unsupported until the next year’s ranking comes out) that USN is concerned that keeping Dartmouth out of top 10 for too long would damage its already meager credibility. USN is concerned because Dartmouth has traditionally been the fourth best Ivy at the undergrad level through out most of the past century and it has ranked as the fourth best Ivy through out most of the eighties and early nineties. It is hypothesized that USN knew Dartmouth would rank first in undergrad teaching, as it did in the nineties, so it published the undergrad teaching this year to help boost Dartmouth’s PA score next year.</p>
<p>Although the hypothesis is unsupported. The reasoning behind it makes sense to me.</p>
<p>I am not so sure Dartmouth cares about the USN general ranking. What they care about is having the #1 undergraduate school in the country (nice that USN recognizes this); having the #1 business school in the country, which they do according to Fortune and the Wall Street Journal; and well regarded engineering and medical which the new President will likely work on. Dartmouth holds its “College” name, even though it is a university for a very significant reason that is instilled in its tradition.</p>
<p>So glad I got in…this just confirms it. Still kind of annoying that Dartmouth is underrated by the overall rankings. Oh well, not like I really needed another ego boost.</p>
<p>It’s actually amazing Dartmouth is as high as it is given the methodology. It’s an undergraduate college being compared with research bohemouths.</p>
<p>hmom5: Dartmouth does have graduate schools, although it’s true that the prime focus is on undergrads. I just don’t like the way US News’s rankings are done.</p>
<p>I have to agree with what IPBear said on some levels. Every time I hear the USNWR rankings discussed Dartmouth comes up as a subject of controversy.</p>
<p>The fact that dartmouth was ranked (ahead of princeton) as the number one undergrad institute is amazing. The emphasis on the undergrads is engrained in Dartmouth’s philosophy and we are all stoked. </p>
<p>National rankings say little about a school. Dartmouth has always been an excellent place for undergrad (the primary purpose of collegeconfidential) and the ltest ranking only further supports that.</p>