I’ve never understood the fascination with research universities for undergraduate studies. The VAST majority of the research being conducted is being done by doctoral candidates, often forced to teach undergrads as part of their funding. Many of the schools on the list have reputations for giant lectures and TAs with limited command of English who are not trained to teach. My son’s school, Cal Poly, which does not have a doctoral program, is FAR better for undergraduate education than my school, proudly displayed on the list, was.