<p>I really dislike US News rankings, but I would like to see SDSU ranked higher. :) The average SAT score is up. The graduation rate is up. Is this the year?</p>
<p>Probably not. SDSU is a square peg which doesn't fit into USNews' round holes. It's classified as a National Research University because of its size and the amount of research and number of graduate programs it offers - but by law it technically can't grant doctoral degrees. (It does so by partnering with a variety of other Universities which are not hindered by that law.) So under the USNews' standards it will always be ranked lower than it would if it were, say, classified as a Master's-oriented school like the rest of the CSUs such as Cal Poly, CSU Chico, etc. So while SDSU attracts a student body which is more academically talented than many schools in the top 100 of the USNews rankings of schools in its class, I suspect it will be destined to remain stranded in the fourth tier for the forseeable future.</p>
<p>...and it didn't. However, you're right, the 6 year graduation rate is a big part of the equation, and SDSU's was horrible in the past. We're just now getting to the graduation horizon of the students who were admitted after SDSU was allowed to become selective in admissions (starting with the freshman class of 1998) and the graduation rate is climbing very fast as a result. Given SDSU's rankings in other areas (peer review, student selectivity) it may well be that SDSU will climb a rung next year or the year after.</p>
<p>It looks like one of the highest rated schools in tier 4, so it is only a matter of time. I look at SDSU compared to Arizona (which is in tier one) and the differences aren't very large.</p>