New Graduate School Rankings are out...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

So the new rankings are out. Michigan improved on a couple of fronts, but also lost ground in some others.

The biggest winner this year was Ross, which improved from #11 last year to #7 this year. As far as employers go, Ross has always been one of the top 10 MBA programs anyway, but this new ranking seems to match industry’s sentiment. Again, Ross’ peer assessment and recruiters’ scores were on par with Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke and Yale. As usual, Ross was one of the few MBA programs that excels in every sub-discipline. Most of them were ranked among the top 5 (accounting, Management and Marketing) and all of the them were among the top 10.

Another winner was the College of Engineering, which improved from #5 to #4. The CoE’s peer and recruiters’ assessment ratings remain strong as always, tied with the likes of CMU, Cornell, Georgia Tech and UIUC. As with Ross, the CoE is one of the few that is strong across all sub-disciplines, with the majority ranked in or around the top 5 and all of them in or around the top 10.

The Law school stayed put at #8. Its peer rating and lawyer/judges ratings remain very strong, tied with the likes of Cal, Duke, NYU, Penn and UVa.

The biggest loser, by far, was the Medical School, which dropped from #9 to #15. The methodology must have changed dramatically, because NYU improved from #12 to #3 and and Mayo Clinic improved from #20 to #6. According to peer assessments and residency directors, Michigan medical school remained very strong (tied for 7th place in the nation with Columbia and Duke medical schools). I am not sure what changes in the methodology prompted the seismic shifts in the Medical School rankings.

The School of Nursing improved from #11 to #8.

The School of Public Affairs improved from #8 to #5.

The School of Education improved marginally from #15 to #14.

In the Sciences, Michigan lost some ground:
Biology dropped from #19 to #23
Chemistry stayed put at #15
Computer Science improved from #13 to #11
Earth Sciences dropped from #8 to #10
Mathematics dropped from #9 to #12
Physics dropped from #11 to #13

The Humanities and Social Sciences were not revised this year, so they remained static:
Economics #12
English #8
History #6
Political Science #4
Psychology #3
Sociology #1

2

Jeez this school is good. Look at these rankings! Incredible.

3

“According to peer assessments and residency directors, Michigan medical school remained very strong (tied for 7th place in the nation with Columbia and Duke medical schools).”

PA rankings are all that really matter Alexandre. Real prestige after all is within academia. Notice that the two schools you mentioned are both privates. We all know that USNWR loves privates over publics and skews their criteria to aid their rankings.

4

Here are the criteria used by the US News to determine the ranking of the Medical schools.

Peer Assessment Score:
Columbia 4.4
Duke 4.4
Michigan 4.4
Mayo 3.9
NYU 3.8

Residency Director Assessment Score:
Columbia 4.5
Duke 4.4
Michigan 4.4
Mayo 4.1
NYU 4.0

NIH funds granted to medical school and affiliated hospitals
Columbia $492 million
Michigan: $435 million
Duke $393 million
NYU $382 million
Mayo $354 million

NIH research grant funds per faculty member
Mayo: $400,000
NYU: $354,000
Duke: $263,000
Columbia: $235,000
Michigan: $224,000

Faculty to Student ratio:
Mayo: 3.4 : 1
Columbia: 3.2 : 1
Duke: 3.1 : 1
Michigan: 2.7 : 1
NYU 2.0 : 1

Median Undergraduate GPA:
NYU: 3.93
Mayo: 3.90
Columbia: 3.87
Michigan: 3.82
Duke: 3.80

Median MCAT Score:
NYU: 38
Columbia: 36
Duke: 36
Mayo: 34
Michigan: 31

Acceptance rate:
Mayo: 2.1%
Columbia: 3.5%
Duke: 3.6%
NYU: 4.7%
Michigan: 5.6%

Unless the ranking is based entirely on MCAT scores and GPA, I have no idea how NYU is ranked 12 spots higher than Michigan.

5

^^^^It’s a private school and it’s on the east coast. Any other questions?

6

Peer Assessment Score:
Columbia 4.4
Duke 4.4
Michigan 4.4
Mayo 3.9
NYU 3.8

The only numbers that really matter…

7

“Unless the ranking is based entirely on MCAT scores and GPA, I have no idea how NYU is ranked 12 spots higher than Michigan.”

Median MCAT Score:
NYU: 38
Columbia: 36
Duke: 36
Mayo: 34
Michigan: 31

Is that score for Michigan accurate?

It is listed as 3.78 here:

http://www.medicalschoolsinusa.com/medical-school-rankings/

3.86 here:

http://www.mcattestscores.com/usmedicalschoolsmcatscoresGPA.html

There is absolutely no way that the median MCAT score at Michigan is only a 31! If that is the number USNWR entered in its system, no wonder the school dropped to number 15! Someone at Michigan, perhaps you Alexandre, needs to inform USNWR of their egregious error and have it added to their website. If this is the number used, then USNWR truly screwed up and needs to be taken to task for it!

8

“The biggest loser, by far, was the Medical School, which dropped from #9 to #15”

Actually if the MCAT scores you posted were correct, then the biggest loser (BY FAR) is USNWR! That number is inaccurately listed WAY below the others…it’s ridiculous!

9

The 31 MCAT score is suspicious. Michigan’s mean, historically, was roughly 35 according to the 2017 publication. But it is hard to tell what is accurate and what isn’t. Either way, Michigan medical school is clearly a top 10 program, and even if the median MCAT score truly did drop to 31, it does not justify the drop in ranking. This ranking does not reflect well on the US News and hurts its credibility.

10

^^^Well, then someone needs to let them know! Too many people put too much faith, including universities who love to cite them, in the rankings at USNWR!

11

“The 31 MCAT score is suspicious. Michigan’s mean, historically, was roughly 35 according to the 2017 publication.”

You would think that this would raise a red flag with USNWR editors wouldn’t you? A 31 MCAT score is something that might get you into the University of Alabama medical school, not a school of Michigan’s caliber Let’s face it, USNWR screwed up! I also would bet that they screwed up with NYU’s numbers as well!

“Either way, Michigan medical school is clearly a top 10 program, and even if the median MCAT score truly did drop to 31, it does not justify the drop in ranking.”

I disagree Alexandre. There probably are little subtle distinctions when ranking top medical schools. When incorrect data is so horribly applied, that could be all that it takes to drop a school that far in one year! USNWR should be ashamed if that number was used!

12

“The 31 MCAT score is suspicious”

It’s not suspicious, it’s outright fraudulent!

13

I believe that herein lies the main reason Michigan dropped so much:

"Research Activity (weighted by 0.40 in the research medical school model only, an increase from 0.30 last year; not used in the primary care medical school ranking model)
This year for the first time, based on suggestions from medical school deans, U.S. News added four new indicators of research activity to account for all the research conducted at medical schools: total non-NIH federal research activity, average non-NIH federal research activity per faculty member, total nonfederal research activity and average nonfederal research activity per faculty member. Each of these indicators was weighted at 0.025.

This altered informational point represents 40 percent of the ranking. Perhaps Michigan relies more on NIH funding than other top schools and it’s reflected in its numbers. With a recent concern by medical schools over the possible reduction in this type of funding, USNWR appears to have changed its criterion to reflect this possibility. If they did it for this reason, and ahead of actual cutting, then USNWR has done Michigan a great disservice.

14

Hey, it is USNWR. What do you expect. It is not the first time they have errors in their ranking parameters.

15

^^^I agree billscho. Unfortunately too many people use their rankings as gospel.