Those will be familiar to some as among the most important global research universities located in the US. The selectivity of the college at those universities is basically irrelevant to that.
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I called my working son and asked him to let me know if he sees a change in his paycheck in the coming weeks, based on the new rankings. 
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In which case, percent employed or in grad school within six months of graduation should be a factor. As has already been discussed elsewhere, outcomes based on salary without adjusting for major or cost of living is actually kind of useless.
Someone going to Alabama and
getting a job in Birmingham at $80,000 a year salary is actually doing better than someone going to Davis and getting a job in San Jose for $100,000.
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That sounds pithy but of course, isn’t true. Students shouldn’t be reduced to stereotypes.
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I am surprised that they called out other Universities. not a good look.
When I was in Admissions, that was something we stayed away from.
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As a UC Riverside alumnus…moved up to #76 (national rank), is very impressive that newest UC Merced (not even 20 years old) already up to #60! All 9 UC’s now in T40 (public rank), and T82 (national rank)…very impressive!
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UC Merced is really impressive. At 20 years old, we need to dissect how this UC in the middle of nowhere is making a difference.
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Not if you want to work in certain sectors or certain locations. Short or long term.
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Newest UC Merced rose the most of any UC this year (now #60) and has the advantages of the smallest UC of under 10k students with a much more collaborative, personal touch education…if you are ok with the inland location. Reminds me of my time at UC Riverside way back in the 80’s when there were only 6k students and no UC Merced yet!
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This was my point. The regional LACs with which I’m familiar are not stumbling towards their own extinction just yet.
And again, is non-elite vs. top flagship a fair fight? No. Compare like with like. If your comparator is top LACs, they’re only getting richer and more popular, and attracting more students, every year. Even though their football teams don’t play on television and specialize in representing the Big 10 by losing Rose Bowls. Sorry @prezbucky.
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Touche. We did win three straight in the 90s, over UCLA (twice) and Stanford. The three losses this century were all tight games – bad luck. hehe
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The loss to Oregon was tough because you had Russell Wilson, Al Toon, a great TE (whose name I forget) and one of Wisconsin’s best ever running backs before Jonathan Taylor. That Oregon team was good though, and Darron Thomas never got the credit he deserved as a steely-nerved passer.
And now I should be getting a “get back on topic” reminder, so I’ll stop there. 
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Ron Dayne
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Yep, lets get on topic please!
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Agreed. Depending on the program, PhD students are often leading their own research, or at least following their own line of work in a larger lab, and may need research assistants.
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Well, I didn’t make the claim - you did. I think the better take has been covered well by others in this thread.
That’s not even persuasive as anecdata. Meanwhile, all the many “non-elite” LACs in the PNW, as just an example, are humming along just fine, attracting as many applications as ever. Probably best to let it go.
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UCs are now top 20, WashU doesn’t even make the cut apparently.
I’m happy for my school and its big sister, but no way are we higher than Dartmouth and WashU. It just makes the rankings fall under slightly more suspicion.
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When it comes down to it, it’s really just about selling magazines. Or on line access (to college compass).
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What makes them materially better that UCLA and Cal?
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Reputation and citation impact are useful–even central–for parents if they’re interested in having their kids learn from active scholars who are at the forefront of conversation on the topics they’re teaching. If you learn econ, or history, or computer science from someone who has no reputation and no active scholarly profile about those matters, then you’re probably not getting the most up-to-date education, nor are you getting the most effective recommendation letters, career advice, etc. It makes a world of difference.
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