Rank, Score, Standardized test scores of admitted freshman converted to percentile rank, retention rate, graduation rate, USNWR National Universities ranking
1 98.2 Yale University 98.9% 99% 96% 3
2 98.0 Harvard University 99.0% 97% 97% 2
3 97.9 Princeton University 98.8% 98% 96% 1
4 97.4 Dartmouth College 97.9% 98% 96% 11
5 97.4 Stanford University 98.3% 98% 95% 4
6 97.4 University of Pennsylvania 97.7% 98% 96% 8
7 97.2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 98.9% 98% 93% 7
8 97.2 University of Chicago 98.9% 99% 92% 4
9 96.9 Columbia University in the City of New York 98.3% 96% 95% 4
10 96.9 University of Notre Dame 97.8% 97% 95% 16
11 96.8 Duke University 97.7% 97% 95% 8
12 96.7 California Institute of Technology 99.4% 96% 92% 10
13 96.7 Washington University in St Louis 98.4% 96% 94% 14
14 96.6 Brown University 97.1% 97% 95% 16
15 96.3 Northwestern University 98.0% 96% 93% 13
16 96.2 Vanderbilt University 98.3% 96% 92% 16
17 95.9 Rice University 97.9% 96% 92% 19
18 95.9 Tufts University 97.3% 97% 92% 27
19 95.7 Johns Hopkins University 96.9% 97% 92% 12
20 95.7 Cornell University 96.9% 96% 93% 15
21 95.3 Georgetown University 96.1% 96% 93% 21
22 94.9 University of Virginia-Main Campus 94.4% 98% 93% 23
23 94.5 University of Southern California 95.5% 97% 90% 25
24 94.4 Boston College 95.2% 95% 92% 31
25 94.0 Carnegie Mellon University 97.1% 95% 87% 25
26 93.9 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 93.8% 97% 91% 29
27 93.9 University of California-Berkeley 94.2% 96% 91% 20
28 93.6 Emory University 94.8% 95% 90% 21
29 93.5 College of William and Mary 94.0% 96% 90% 33
30 93.1 Brandeis University 93.8% 95% 90% 35
31 92.5 University of California-Los Angeles 90.9% 96% 92% 23
32 92.2 University of Rochester 93.9% 96% 85% 33
33 92.1 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 91.2% 97% 89% 30
34 91.8 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 94.5% 94% 84% 42
35 91.7 Wake Forest University 92.9% 94% 87% 27
36 91.7 Northeastern University 95.8% 96% 79% 42
37 91.4 New York University 94.4% 92% 85% 32
38 91.4 Lehigh University 92.3% 93% 88% 40
39 90.2 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus 93.5% 95% 79% 35
40 90.0 Case Western Reserve University 95.0% 92% 78% 38
41 89.8 University of Maryland-College Park 91.6% 94% 82% 62
42 89.5 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 90.0% 94% 84% 42
43 89.5 University of Florida 88.4% 96% 85% 48
44 89.3 University of California-San Diego 88.6% 94% 86% 37
45 89.2 University of Miami 92.3% 91% 81% 48
46 88.6 Boston University 89.3% 92% 84% 42
47 88.5 George Washington University 91.0% 92% 80% 54
48 88.2 Ohio State University-Main Campus 89.4% 92% 82% 54
49 88.1 University of Wisconsin-Madison 87.7% 95% 82% 47
50 87.8 Southern Methodist University 90.6% 90% 80% 58
My aim here isn’t to add to the proliferation of such lists, or to argue that this is a superior list to the existing ones, or even to start a bunch of arguments over the ranking of particular schools.
I created this for my own purposes, and I included the USNWR rankings just to see how this method stacked up. I was honestly surprised by the high correlation, and that made me think that it might have some real value. For one thing, it is totally objective, simple, and easy to understand. Unlike the USNWR, it allows you to see the actual number the rankings are based on, so the differences between schools are clear and not just the raw rank (and of course, it isn’t filled with a bunch of tied rankings!)
Great list. What is still lacking in all rankings is a probability of acceptance measure using a quantitative anchor, 29 ACT, for example. Could be SAT, and could be a higher or lower level.
While clearly not perfect and completely ignoring demographics, ECs, geography, etc., it would at least give students and parents some guidance as to what really is a Reach, Match or Safety.
To me, when reading the posts I see very little understanding or appreciation for the odds. It is good to be optimistic, but sometimes realism is much more constructive.
I actually do have a set of formulas that computes an estimated acceptance rate based on an applicant’s data (test scores, grades, rigor, class rank) and the institutional characteristics (admit rate, admitted student stats, etc) - I think it actually works reasonably well as far as it goes, but right now it is not fully automatic in terms of taking stuff like hooks into account. (And of course, some of the data has to come from the CDS when available and that has to be manually entered.)
@NickFlynn Awesome. This is key for parents and students, hopefully reducing stress, saving time and money and choosing a more fitting group of schools.
.retention rate and graduation rate are given too much weight imho because they measure essentially the same thing.
If a college does not retain a student then he obviously doesn’t graduate!
By using those 2 data points you are essentially giving double weight to one [mega]factor.
I know the data comes from the CDS’s, but I would have chosen between retention or graduation rates to come out with a more broad based ranking.
@menloparkmom Possibly, but the correlation with the UNSWR is substantially higher with both grad and retention rate included, so that’s why I stuck with it.
Basically, I think of the two halves of the formula as a measurements of inputs and outputs. The double weighted test scores are the input side (measuring indirectly stuff like prestige, selectivity, etc) and the retention + graduation rates are the output side (a rough measure of things like student satisfaction, the counseling/advising strength of the school, etc…)
And again, I don’t think this is a perfect rating system - obviously, there is tons of stuff I am not even trying to incorporate here. I just thought it was interesting how well it correlates with the USNWR rankings. I used to have a much more complicated formula that took more factors into account (admit rates, yield, student/faculty ratio, etc) but I actually think this is actually better in terms of results (and obviously, much better in terms of comprehensibility.)
Is it possible that retention rate correlates to academic ease as much as it correlates to the quality of students?
If classes are really hard and grading is not curved, some kids are going to have a difficult time passing. That will affect retention rate negatively.
@prezbucky You might think that, but does this look like a list of easy schools?
Yale University
University of Chicago
Dartmouth College
University of Pennsylvania
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stanford University
Princeton University
That’s the top 8 schools in terms of retention rates.
I would have picked yield over retention rate- I think it gives families a better idea of how selective a college REALLY IS!
Colleges that have low acceptance rates AND HIGH yield rates can be viewed quite differently than colleges that have low acceptance rates AND LOWER yield rates .
Given that this is undergraduate focused, and since the inputs allow for it, to be truly relevant, you should incorporate the top 25 or so liberal arts colleges into the analysis and see where the top 50 undergraduate institutions fall out to get an accurate picture.
@jvarin I am planning to do a similar list for the LACs…I chose to break it up the same way as USNWR did.
@menloparkmom Yield (and admit rate, to at least some degree) is largely a measure of reputation / prestige. Not to completely dismiss the importance of those factors, but I think the quality of the student admitted (imperfectly measure by test scores) is a much more important factor. (My opinion, of course, but it is my list.)
More to say about all this tomorrow, but it’s time to go enjoy my Sunday. Have a good day, everyone!