Thoughts? Predictions?
ADMIN NOTE: To jump to discussion of the actual, published USNews 2017 Rankings, click here and start at post #171:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19930400/#Comment_19930400
LINK TO USNEWS 2017 RANKINIGS:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities
My prediction is that the thread discussing it will be long and look identical to the last several years’ threads. Oh, and LBad will complain about where UNCW is ranked.
The usual comments about how all rankings are irrelevant.
The usual comments about why X University should be ranked higher than Y University.
Predictions
Villanova ranks in top 60 nationally
Lehigh back in the top 40
Temple rises
Northeastern and Tulane fall a few places
Oh no, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!
Northeastern has been on a long mission to increase its ranks; why do you think it’ll fall?
Because he has an ax to grind against Northeastern for some reason.
Because they went from I believe 57 to a four way tie for 47 in a year.
If they lose that tie they fall out of the top 50.
And Villanova comes into the National Rankings for the first time.
With all the eminent knowledge of my nineteen long years alive, I believe I have finally compiled enough information to come up with an objectively correct and unbiased ranking reflecting the true state of higher education in America today.
Here it is. Try not to be too impressed.
I will be judging US News’s quality with its degree of accordance with my ranking.
@HydeSnark Delete that post before they discover that you leaked the rankings!!!
@wayneandgarth tryna be slick, bruh?
Anyways, I think we’ll rise a couple places. Well, I hope so, or else these rankings are broken lol. But at least they won’t have the likes of Pace or Montclair State ahead of UNCW.
@LBad96 UNCW has to rise now with you reflected in their numbers. You got this!
Alas I am only a second year 
Prediction: They will not thoroughly explain their methodology, and the number of lists they publish will continue to increase.
I predict that they will sell magazines and advertisement on their website.
I also predict that there will be students and parents looking at that list with respect for the Top 10/20/50 and noting that school 11/21/51 is not fit for anything useful, wondering who would really want to go there(?).
@ClarinetDad16 you know, I didn’t even think about the fact that USNWR always uses the incoming freshman stats from the previous fall semester (the current fall stats aren’t released by the time USNWR comes out)! Right on! 
@MurphyBrown I had a classmate who left Montclair after one semester to attend the local CC in the spring. He’s getting ready to start at Rutgers this fall.
@HydeSnark I’m also a sophomore, but people always think I’m older than I am, haha!
I predict that many people feel unhappy that their schools drop in the rank and many people think their schools should derserve a better rank when seeing them moved up one or two knots.
Funny because colleges usually don’t move up more than 1-2 ranks unless you’re Northeastern
And I actually think some rankings may shift a lot; 12% of regional universities will shift to national universities. This may change already ranked national universities.
Pretty easy to figure out if you have the time or ability to compile data. It’s called…wait…“common data sets”
Unfortunately it says nothing about if it’s in my “wheel house” Maybe I just came up with an app