@Uniwatcher So if an expensive private university denies admission to applicants who have a low probability of remaining and graduating they rise in the rankings and game the system. And the problem with that is…?
“5 way tie for 39th. Its kinda silly.”
Not so silly. In fact, I think putting the entire ranking in 5-school buckets instead of trying to split hairs makes more sense. As it is they slice the baloney way too thin in their attempt to create an exact top to bottom hierarchy.
Kinda hard to imagine a way of looking at things so that CalTech isnt in the first tier…who does what they do better than they do?
Reed #87 LOL
US News is shameful in how unfairly it evaluates Reed. I admire Reed’s gumption in not giving in to the bullying.
(note - I have absolutely no connection to Reed - I’ve never visited and I don’t even know anyone who goes there)
Reed, in its way, finished first in the rankings.
@prezbucky I find it interesting you put Middlebury and Wellesley on the same tier with Williams, Amherst, Swarth and Pomona. I’ve always seen it (and perceive it myself) as on par with with most of the schools in your Tier 2. Why do you think they are Tier 1? I also wouldn’t put Michigan a whole tier higher than UCLA. Probably not UVA either.
The question Reed’s effective non-ranking begs: what WOULD Reed’s LAC ranking be if it played the game? Any guesses? Top 10? Top 25?
Back when Reed submitted information to US News, they were usually in the top 15 and I think they broke top 10 a couple of times.
I’d say it’s the #1 school in the world for the right type of kid, and the worst nightmare for most others. I’ve never met anyone who felt indifferent about Reed.
What @ChasingMerit says about Reed is true for any school. The most important factor is fit.
@prezbucky it is so funny the way you put Michigan and UVA one tier above UCLA!
(No need to even argue with you)
crazy re tufts. insanely low acceptance rate with extremely high stats, sat/act, class rank, etc. should be top 25. Plus, I think, they haven’t gone to wl in several years.
@suzyQ7 Middlebury is not test optional. They are test flexible - a subtle, but significant difference.
SAT2 scores are not reported to USN so being text flexible gives them the same result, they don’t have to report SAT or ACT scores to USNews and they won’t be counted.
Tufts has been on the decline for a few years now. Like the Tulane of the northeast.
@farandsure While endowment isn’t included in the measure, it directly impacts Faculty Resources (20%) and Financial Resources (10%). The 3 main sources of income for LACs are tuition, donations and endowment revenue. (Research institutions have a 4th, research grants, while public schools have state funding). Endowment spending improves both faculty resources (more full time, and higher paid faculty) and spending associated with students. Endowment revenue can also be used to improve grants, etc., lowering the cost of the school and that goes directly toward improving student recruitment and hence graduation and retention rates.
Money makes everything better 
@odannyboySF : As a guess, I’d say Reed would be 16th.
I think of test scores as part of the whole “selectivity” factor, and yes, that’s part of it. Really, though, it’s about my estimation of overall undergrad program quality and rep. Mine is not a scientific ranking. I would call it a perceptive ranking: my perception of everything I’ve read and heard through the years. Hopefully I’ve been able to correctly recall enough of it. hehe
And to all who mentioned it: I realized that I forgot W&M. I was doing the rankings off the top of my head, and when I make long lists like that w/o checking sources, sometimes mistakes happen. For the record, I would put W&M in Tier 2 of the National Publics… though they really seem like a LAC/U hybrid, as many of you know.
@citivas
I wrote, deleted, and re-wrote LAC Tiers 1 and 2 multiple times because I couldn’t decide what to do with Midd, Wellesley and Bowdoin. I had the same issues with Chicago, Columbia and Penn in the U ranking. Maybe both trios should have been their own tiers.
16 for Reed would be much too high IMO
From CDS:
2009 6 year cohort graduation rate: 82%
2008: 79%
Freshman retention: 88%
Re: Alumni giving:
"We’re concerned about money—or more truthfully, how many alumni give back to the college. Reed’s current giving rate lags embarrassingly far behind our peers. "
http://www.reed.edu/reed_magazine/september2012/articles/features/givingback.html
These are a few factors where Reed does not compare favorably to the top ranked LACs and have little to do IMO with “gaming” or not gaming admissions for rankings.
“Princeton is a fine example of doing one thing and doing it very well.”
You mean eating clubs?