US News Top 25 for 1991-2008

iceman1 · August 19, 2007, 10:41am

FYI - Rankings have not changed much over the past 18 years:

Institution 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991

Harvard University 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1
Princeton University 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 4
Yale University 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 4 1 3 1 2 3 3 3 2 3
Stanford University 4 4 5 5 5 4 5 6 6 4 5 6 4 5 6 4 3 2
California Inst. of Technology 5 4 7 8 5 4 4 4 1 9 9 9 7 7 5 5 4 5
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology 7 4 7 5 4 4 5 5 3 4 6 5 5 4 4 5 6 6
Duke University 8 8 5 5 5 4 8 8 7 6 3 4 6 6 7 7 7 7
University of Pennsylvania 5 7 4 4 5 4 5 6 7 6 7 13 11 12 16 14 13 13
Dartmouth College 11 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 11 10 7 7 7 8 8 7 8 8
Columbia University 9 9 9 9 11 10 9 10 10 10 9 11 15 9 11 10 9 10
Northwestern University 14 14 12 11 11 10 12 13 14 10 9 9 13 14 13 13 14 23
University of Chicago 9 9 15 14 13 12 9 10 13 14 14 12 11 10 9 9 10 11
Washington University 12 12 11 11 9 12 14 15 17 16 17 17 20 20 18 20 18 24
Cornell University 12 12 13 14 14 14 14 10 11 6 14 14 13 15 10 11 12 9
Rice University 17 17 17 17 16 15 12 13 14 18 17 16 16 12 14 12 15 16
Johns Hopkins University 14 16 13 14 14 15 16 15 7 14 14 15 10 22 15 15 11 15
Brown University 14 15 15 13 17 17 16 15 14 10 9 8 9 11 12 18 17 12 19
Emory University 17 18 20 20 18 18 18 18 18 16 9 19 17 16 25 21
University of Notre Dame 19 20 18 18 19 18 19 19 19 18 19 17 18 19 25
University of California-Berkeley 21 21 20 21 21 20 20 20 20 22 23 27 26 23 19 16 16 13
Vanderbilt University 19 18 18 18 19 21 21 22 20 20 19 20 22 18 20 25 19
Carnegie Mellon University 22 21 22 22 23 21 23 23 23 25 23 28 23 24 24 19 24 22
University of Virginia 23 24 23 22 21 23 21 20 22 22 21 21 19 17 21 22 21 18
Georgetown University 23 23 23 25 23 24 23 23 23 20 21 23 21 25 17 17 19
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 25 24 25 22 25 25 25 25 25 25 23 24 24 21 23 24 22 21
University of California-Los Angeles 25 25 26 25 25 26 25 26 25 25 25 28 31 28 22 23 23 17
Wake Forest University 30 27 27 28 25 26 28 28 - - 25 - - - - - -
U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 27 27 29 29 28 28 25 27 24 27 25 27 - - - 25 20 -
Tufts University 27 27 28 27 28 28 29 29 25 23 22 25 - - - - -
University of Rochester - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 25 -

iceman1 · August 19, 2007, 10:48am

Corrected: First number is for 2008

FYI - Rankings have not changed much over the past 18 years:

US News Top 25 for 1991-2008

Institution 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991

Harvard University 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1
Princeton University 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 4
Yale University 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 4 1 3 1 2 3 3 3 2 3
Stanford University 4 4 5 5 5 4 5 6 6 4 5 6 4 5 6 4 3 2
California Inst. of Technology 5 4 7 8 5 4 4 4 1 9 9 9 7 7 5 5 4 5
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology 7 4 7 5 4 4 5 5 3 4 6 5 5 4 4 5 6 6
Duke University 8 8 5 5 5 4 8 8 7 6 3 4 6 6 7 7 7 7
University of Pennsylvania 5 7 4 4 5 4 5 6 7 6 7 13 11 12 16 14 13 13
Dartmouth College 11 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 11 10 7 7 7 8 8 7 8 8
Columbia University 9 9 9 9 11 10 9 10 10 10 9 11 15 9 11 10 9 10
Northwestern University 14 14 12 11 11 10 12 13 14 10 9 9 13 14 13 13 14 23
University of Chicago 9 9 15 14 13 12 9 10 13 14 14 12 11 10 9 9 10 11
Washington University 12 12 11 11 9 12 14 15 17 16 17 17 20 20 18 20 18 24
Cornell University 12 12 13 14 14 14 14 10 11 6 14 14 13 15 10 11 12 9
Rice University 17 17 17 17 16 15 12 13 14 18 17 16 16 12 14 12 15 16
Johns Hopkins University 14 16 13 14 14 15 16 15 7 14 14 15 10 22 15 15 11 15
Brown University 14 15 15 13 17 17 16 15 14 10 9 8 9 11 12 18 17 12 19
Emory University 17 18 20 20 18 18 18 18 18 16 9 19 17 16 25 21
University of Notre Dame 19 20 18 18 19 18 19 19 19 18 19 17 18 19 25
University of California-Berkeley 21 21 20 21 21 20 20 20 20 22 23 27 26 23 19 16 16 13
Vanderbilt University 19 18 18 18 19 21 21 22 20 20 19 20 22 18 20 25 19
Carnegie Mellon University 22 21 22 22 23 21 23 23 23 25 23 28 23 24 24 19 24 22
University of Virginia 23 24 23 22 21 23 21 20 22 22 21 21 19 17 21 22 21 18
Georgetown University 23 23 23 25 23 24 23 23 23 20 21 23 21 25 17 17 19
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 25 24 25 22 25 25 25 25 25 25 23 24 24 21 23 24 22 21
University of California-Los Angeles 25 25 26 25 25 26 25 26 25 25 25 28 31 28 22 23 23 17
Wake Forest University 30 27 27 28 25 26 28 28 - - 25 - - - - - -
U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 27 27 29 29 28 28 25 27 24 27 25 27 - - - 25 20 -
Tufts University 27 27 28 27 28 28 29 29 25 23 22 25 - - - - -
University of Rochester - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 25 -

MstrLinks · August 19, 2007, 3:22pm

Very nice list iceman. Very interesting to look at. I still think Harvard belongs at the top like it did in the 90s.

iceman1 · August 20, 2007, 4:30pm

Harvard is at the top because its 18-year average puts it there. It has been number 1 for 11 of the past 18 years, and never lower than number 3 (once). Princeton has been number 1 for 10 of the past 18 years, and as low as number 4 (thrice).

cghen · August 20, 2007, 6:50pm

Hint: vB</a> code is your friend

[noparse]



Year         08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91
Harvard      2  2  1  1  1  2  2  2  2  1  1  3  1  1  1  1  1  1
Princeton    1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  4  1  1  2  2  2  2  2  4  4
Yale         3  3  3  3  3  2  2  2  4  1  3  1  2  3  3  3  2  3
Stanford     4  4  5  5  5  4  5  6  6  4  5  6  4  5  6  4  3  2
Caltech      5  4  7  8  5  4  4  4  1  9  9  9  7  7  5  5  4  5
MIT          7  4  7  5  4  4  5  5  3  4  6  5  5  4  4  5  6  6
Duke         8  8  5  5  5  4  8  8  7  6  3  4  6  6  7  7  7  7
U Penn       5  7  4  4  5  4  5  6  7  6  7  13 11 12 16 14 13 13
Dartmouth    11 9  9  9  9  9  9  9  11 10 7  7  7  8  8  7  8  8
Columbia     9  9  9  9  11 10 9  10 10 10 9  11 15 9  11 10 9  10

[/noparse]

becomes:



Year         08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91
Harvard      2  2  1  1  1  2  2  2  2  1  1  3  1  1  1  1  1  1
Princeton    1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  4  1  1  2  2  2  2  2  4  4
Yale         3  3  3  3  3  2  2  2  4  1  3  1  2  3  3  3  2  3
Stanford     4  4  5  5  5  4  5  6  6  4  5  6  4  5  6  4  3  2
Caltech      5  4  7  8  5  4  4  4  1  9  9  9  7  7  5  5  4  5
MIT          7  4  7  5  4  4  5  5  3  4  6  5  5  4  4  5  6  6
Duke         8  8  5  5  5  4  8  8  7  6  3  4  6  6  7  7  7  7
U Penn       5  7  4  4  5  4  5  6  7  6  7  13 11 12 16 14 13 13
Dartmouth    11 9  9  9  9  9  9  9  11 10 7  7  7  8  8  7  8  8
Columbia     9  9  9  9  11 10 9  10 10 10 9  11 15 9  11 10 9  10

when you add appropriate spaces between the names and numbers. Give it a try!

Makes for much easier reading of charts!

ridewitbd24 · August 21, 2007, 12:47am

damn caltech ppl really are smarter than everyone else...even icemen!

kyledavid80 · August 21, 2007, 12:57am

Here's an even better table -- goes all the way to '83.

<a href="http://chronicle.com/stats/usnews/%5B/url%5D">http://chronicle.com/stats/usnews/</a>

superwizard · August 21, 2007, 7:42am

One thing that I noticed is that since 1993 (except for the 2000 ranking which was quite different) the top three schools are always: Harvard Yale and Princeton while Stanford and MIT are not too far behind (Stanford has never been lower than 6 MIT 7). Now I know I'm a bit biased but with all those fluctuations why hasn't either university in these 15 years beat at least one of HYP? It seems to me that US News tweaks the rankings to make sure that that is the case.

Further evidence: Stanford was ranked #1 in '83,'85,'88 and #2 in '91 and #3 in '92. Has Stanford become less competitive? On the contrary...

kyledavid80 · August 21, 2007, 8:08am

^^ Glad you're noticing that. US News wants to make sure that the golden three (no, Stanford isn't included, no matter how much people around here say it is) are the top, followed by a few other very elite ones (yes, Stanford, MIT, etc.). It also tries to make sure that no public breaks the top 20 -- even putting Vanderbilt and Notre Dame ahead of schools like Berkeley and UVA.

Here's an interesting list -- I averaged all years that US News has ranked colleges (using Excel, mind you), and came out with this ranking:

<ol>
<li>Harvard </li>
<li>Princeton </li>
<li>Yale </li>
<li>Stanford </li>
<li>MIT </li>
<li>Duke </li>
<li>Caltech </li>
<li>Dartmouth </li>
<li>Penn </li>
<li>Columbia </li>
<li>Chicago </li>
<li>Cornell </li>
<li>Brown </li>
<li>Northwestern </li>
<li>JHU </li>
<li>Rice </li>
<li>WUStL </li>
<li>Berkeley </li>
<li>Emory </li>
<li>Notre Dame </li>
<li>Vanderbilt </li>
<li>UVA </li>
<li>Georgetown </li>
<li>Michigan </li>
<li>CMU </li>
<li>UNC </li>
<li>UCLA </li>
<li>Tufts </li>
<li>USC</li>
</ol>

superwizard · August 21, 2007, 9:51am

Interesting list KyleDavid80! It would also be very interesting to see the average from 1994 onwards when it seems like USNews changed its policy...

slipper1234 · August 21, 2007, 11:38am

Funny when I went to school Dartmouth was 7 or 8 and Penn wasn't even on the radar.

sakky · August 22, 2007, 5:14am

[quote]
It also tries to make sure that no public breaks the top 20

[/quote]

Uh, what are you talking about? Berkeley was in the top 20 as recently as 2006.

kyledavid80 · August 22, 2007, 7:04am

^^ yes, and a couple times before that. But generally lately, it's been in the lower 20s, sometimes as high as 27. US News seems to be even tweaking the formula so that schools like Vanderbilt and Emory are placed higher than it.

biztogo · August 22, 2007, 11:00am

Any ranking with Berkeley below 10 is considering too subjective.

Please check Shanghai JTU's rew ranking out, which ranks Berkeley #3 in the world. Those chinese scholars used all objective data. One can argue that, that ranking is more into research than undergraduate education. Yeah, right. Then why don't we do a semi-research universities/LACs ranking for schools like Dartmouth, Brown, or something like that since they are not research-oriented universities?

Funny, double/triple standard to fit whatever SOME people want - that's what the whole ranking thing does.

gellino · August 22, 2007, 11:09am

^Now everyone seems to think that Penn is so impressive. What happened in 1998 that made Penn go from ranking ~ #15 in the previous eight years to suddenly being consistently ranked in the single digits thereafter? Was there a sudden one year class improvement that persisted or some underlying change in ranking methodology? Now, it seems to have become a self-fulfilling prophesy and students who never would have considered Penn in 1997 are suddenly drawn to it in 2007 because of USNWR. It's unbelievable how much influence they have now garnered from obsequious followers.

JohnnyK · August 22, 2007, 11:54am

It IS impressive. You should try it on some time ;)

sakky · August 22, 2007, 9:15pm

[quote]
^^ yes, and a couple times before that. But generally lately, it's been in the lower 20s, sometimes as high as 27. US News seems to be even tweaking the formula so that schools like Vanderbilt and Emory are placed higher than it.

[/quote]

The year that Berkeley was ranked #27 was the year that California budget cuts hit Berkeley hard. Frankly, Berkeley *deserved * to have a low ranking that year, as many of those budget cuts were infuriating to the students and made for a poor experience.

Think about having to continuously dial for 3+ hours to get a modem connection from your dorm onto the Internet (back in those days when broadband was not available and students in their dorm rooms got onto the Internet by dialing into the Berkeley dialup server through modems). Berkeley couldn't reduce the wait-times because it didn't have enough money to increase IT infrastructure. I remember those days. If you wanted to get onto the Internet, you would command your modem to start dialing, and then go do other things to kill time- i.e. go to the gym, go to dinner, watch some TV, hang out with friends, etc. Sometimes when you came back after doing all that, your computer would still be dialing because it still hadn't found an open connection. {In fact, this led to students actually leveraging their network to find graduate students who would be willing to give them access to exclusive dial-in servers that their graduate programs ran, as the wait-times for those would be basically zero. So the graduate students had plenty of access to resources, but the undergrads were left to fend for themselves.}

In fact, I remember a guy back in those days who was a Berkeley student talking to his girlfriend. She went to some local no-name private school that was ranked nowhere close to Berkeley. She was telling him how she found some very interesting information on the Internet (probably about some weekend getaway place they were heading to), and how he should dial into the Internet so that they could decide whether they should go. He had to explain to her that at Berkeley it would take hours for him to even get a dialup connection and how it would be far far faster if she just told him over the phone what she read on that website. She was incredulous, as she was used to the notion of getting online in mere seconds, such that she didn't even know that you could set up a computer's modem for continuous dial (because she didn't need to know). I mean, come on. That's embarrassing. Here is a guy who was going to Berkeley - one of the premier research and technology schools in the world - and yet his girlfriend who goes to a no-name school had far better access to the Internet than he did.

I would actually argue that the #27 ranking was actually a good thing, as it provided that kick in the pants that spurred the Berkeley administration to actually make changes to improve the undergrad student experience. That ranking sparked a LOT of meetings on campus regarding what the school could do better, including several forums where students could submit demands to the administration. That included actually building better IT infrastructure to support the student demand for the Internet. While obviously this is a unprovable counterfactual, I suspect that if Berkeley's ranking had never fallen to 27, then all those meetings would have never taken place, and consequentially, many of the beneficial changes that were subsequently made would never have occurred.

DSC · August 22, 2007, 10:02pm

[quote]
Any ranking with Berkeley below 10 is considering too subjective.

Please check Shanghai JTU's rew ranking out, which ranks Berkeley #3 in the world. Those chinese scholars used all objective data. One can argue that, that ranking is more into research than undergraduate education. Yeah, right. Then why don't we do a semi-research universities/LACs ranking for schools like Dartmouth, Brown, or something like that since they are not research-oriented universities?

Funny, double/triple standard to fit whatever SOME people want - that's what the whole ranking thing does.

[/quote]

You do realize that that was almost all graduate affected. That ranking was a complete joke that utilized no factors relating to teaching, and used an extremely flawed judgement of research. RAND would probably be top 5 according to that ranking, and it is a corporation.

Berkeley is an excellent institution, but that ranking has nothing to do with that. It also is at it's best for graduates, where it focuses, and where it is less affected by it's instate needs and size. It isn't a top 10 undergraduate institution. It can be for those who maximize it, but so can many schools. Berkeley isn't 'special' for UG's, it is however very much so for grads.

And once again - that asian ranking is a complete and utter joke which should be burnt from your and everyone else's mind. (unless you want to go to a Math/Sci grad school, in which case it could almost be close to valuable)

sakky · August 23, 2007, 6:16pm

[quote]
Please check Shanghai JTU's rew ranking out, which ranks Berkeley #3 in the world. Those chinese scholars used all objective data. One can argue that, that ranking is more into research than undergraduate education.

[/quote]

Nobody disputes that Berkeley is a research powerhouse that is stellar if you want to get a PhD.

But the fact is, the vast majority of Berkeley's undergrads will not become future researchers. Hence, Berkeley's vaunted research acumen doesn't do them much good.

[quote]
Then why don't we do a semi-research universities/LACs ranking for schools like Dartmouth, Brown, or something like that since they are not research-oriented universities?

[/quote]

Good idea. Why don't we?

Thread		Replies	Views
US News Top 25 for 1991-2008 Dartmouth College	14	66	April 17, 2021
US News Top 25 for 1991-2009 Dartmouth College	10	3837	April 17, 2021
Compilation of US News Top 25 over the past 15 years Dartmouth College	1	68	April 16, 2021
Compiled US News Rankings for the past 16 years College Search & Selection	15	66	April 15, 2021
Part I: US NEWS RANKINGS 87'-07', plus 11' College Search & Selection	18	55	April 15, 2021

US News Top 25 for 1991-2008

POPULAR STATES

SEARCH SAT SCORES

SEARCH ACT SCORES

SEARCH GPA’S

US News Top 25 for 1991-2008

Related topics

POPULAR STATES

SEARCH SAT SCORES

SEARCH ACT SCORES

SEARCH GPA’S

CONNECT WITH US