Wall Street Journal College Rankings September 18, 2020

The Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education Rankings of 500 colleges and universities are based on 15 key indicators that assess colleges in four main areas: Outcomes (40%), Resources (30%), Engagement(20%), and Environment (10%).

Outcomes = graduates salary & debt burden.

Resources = spending into instruction & student services.

Engagement = student survey results on interactions with teachers & other students.

Environment = diversity.

WSJ / THE Ranking of US Colleges:

  1. Harvard

  2. MIT

  3. Yale

  4. Stanford

  5. Brown

  6. Duke

  7. CalTech

  8. Princeton

  9. Cornell

  10. Northwestern

11)Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
12) Dartmouth College
13) University of Pennsylvania
14) University of Chicago

  1. Columbia

  2. Rice

  3. Vanderbilt

  4. WashUStL

  5. USC

  6. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

  7. Amherst College

  8. Williams College

  9. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  10. Emory University

  11. Pomona College

  12. UCLA

  13. NYU

  14. Notre Dame

  15. Wellesley College

  16. Swarthmore College

  17. Tufts

  18. Georgetown

  19. UNC at Chapel Hill

  20. UCal-Berkeley

  21. Claremont McKenna College (CMC)

  22. Carleton College

  23. Middlebury College

  24. UC-Davis

  25. UC-San Diego

  26. Boston University

  27. Haverford College

  28. Bowdoin College

  29. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  30. Smith College

  31. University of Washington–Seattle

  32. Wesleyan University

  33. Purdue University

  34. Case Western Reserve

  35. Univ. of Rochester

  36. Colgate University

Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education College Rankings 2020 continued:

  1. Univ. of Virginia

  2. Barnard College

  3. Univ. of Miami

  4. Mount Holyoke College

  5. Boston College

  6. Univ. of Florida

  7. Hamilton College

  8. Lehigh University

  9. Davidson College

  10. Univ. of Richmond

  11. Univ. of Texas at Austin

  12. Vassar College

  13. Bates College

  14. Wake Forest University

  15. Wisconsin–Madison

  16. Bryn Mawr

  17. Scripps College

  18. Grinnell College

  19. Tulane University

  20. George Washington University (GWU)

  21. Georgia Tech

  22. Washington & Lee University

  23. College of William & Mary

  24. UC-Santa Barbara

  25. Lafayette College

  26. Franklin & Marshall College

  27. Bucknell University

  28. Macalester College

  29. Univ. of Maryland–College Park

  30. UC-Irvine

  31. Pitzer College

  32. Michigan State University

  33. Santa Clara University

  34. Texas A&M

  35. US Naval Academy–Annapolis

  36. Northeastern Univ. (Boston)

  37. Reed College

  38. Southern Methodist (SMU)

  39. Univ. of Illinois at Chicago

  40. Loyola Marymount

  41. Univ. of Minnesota

  42. Trinity College

  43. Dickinson College

  44. Kenyon College

  45. RPI

  46. Univ. of the Pacific

  47. Univ. of Pittsburgh

  48. Skidmore College

  49. Whitman College

  50. Occidental College

  51. Ohio State University–Main Campus

  52. Colorado College

  53. Gettysburg College

Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education College Rankings 2020 continued:

  1. Colorado College

  2. Gettysburg College

  3. Univ. of Connecticut

  4. Indiana University

  5. Connecticut College

  6. Drexel University

  7. Oberlin College

  8. Penn State–(Main Campus)–University Park

  9. Virginia Tech

  10. DePauw University

  11. North Carolina State University

  12. Trinity University (Texas)

  13. Brandeis University

  14. Denison University

  15. Saint Louis University

  16. College of the Holy Cross

  17. Illinois Institute of Technology

  18. University of Denver

  19. WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)

  20. University at Buffalo (SUNY)

  21. Rhodes College

  22. Seattle University

  23. Babson College

  24. Stony Brook University

  25. Syracuse University

  26. Howard University

  27. Villanova University

  28. BYU-Provo

  29. Creighton University

  30. Simmons University

  31. Union College

  32. Bentley University

  33. Univ. of Utah

  34. Univ. of Arizona

  35. Furman University

  36. Thomas Jefferson University

  37. Spelman College

  38. American University

  39. RISD (Rhode Island School of Design)

  40. Wheaton College (Massachusetts)

  41. Catholic University of America (Wash DC)

  42. Yeshiva University

  43. Berea College

  44. Drake University

  45. Elon University

  46. Rutgers University–NB

  47. Sewanee–The University of the South

  48. Univ. of Georgia

  49. St. Olaf College

The next group of 50 colleges & universities (#151 through #200) include many schools frequently discussed here on College Confidential.

I will post them later tonight.

An important Top Ten list:

Top Schools for Resources based on academic spending, student-faculty ratios, and research output:

  1. CalTech

  2. Harvard

  3. MIT

  4. Princeton

  5. Brown

  6. Vanderbilt

  7. Northwestern University

  8. Rice University

  9. Dartmouth College

  10. Columbia University

WSJ/THE Top Schools for Student Outcomes based on graduation rate, teaching reputation, graduate salaries, and student debt:

  1. Princeton

  2. Duke

  3. Harvard

  4. Stanford

  5. MIT

  6. Yale

  7. Cornell

  8. CalTech

  9. Dartmouth College

  10. University of Chicago

  11. Northwestern University

  12. Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

  13. Univ. of Michigan

  14. Brown

  15. Univ. of Pennsylvania

  16. Vanderbilt University

  17. Amherst College

  18. UCLA

  19. WashUStL

  20. Williams College

  21. UCal-Berkeley

  22. UNC

  23. Columbia University

  24. Rice University

  25. USC

  26. Virginia

  27. Illinois

  28. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

  29. Univ. of Florida

  30. Notre Dame

  31. UC-San Diego

  32. University of Washington–Seattle

  33. Georgia Tech

  34. UC-Davis

  35. Georgetown University

  36. Pomona College

  37. Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison

  38. Emory University

  39. Wellesley College

  40. Boston College

  41. Middlebury College

  42. NYU

  43. Univ. of Maryland

  44. Tufts University

  45. Carleton College

  46. Univ. of Texas at Austin

  47. Swarthmore College

  48. Purdue

  49. Bowdoin College

  50. Claremont McKenna College (CMC)

  51. UC-Santa Barbara

  52. Haverford College

WSJ/THE 2020 College Rankings continued:

  1. Univ. of Delaware

  2. Univ. of Massachusetts at Amherst

  3. Virginia Military Institute (VMI)

  4. Allegheny College

  5. Willamette University

  6. Univ. of San Diego

  7. Univ. of San Francisco

  8. Marquette

  9. SUNY- Binghamton

  10. The College of Wooster

  11. RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology)

  12. Hobart & William Smith

  13. Univ. of Iowa

  14. Linfield College

  15. Ohio Northern

  16. Univ. of Tulsa

  17. Lawrence University

  18. Pepperdine University

  19. Kalamazoo College

  20. Wheaton College–Illinois

  21. Chapman University

  22. Texas Christian University

  23. Univ. of Colorado at Boulder

  24. Stevens Institute of Technology

  25. Baylor University

  26. Sarah Lawrence College

  27. Temple University

  28. George Mason University

  29. Ursinus College

  30. Univ. of Detroit Mercy

  31. Loyola Univ. --Chicago

  32. Muhlenberg College

  33. Colorado School of Mines

  34. Fordham University

  35. Samford University

  36. Westmont College

  37. Florida State University

  38. St. Lawrence University

  39. Clemson University

  40. Gustavus Adolphus College

  41. Washington College

  42. UC-Riverside

  43. New Jersey Institute of Technology

  44. SUNY-Albany

  45. Fairfield University

  46. Arizona State University (ASU)–Tempe

  47. Bradley University

  48. Univ. of Colorado at Denver

  49. Ohio Wesleyan University

  50. Clarkson University

The Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education College Rankings include 500 colleges & universities. The first 400 colleges & universities are ranked; the remaining 100 schools are listed alphabetically and grouped as one common rank of #401-500.

Below I will select schools which seem to be discussed on this website rather than list all remaining 300 schools.

  1. Lake Forest College

  2. Southwestern University

  3. University of Portland

  4. Gonzaga University

  5. Susquehanna University

  6. Earlham College

  7. Ithaca College

  8. Beloit College

  9. Univ. of Oregon

  10. CUNY City College of New York

  11. Knox College

  12. Mercer University

  13. Miami University of Ohio

  14. Providence College

  15. DePaul University

  16. Rutgers-Newark

  17. Stonehill College

  18. Univ. of Kansas

  19. Univ. of Dayton

  20. Univ. of Oklahoma

  21. Auburn University

  22. Univ. of Scranton

  23. CUNY-Baruch

  24. Univ. of Wyoming

  25. UC-Santa Cruz

  26. Austin College

  27. Hendrix College

  28. The College of New Jersey

  29. Bard College

  30. Iowa State University

  31. LSU–Louisiana State University

  32. Rutgers-Camden

  33. Embry Riddle

  34. Rollins College

  35. San Diego State University

  36. CUNY-Hunter

  37. USF-Tampa

  38. Univ. of Minnesota-Morris

  39. Univ. of Alabama–Birmingham

  40. Hampshire College

  41. Univ. of South Carolina–Columbia

  42. Univ. of Tennessee–Knoxville

  43. University of Mississippi

  44. University of Vermont

  45. Elizabethtown College

  46. Embry Riddle-Prescott

  47. The University of Missouri–Mizzou

  48. UCF–Univ. of Central Florida

  49. UNLV–Univ. of Nevada Las Vegas

  50. Eckerd College

  51. Univ. of Nebraska–Lincoln

  52. Suffolk University

  53. Berry College

  54. Univ. of Houston

  55. Stetson University

  56. University of New Mexico (Main Campus)

401-500) University of Alabama
401-500) Univ. of Alabama at Huntsville

Berklee College of Music
CalArts
California State University (7 campuses)
University of Idaho
Mississippi State University
New Mexico State University

Ohio University–Athens
Portland State University
University of Rhode Island
SUNY-Buffalo

Towson University
Utah State University
West Virginia University
Western Washington University

1 Like

The top ranked public schools are:

23 Michigan

26 UCLA

33 UNC-Chapel Hill

34 UCal-Berkeley

38 UC-Davis

39 UC-San Diego

43 Illinois

45 Univ. of Washington--Seattle

47 Purdue University

51 Univ. of Virginia

56 Univ. of Florida

61 Univ. of Texas--Austin

65 Wisconsin--Madison

71 Georgia Tech

73 College of William & Mary

74 UC-Santa Barbara

77 Maryland

80 UC-Irvine

82 Michigan State

83 Texas A&M

83 US Naval Academy at Annapolis

89 Univ. of Illinois at Chicago

91 Univ. of Minnesota

97 Univ. of Pittsburgh

100 Ohio State University

104 UConn

104 Indiana University

109 Penn State--UP

109 Virginia Tech

112 NC State

121 Univ. at Buffalo (SUNY)

124 Stony Brook Univ. (SUNY)

133 Univ. of Utah

135 Univ. of Arizona

149 Univ. of Georgia

151 Univ. of Delaware

151 UMass--Amherst

151 VMI (Virginia Military Institute)

158 SUNY--Binghamton

162 Univ. of Iowa

173 Univ. of Colorado at Boulder

175 Temple University

178 George Mason University

183 Colorado School of Mines

187 Florida State University

189 Clemson University

192 UC-Riverside

193 New Jersey institute of technology

193 SUNY--Albany

196 Arizona State University--Tempe (ASU)

198 Univ. of Colorado at Denver

Honors Colleges and Honors Programs at large public universities deserve a ranking of their own as an imbalance of resources are invested in honors colleges and programs and outcomes are often significantly superior for students in public honors colleges and honors programs.

The top ranked LACs in the WSJ / THE College Rankings for 2020 are:

21 Amherst College

21 Williams College

24 Pomona College

29 Wellesley College

30 Swarthmore College

35 Claremont McKenna College (CMC)

36 Carleton College

37 Middlebury College

40 Haverford College

42 Bowdoin College

43 Smith College

46 Wesleyan University

50 Colgate University

52 Barnard College

54 Mount Holyoke

56 Hamilton College

59 Davidson College

59 University of Richmond

62 Vassar College

63 Bates College

66 Bryn Mawr

66 Scripps

68 Grinnell College

71 Washington & Lee University

74 Lafayette College

76 Franklin & Marshall College

77 Bucknell University

77 Macalester College

80 Pitzer College

83 US Naval Academy--Annapolis

86 Reed College

92 Trinity College

93 Dickinson College

94 Kenyon College

98 Skidmore College

98 Whitman College

100 Occidental College

102 Colorado College

Some surprising results for LACs when broken down by category.

The top two LACs–Amherst College & Williams College–rank quite high for “outcomes” at #19 (Amherst) and at #13 (Williams College), yet do poorly in the category of “Engagement Rank” finishing in the bottom 20% at >400 (a rank from #401 to #500).Engagement Rank is based on survey results regarding teaching and interactions with students and faculty.

The Engagement Rank category of “>400” is the same ranking received by CalTech, Princeton University, Haverford College, Middlebury College, Hamilton College, Kenyon College, and by Davidson College. Not bad company, but still disappointing.

Swarthmore College does well in the Engagement Rank category at #48–tied with Northwestern University, Rice University, and Duke University.

Engagement Rank = “how engaged students feel they are with their professors, their peers, and their education.”

This doesn’t surprise me at all. The top liberal arts colleges attract an awful lot of people who know from an early age that they want careers on Wall Street. And, even though they don’t offer business degrees, they nevertheless force their students to take Economics as a highly theoretical, math-heavy, substitute. Kids at Duke and Rice have a much easier time engaging with their studies because they are usually offered in completely separate schools from the arts and science college.

The two primary areas of focus of the WSJ / THE rating & ranking system both deal with money = “Outcomes” & “Resources”. Outcomes account for 40% of the rating formula, while Resources count for 30% of the rating formula.

Money is important in the real world and in the world of academia. I find it helpful to rank individual schools–as opposed to multi-school systems–by endowment.

The top ten ranked schools enjoy substantial endowments–although Brown & Duke outperform in this respect.

The top ten schools are:

Harvard
MIT
Yale
Stanford

Brown
Duke
CalTech

Princeton
Cornell
Northwestern

The top 4 LACs in the ranking also enjoy healthy endowments:

21 Amherst College

21 Williams College

24 Pomona College

29 Wellesley College

My best guess is that wealthy colleges & universities will fare even better in the various rankings due to the economic impact of the novel coronavirus Covid-19.

It is likely that full-pay students will enjoy a significant admissions bump in the current and upcoming years–even to the wealthiest schools as they have not been immune to unexpected financial downturns due to the effects of the coronavirus.

I don’t know how their endowment managers managed their endowments, but it was pretty obvious to anyone who understood that infectious diseases in humans cross racial and international borders, that we would be affected at least as badly as Wuhan was. In addition, studying all stock market drops in response to crises since the Great Depression, it’s evident that the market recovers before anything else - the drop is usually sudden and steep, followed by a rapid and steep recovery. So it is very possible that the endowment managers for universities made BIG profits in the market for their endowments.

Interesting comment. Certainly endowment gains are possible, but an institution can still suffer short-term financial stress depending upon the source of revenue.

Tuition & fees, room & board are revenue streams that have been interrupted due to the coronavirus

Endowment gains or losses are typically paper gains or losses and the uses of endowment funds may be restricted.

The above assertions lead me to believe that full-pay students will enjoy an admissions bump during this year & in the near future.

As a side note: I cannot find Harvey Mudd College in the WSJ / THE college Rankings published on September 18, 2020 even though the other Claremont colleges are listed.

^^It’s hard to point to any examples of where wealthy colleges actually made money at the end of a financial panic. In order to do that, they would have to have an infusion of ready cash to take advantage of any dips in stock prices, something they don’t usually have. In most cases, they are lucky to have a recovery to base line. In that respect, they’re no different than the average 401-K.

^As for Harvey Mudd, they’re only 895 students. Does that even make the cut-off for inclusion in the ranking?

All eyes are on this year’s ED applications which were invented by the east coast LACs as a bulwark against the Ivy League edge in nationwide branding. Will full-pay families apply at the same rates as in years past? What will happen to colleges like the Claremonts, Amherst and Bowdoin that didn’t completely re-open due to precautions against the coronavirus? There is open talk on CC that it could scramble the decades long rankings pecking order that traditionally placed the wealthiest LACs at the top of USNews and other polls.

@circuitrider Caltech has less than 1000 undergrads and it is ranked #7.

Duke has only two undergraduate colleges, Trinity (arts & sciences) and Pratt (engineering). Most students interested in business choose to major in econ with the finance track, and the Markets & Management Studies certificate* is popular too.

Duke’s undergraduate programs in environmental science and public policy are offered in association with the Nicholas School and Sanford School, respectively, but they’re housed within Trinity.

*Certificate programs at Duke require more courses than a minor but fewer than a major.