I find discussions like this a bit troubling, because we’re trying to reduce a school to a number or a tier, there are broader issues.
If we want to say that there is an objective difference in some statistic, fine. If that leads you to create tiers (which are largely arbitrary), but in many cases people get really hung up on numbers.
Let me give you a couple of examples –
Michigan vs Dartmouth. Both are excellent schools. But both have completely different vibes. (anyone who has visited both campuses can say this). I think it unlikely that many students who have done their homework would say that Michigan is my #1 choice and Dartmouth my #2 (or vice versa). They are going to attract students looking for different things. The relative ranking here is much less important than the fit.
Northwestern Engineering vs Cornell Engineering. Again, both excellent schools. When we looked a few years ago (so things might have changed), Northwestern was very big on a team based approach, Cornell a more traditional engineering education. Which is better – I suppose it depends on the student. (I Think) that Cornell was the higher ranked engineering school the year my D looked, but again, the difference in the number was totally swamped by the fit. (Aside – Both my W and I are Cornell Alumni, D chose Northwestern, and looking back, it was most likely the better school for her)
Northwestern (Medill) vs Harvard (or any other HYPSM school you care to think of). Let’s concede that Harvard is at a higher tier, in general. Let’s say a student really wants to go into Journalism. Would Harvard be the better choice for that student? The overall rankings really don’t take into account that some ostensibly lower ranked school may, in fact have departments that are superior choices for certain students.
So, for sake of argument – let’s say that HYPSM is more competitive based on some objective statistical measure (or not!!) and that for this category, it’s a ‘better’ school (whatever that means) for most (but not all) students with a choice, all other things being equal.
Other than that, can anyone here provide a meaningful distinction in quality of education, opportunities for grad school, opportunities for jobs and career advancement, for any of the other schools we’ve been discussing? I don’t think so.
… While I’m ranting.
My view of USNWR – it’s a good tool for evaluating schools you might not have heard of. So let’s say we look at the ranking list, and with respect to the schools you do know, you say "Yeah, this makes sense, some schools may be a couple of slots too high or too low, but overall the list makes sense. Now you’re looking at colleges, and let’s say that your “match schools” Include Penn State, Florida, and Villanova (All ranked 50 by USNWR). You look at the list and see Pepperdine is also ranked #50. Maybe you say hmmmmmm, I don’t know anything about this Pepperdine, the list makes overall sense, maybe we should look into this. Here, the rankings are helpful, because they provide useful information.
However, at the top of the list – most students who are competitive for the top 20 or so USNWR schools know all about these schools, there aren’t a lot of sleepers here. So, apart from bragging rights, what does it really mean.
