What are the 3rd and 4th tier schools?

The most useful ranking is your personal ranking which takes into account costs to you and your personal interests, and likelihood of admission. Ranking lists are less useful because they have no value component. Arguably, any school with a degree in is inferior to one in . Likewise , a high cost school may be superior to a low cost school based on your estimated return. Look at lists from that perspective as well as cost and create your own.