<p>So QS recently came out with their 2010 World University Rankings. It was interesting to see it since when I was choosing which schools to apply to, I just used US school rankings.</p>
<p>So far, two things seemed really interesting.</p>
<p>One, how low they placed Dartmouth College. In the US it is very well respected, and has the Ivy League status. Yet it ranks 90th on QS's list.</p>
<p>The other is how great UChicago placed on the world list. It is 8th this year, and has consistently been 7th or 8th in years past. They even placed it above Princeton, Stanford, and Columbia. Though schools like Harvard and Yale are still closer to the top, I still think that there are schools outside of HYSPM that can be just as good. To me, this ranking (although the methodology is not perfect) this is semi-proof of this. </p>
<p>So, what are your thoughts on the Dartmouth and UChicago rankings? Are they bogus? Do you agree?</p>
<p>Feel free to add thoughts on any of the other rankings as well. One that made me happy was UMichigan, which placed 15th in the world. Go U of M!</p>
<p>QS world ranking is based on opinions of the British newspaper journalists or experts. I guess they have a little of bias towards promoting and ranking the UK universities higher than those of US. That’s my personal opinion…</p>
<p>MisterK–I agree with you on UChicago as well. Some people I talked to seem surprised of it ranking over Princeton and Stanford though. Does anyone think that UChicago does NOT deserve the ranking? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on that if that is your opinion.</p>
<p>MIT2012–To be fair, in years past they did rank Harvard at number one, and Yale at number 2.</p>
<p>Also, what is so bad about Dartmouth? 90th in the world could even be high? That comes to me as slightly surprising, as Newsweek ranks it 9th in the US. Of course, ranking is not everything, but it seems that 90th in the world vs. 9th in the US is a huge jump down.</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that this ranking factors in graduate school as well. Considering that factor, UChicago undoubtedly deserves the ranking as it is such a research powerhouse. Dartmouth, while a truly fine undergraduate institution, could be many world universities in graduate studies or research.</p>
<p>^Maybe you are right. As this is an international ranking, I believe the number of connections between a university and other universities and research institutes across the world can highly affect a college’s rank. Basically, this means the “influence” that a institution casts in the academic society is a ranking factor.</p>
<p>You should also realize that there are scores given accordingly to the number of international students and international faculties. On this specific matter, the evaluation seems to be more quantitative than qualitative.</p>