As a parent of one student and hopefully a parent of a second, Wesleyan is a magical place for my family. Whether the school ranks 1 or 100 is completely immaterial. Decisions should be based on academic and social fit first and foremost.
@farandsure , aren’t those items at least indirectly related to endowment? You have three choices to meet current expenses: (1) operating revenue (tuition revenue and revenue from gifts for current ops, referred to by many schools as “the annual fund”); (2) endowment earnings; (3) endowment principal. Other than what the faculty bring in by way of grants for this or that study, that’s about it.
So it stands to reason that, unless a school is very shrewd about its spending, you’re going to out-perform on the items you listed if you have a 2.5 B vs. a 900 M endowment.
Setting that aside, I agree with the assessment that there’s no obvious reason why Wes would be ranked so much lower than Colby, Vassar, Carleton, Colgate, Hamilton, etc. Selectivity is comparable, endowments are comparable, they are each notably good at a variety of things, etc. If anything, I’d give Wes the edge over many on the list above it on the measure of accomplished graduates. A difficult thing about which to be very precise, but Wesleyan has produced some very well regarded people.
Again, I think the main question is: what the hell happened this year? Everything about the Wes experience seems to be on the upswing. Roth has done a fantastic job there. Money is coming in. Alumni support and enthusiasm is on the up. They are finally good at sports, after a horrific history as a NESCAC bottom feeder (even though they are a founding member of said conference). I mean, if they had stayed at 14 or so, that would have been one thing. But what happened at Colby and Wesleyan for them to essentially switch places?
I’m not sure their endowment is comparable on a per-student basis. Wes is larger than those other schools you mentioned. I haven’t looked closely recently at each of their endowments or accounted for Wes’s recent campaign, but when I reviewed this a year or so ago Wes was near the bottom of it’s peers on a per-student basis.
I might speculate that alumni giving, as a % of total living alumni, has taken a hit because of frat gate.
I personally find fraternities and sororities to be a breeding ground for obnoxiety (I’ve been waiting to use that word all week). But they are what they are, and those who like them tend to REALLY like them, and even years later, their loyalty to frat is surely more powerful than their loyalty to school.
Of those schools, Wes is the only one that is in the middle of the painful transition from frat to no frat. Some people are pissed and no longer writing checks in the name of love for frat.
I have no idea if that’s a real thing, but I’ve heard and read that there are alumni who have walked away from Wes because of this issue.
To the extent that made a dent, then it’s worthy to note that it’s temporary.
FYI, per this endowment discussion, here’s a site that compared on a per-student basis…
I’m with CircuitRider. For campus culture reasons, if I were applying to college today, I’d probably pick Wesleyan over most or all of the liberal arts colleges ranked above it. But there are a few ranked below it that I might prefer…
@MiddleburyDad2, Yes, after further thought, I agree they are indirectly related. I was under the impression that the early comments re: endowments on CC were regarding the actual size of the endowment “war chest” of each school.
As for how it might effect the scoring and rankings of each school, the academic expenditures that are made, are made in order to try and provide the “best” student experience. So a larger reserve could be beneficial to certain areas over time and since there is such a small difference between these top schools the effects could be magnified.
Thanks, FWIW, I have a close relative who attends Wes and LOVES it and couldn’t see herself anywhere else. She used these ranking lists as a starting point on her journey to find the “right school” and in the end, it didn’t matter if Wes was ranked in the “top 10” or not, she found her “fit”.
I think/hope most people in the end effectively tier these rather than being obsessed that they go to #5 vs #9, etc. I’m sure there are a few who take absolute rank very seriously, and the schools themselves certainly respect the significance of these rankings and put out press releases every time they crack the top 10 in any list. But overall, most people don’t obsess over small differences in ranks.
Congratulations! This thread now has more clicks (and far more posts) than the mother thread on “College Search and Selection”. Both started on the same day:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1919085-the-official-usnwr-2017-best-colleges.html#latest 
UPDATE: The mods have combined a few hundred posts from different parts of the “Search and Selection” board for a new and improved “US News 2017 Rankings” thread, presented here for your edification and amusement:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1915067-us-news-2017-rankings-p1.html 
In thinking about Wesleyan statistically, consider the extent to which it overlaps schools ranked higher by US News. By recent data, Wesleyan’s student standardized testing profile exceeds that of a fourth place school (Middlebury) and equals that of the third place Wellesley. This type of measurable equality/inversion would not appear if Wesleyan had truly fallen relative to its peers in substantive aspects.
(“The 50 Smartest Colleges,” Business Insider.)
Considering how well things have been going for Wesleyan this was a nasty surprise. I hope it doesn’t deter top students from applying next year or unduly encourage students who don’t know about appreciate the school’s unique character.
One problem for Wes in rankings is the size of the school, which is larger than many of the LACs with which it is compared. Thus for the admit rate to decrease, the number of applications needs to increase by quite a bit. It has been test optional for two years, however, the “market” did not seem to realize that that Wes was test optional in that first year. This year, it did. The number of applicants jumped and the admit rate went from down this year from the low 20s to +/- 17%. However, US News and World report’s ranking lag the stats by one year. So next year, Morse & Co. will be considering this lower admission rate, and I suspect that Wes’s ranking will move as well.
There’s an almost complete disconnect between actual outcomes and predicted results according to the USNews rankings. Others have noticed it, but, it seems even more striking this year when just as the poll was published, Wesleyan alumni simultaneously scored two more MacArthur Foundation “Genius” fellowships. One in any given year is kind of neat. Two is absolutely bizarre for a college Wesleyan’s size:
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class/class-2016/
Do you all really believe there is a substantive difference between number 5, 10, 15 and 21??? This is all useless hair splitting. Any motivated student can find fantastic challenges and education at all of them.
There may be no substantive difference in academics but definitely in reputation and PR, which drives admissions and, one assumes, faculty recruiting and alumni giving.