<p>i'm just curious as to what keeps yale from that number one or number two spot. i know that yale is a great school and that third is great and that the rankings don't matter, but i just don't understand. is it the lack of focus on the sciences? or that new haven is considered a sketch neighborhood? i'm just curious to know what you guys think.</p>
<p>I think it might be that Princeton is smaller and has a huge endowment, and that even though Harvard is twice as large as Yale, its endowment is considerably larger.</p>
<p>Rank the schools based on their endowment (and on a per capita basis), and you'll see how remarkably similar it is to US News rankings.</p>
<p>Or, think of it this way: which schools is Yale "better" than? Particularly among HPMS? That's why it's contentious. All five of those (well, more so HYPS) fight each other for the top 3-4 spots.</p>
<p>I don't think it's the neighborhood. Princeton's endowment is smaller, but it does have a smaller student body too. I don't think it's just the endowment, however... my guess would be that Yale is a little behind the curve (at least compared to Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton) in the hard sciences and engineering. They're working to change this by investing billions of their endowment into growing these departments. If that ends up paying off, I think you'll see Yale put itself in a position to vie for first place with Harvard and Princeton. Until then, I suspect it won't break 3rd.</p>
<p>Keep in mind though, that in the US News rankings (where I assume this is coming from), H had a score of 100, P 99, and Y 98. MIT and Stanford, tied for 4th, had 94. So these rankings give a lot of credence to the HYP tier. The differences seem to come from the "peer evaluation" - HP have 4.9/5, if I'm not mistaken, and Y has 4.8/5. Probably a result of slight deficiencies in physics/chem/engineering.</p>
<p>
[quote]
my guess would be that Yale is a little behind the curve (at least compared to Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton) in the hard sciences and engineering.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That isn't taken into consideration in the US News ranking. Harvard is mediocre at best in engineering, but it manages to be #1.</p>
<p>I'm not sure to what extent the PA is going to change the rank, but considering that Yale had a 98, it's safe to say it wasn't much at all to bring it to #3.</p>
<p>Our classes are bigger, which makes us "worse" than Harvard. That is total bee ess. >:(</p>
<p>Does US News ranking take student experiences/input at all? If it doesn't it really should because that is the best way of judging a school and would definitely give Yale the top spot (or at least a more competitive shot).</p>
<p>"That isn't taken into consideration in the US News ranking. Harvard is mediocre at best in engineering, but it manages to be #1."</p>
<p>That may be true... but for the hard sciences I think that's definitely the case.</p>
<p>After God and Country... :)</p>
<p>Y84</p>
<p>Yale was #1 a lot in the 80s and 90s. It all depends on what methodology USNWR uses for any given year. I've always thought that it should be a 3-way tie between HYP because distinctions between the three as to which is the "best" are pretty ridiculous. Of course, I'd lay down my life to defend Yale as #1 because of the residential colleges and the overall vibe of the student body, but, seriously, saying one of HYP is better than the others for USNWR purposes is silly.</p>
<p>Yale's not always #3. It fairs pretty well in the Times international rankings:</p>
<p>1 HARVARD University<br>
2= University of CAMBRIDGE
2= YALE University
2= University of OXFORD
5 IMPERIAL College London
6 PRINCETON University<br>
7= University of CHICAGO<br>
7= CALIFORNIA Institute of Technology
9 UCL (University College London)
10 MASSACHUSETTS Institute of Technology
11 COLUMBIA University</p>
<p>^^ that's also the ranking that changes drastically each year; one day, Stanford's in the top 10, the next it's barely top 20. Same for Berkeley.</p>
<p>From this:</p>
<p>U.S</a>. News Rankings Through the Years</p>
<p>Yale's been ranked #1 four times in the past 25 years. #2 six times, and only once #4. Princeton's been #1 nine times, Harvard #1 twelve times, and Stanford #1 three times.</p>
<p>FWIW, I think Princeton's overrated in the rankings, and that Harvard, Stanford, and Yale should make up the top three (in whatever order).</p>
<p>
[quote]
Does US News ranking take student experiences/input at all? If it doesn't it really should because that is the best way of judging a school and would definitely give Yale the top spot (or at least a more competitive shot).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Realize that there are many students who love their school just as much as Yalies love Yale. ;)</p>
<p>US News does not take student experiences/input in at all. It'd be nice to include that, but collecting the data is hard, because it's inherently flawed: it's an interpersonal comparison. It might be nice, though, to include a sort of "peer review for students" in the ranking.</p>