Some funny comments on the Wall Street Journal’s website about how the “liberal” WSJ hates Hillsdale College.
What about their LAC rankings? Can someone list top ten? For the life of me, I can’t figure out how to get past the paywall.
C’mon people. They post these “rankings” to sell magazines.
More interesting than the ratings are the homers on CC who trash elite schools like Brown as "not as goods as . . . "
All ratings are valid according to the criteria being used. The only possible way that the ratings are unfair is if you believe the data being used is erroneous.
I see US News previewed their top 25 list and every school mentioned above is on it. There are about ZERO changes, but some will move up or down this list and the complaints will roll in. That comes out on September 10.
Alphabetically.
Brown University (RI)
California Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
Columbia University (NY)
Cornell University (NY)
Dartmouth College (NH)
Duke University (NC)
Emory University (GA)
Georgetown University (DC)
Harvard University (MA)
Johns Hopkins University (MD)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University (IL)
Princeton University (NJ)
Rice University (TX)
Stanford University (CA)
University of California—Berkeley
University of California—Los Angeles
University of Chicago
University of Notre Dame (IN)
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University (TN)
Washington University in St. Louis
Yale University (CT)
The WSJ’s 2018 ranking of its Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges is as follows:
1. Amherst College
2. Williams College
3. Pomona College
4. Wellesley College
5. Swarthmore College
6. Claremont McKenna College
7. Carleton College
8. Middlebury College
9. Haverford College
10. Smith College
^So Bowdoin fans please feel free to cut and paste the Northwestern commentators posts above:)
@CU123: Re:Post #18. Ranking schools based on ROI should have the military academies listed at the top.
Publisher how are you quantifying the lost opportunity cost of the post graduation 5 year commitment to the academies? Obviously hard to compete with “free” when looking at ROI but the post graduation commitments are for me incalculable.
I think dropping out (graduation rate/retention) in 4 years is an outcome everyone cares about, total debt upon graduation is another. Earning after graduation is one not everyone agrees upon, etc… WSJ as far as I can tell doesn’t weigh rejection rate as much as USNWR which is a good thing IMHO. Both use resources per student which could have good things (how nice are the classrooms and lab opportunities, etc.) but could also have irrelevant things (salary of faculty, fondue fountains in the dining hall etc…).
I think if you went to an academy and were able to get sponsored medical school that would probably be best ROI of all, even in state public engineering school - even considering 5 year committment. Also, apparently people fly planes cause they love it, but if you absolutely want to be an airline pilot military academy would be a good route.
@Nocreativity1: Re: Post #27 : Cadets & Midshipmen are paid during their undergraduate years in addition to getting an outstanding education without paying tuition, room, board or books. Upon graduation they receive a salary & housing & other benefits.
Additionally, if at about age 27 (after completion of the 5 year service commitment), one can remain in the service & or leave. Many Fortune 500 companies love to hire graduates of the Service Academies.
Also, the merchant marine academy grads make serious money.
The WSJ/THE list sorted by “outcomes”… I guess their version of ROI.
3 Yale University 1
1 Harvard University 1
7 Duke University 1
9 Princeton University 4
4 Columbia University 5
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5
12 Dartmouth College 7
5 California Institute of Technology 7
6 Stanford University 9
10 University of Pennsylvania 10
11 Cornell University 11
14 University of Chicago 12
22 Amherst College 13
16 Carnegie Mellon University 13
7 Brown University 15
23 Williams College 16
13 Northwestern University 17
60 Georgia Institute of Technology 18
21 Johns Hopkins University 19
28 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 20
The Forbes Top Colleges list in previous years provided each college they ranked with a financial grade on their assessed financial health of the institution, presumably based on size of endowments, alumni giving, debt, etc. We found this was useful and we saw a strong correlation between colleges with good financial grades and well maintained campus facilities and generous need-based financial aid.
Unfortunately, they didn’t provide financial grades for this year’s list. It is a subjective assessment probably based on publicly available financial disclosures and I’m sure they received complaints from some colleges, but it was a differentiator that we didn’t see on other college ranking lists when our D was doing her college search.
The problem with these ROI or outcomes results are the reliance on monetary earnings outcomes. The measure of success for some students may be less quantifiable such as flexibility, service to society, further education or happiness.
If the students at a particular school aren’t consumed with wealth as a a measure of success then these surveys will suggest poor “results”, when in reality the school may be providing exactly the outcomes their students seek.
3 measures of efficiency… using the WSJ data and excel
outcomes/rank
1 7 Duke University
2 60 Georgia Institute of Technology
3 3 Yale University
4 135 Brigham Young University-Provo
5 212 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
6 9 Princeton University
7 81 University of Maryland College Park
8 51 University of Virginia
9 328 James Madison University
10 66 University of Wisconsin-Madison
11 73 University of Florida
12 240 University of Georgia
13 282 MCPHS University
14 106 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
15 174 SUNY Binghamton University
16 202 Saint John’s University
17 183 Bryant University
18 390 Salve Regina University
19 67 Boston College
20 12 Dartmouth College
21 196 Fairfield University
22 447 California State University Chico
23 22 Amherst College
24 168 Virginia Military Institute
25 475 Bridgewater College
resources/rank
1 48 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2 60 Georgia Institute of Technology
3 81 University of Maryland College Park
4 33 University of California Berkeley
5 25 University of California Los Angeles
6 73 University of Florida
7 83 University of California Santa Barbara
8 3 Yale University
9 41 University of California Davis
10 45 University of California San Diego
11 62 University of Texas at Austin
12 66 University of Wisconsin-Madison
13 51 University of Virginia
14 94 Texas A&M University-College Station
15 135 Brigham Young University-Provo
16 89 Michigan State University
17 28 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
18 106 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
19 60 University of Washington-Seattle
20 174 SUNY Binghamton University
21 212 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
22 94 Ohio State University
23 37 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
24 6 Stanford University
25 99 University of California Irvine
resources/outcomes
1 60 Georgia Institute of Technology
2 7 Duke University
3 3 Yale University
4 81 University of Maryland College Park
5 135 Brigham Young University-Provo
6 48 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
7 73 University of Florida
8 51 University of Virginia
9 66 University of Wisconsin-Madison
10 212 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
11 83 University of California Santa Barbara
12 33 University of California Berkeley
13 106 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
14 45 University of California San Diego
15 62 University of Texas at Austin
16 94 Texas A&M University-College Station
17 25 University of California Los Angeles
18 174 SUNY Binghamton University
19 41 University of California Davis
20 89 Michigan State University
21 28 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
22 240 University of Georgia
23 94 Ohio State University
24 67 Boston College
25 114 University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Using the WSJ data and their top 500 colleges
The eff value of “3” would be a university hitting its mark (rank, outcomes, resources)
totalEff=outcomesRank/wsjRank+resourcesRank/outcomesRank+resourcesRank/wsjRank
100 Most Efficient/Best Performing Universities
WSJ Rank, University, Total Eff
------- 0 -----------------
60 Georgia Institute of Technology 29.47777778
7 Duke University 24.14285714
81 University of Maryland College Park 20.62654321
3 Yale University 20.33333333
48 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 17.79435484
135 Brigham Young University-Provo 16.69194847
73 University of Florida 15.76604182
51 University of Virginia 13.88970588
66 University of Wisconsin-Madison 13.54545455
83 University of California Santa Barbara 13.02560241
------- 10 -----------------
212 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo 12.63008638
33 University of California Berkeley 12.61818182
45 University of California San Diego 11.35208333
25 University of California Los Angeles 11.30545455
62 University of Texas at Austin 11.11899642
106 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 10.95055303
94 Texas A&M University-College Station 10.66497805
41 University of California Davis 10.22787456
174 SUNY Binghamton University 9.910560345
89 Michigan State University 9.672345053
-------- 20 ----------------
28 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 9.2
94 Ohio State University 7.9718398
114 University of Minnesota Twin Cities 7.788124157
240 University of Georgia 7.7875
67 Boston College 7.681209338
324 San Diego State University 7.648859305
328 James Madison University 7.638567073
145 Indiana University Bloomington 7.595179829
37 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 7.365330848
60 University of Washington-Seattle 7.338888889
-------- 30 ----------------
112 Syracuse University 7.285821859
266 Florida State University 7.102973915
183 Bryant University 7.087325588
287 CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College 6.973197534
282 MCPHS University 6.894242804
231 George Mason University 6.71541502
217 Clemson University 6.6193074
164 University of Massachusetts Amherst 6.616982836
148 Marquette University 6.57347973
447 California State University Chico 6.531154039
-------- 40 ----------------
87 William & Mary 6.375680581
434 California State Polytechnic University Pomona 6.26625704
80 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus 6.204166667
276 Iowa State University 6.084448161
196 Fairfield University 6.064418811
145 University of Delaware 6.024037496
104 Babson College 6.022435897
484 Towson University 6.020239501
443 University of Central Florida 5.977010014
431 California State University Long Beach 5.852901739
--------- 50 ---------------
43 Purdue University West Lafayette 5.788183532
216 Quinnipiac University 5.782135076
356 John Brown University 5.777945837
214 University of Portland 5.734469489
202 Saint John’s University 5.734425655
440 San Jose State University 5.669113495
200 Providence College 5.645495868
297 Auburn University 5.63736373
99 University of California Irvine 5.45303428
326 University of Maryland Baltimore County 5.450562173
----------60 --------------
165 Pepperdine University 5.436838978
155 University of Iowa 5.40719603
422 The College of St Scholastica 5.404715363
206 University of Oklahoma 5.404426349
22 Amherst College 5.363636364
250 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott 5.35716129
406 Elmhurst College 5.309192905
390 Salve Regina University 5.298128898
257 The College of New Jersey 5.29516398
469 Montclair State University 5.260378778
---------- 70 --------------
178 Colorado School of Mines 5.253517137
83 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 5.204984321
418 Stockton University 5.197946645
217 University of Arizona 5.151139619
196 College of Saint Benedict 5.128492936
162 Rutgers University-New Brunswick 5.120031399
6 Stanford University 5.111111111
248 Siena College 5.073221534
299 John Carroll University 5.073049621
347 Merrimack College 5.067735659
-----------80 -------------
159 University of San Diego 5.065495554
352 Saint Francis University 5.061693628
189 University of Utah 5.041097576
244 Augustana College (Illinois) 5.038179465
1 Harvard University 5
209 Molloy College 4.976375598
69 Northeastern University 4.971879732
365 Milwaukee School of Engineering 4.936388748
367 Oklahoma State University 4.930119187
370 California Lutheran University 4.927045413
----------- 90 -------------
276 Oregon State University 4.919887279
285 University of California Santa Cruz 4.876942356
125 Bentley University 4.874916667
300 University of Redlands 4.874
135 Stony Brook University 4.870152505
186 Chapman University 4.86827957
447 University of New Hampshire 4.861297539
4 Columbia University 4.85
251 Manhattan College 4.787848606
471 St Joseph’s College-New York 4.756527973
…
*** I included these because I was looking for a school to hit perfect “3” ***
255 500 East Carolina University 3.00000039
256 10 University of Pennsylvania 3
257 412 Springfield College 2.98538
100 Least Efficient
WSJ Rank, University, Total Eff
-------- 500 -----------
257 Earlham College 0.949937743
293 Bard College 1.035075718
245 Sarah Lawrence College 1.040957376
5 California Institute of Technology 1.057142857
339 Hampshire College 1.066958216
141 Catholic University of America 1.13236201
100 Trinity University 1.141025641
345 School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1.144348791
226 California Institute of the Arts 1.173794394
464 Chatham University 1.184505709
-------- 490 -----------
300 Andrews University 1.198779811
266 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences 1.206570205
56 Tulane University 1.23156682
380 University of Hawai’i at Manoa 1.233645678
130 Whitman College 1.263061691
120 Skidmore College 1.283805031
274 University of Hartford 1.297731797
268 Drew University 1.301372882
19 Vanderbilt University 1.306636156
398 Pacific University 1.322109717
-------- 480 -----------
210 Florida Institute of Technology 1.338967136
135 Colorado College 1.340740741
126 Reed College 1.341507937
14 Rice University 1.375
231 Berea College 1.375622852
148 Yeshiva University 1.386621622
193 University of Detroit Mercy 1.419785666
289 Oklahoma City University 1.42433218
376 Hiram College 1.434869622
390 Berry College 1.448779364
-------- 470 -----------
287 Whittier College 1.478875425
154 University of Tulsa 1.479123028
210 Ohio Wesleyan University 1.479890993
303 Marietta College 1.492724994
251 Rollins College 1.499937599
440 Shenandoah University 1.519437301
51 University of Rochester 1.519924099
337 St Mary’s University 1.528663898
461 University of Louisville 1.53367309
427 Queens University of Charlotte 1.563720887
-------- 460 -----------
293 CUNY City College of New York 1.563855225
380 Hartwick College 1.593482123
311 Hendrix College 1.597743469
383 Emory & Henry College 1.598333359
32 Tufts University 1.604166667
72 Vassar College 1.611111111
367 California College of the Arts 1.611270045
189 Lawrence University 1.627069466
306 Illinois College 1.633618706
339 Wayne State University 1.634448976
-------- 450 -----------
106 Saint Louis University 1.635795148
438 Loyola University New Orleans 1.644489018
303 Rutgers University-Camden 1.658706649
50 Bryn Mawr College 1.677011494
166 Sewanee-The University of the South 1.679362612
383 College of Idaho 1.685865866
315 Ringling College of Art and Design 1.686710798
271 Dominican University of California 1.690065956
390 Nazareth College 1.690465223
217 Pratt Institute 1.705221809
-------- 440 -----------
217 Otis College of Art and Design 1.705667942
13 Northwestern University 1.714932127
58 United States Military Academy 1.720555307
389 Southern Illinois University Carbondale 1.722839826
7 Brown University 1.723809524
79 Oberlin College 1.744980358
118 Howard University 1.753939187
337 Goucher College 1.755831592
76 Grinnell College 1.757309942
372 William Jewell College 1.768201412
-------- 430 -----------
473 University of Missouri-Kansas City 1.769316819
278 Clark University 1.776079137
231 Beloit College 1.787589268
231 Rutgers University-Newark 1.803751804
343 Stetson University 1.82408943
396 New York Institute of Technology 1.856997597
110 Kenyon College 1.861229947
457 University of Lynchburg 1.866171377
475 Roosevelt University 1.868328225
112 Pitzer College 1.86990988
-------- 420 -----------
279 Westminster College (Utah) 1.887139108
159 Simmons College 1.892741798
412 Massachusetts College of Art and Design 1.893459377
339 The New School 1.908165969
39 Haverford College 1.921025641
132 Hobart and William Smith Colleges 1.922077922
78 Brandeis University 1.928894635
453 Tuskegee University 1.929848911
172 Knox College 1.934662237
120 Creighton University 1.942857143
-------- 410 -----------
332 Doane College-Crete 1.943510476
352 Lincoln Memorial University 1.946016166
106 Wheaton College (Massachusetts) 1.958097002
126 Loyola Marymount University 1.965100159
300 Union University 1.968487728
492 Chestnut Hill College 1.98670238
356 Wartburg College 1.994268814
390 Arcadia University 2.000552741
53 University of Richmond 2.010401548
46 Wesleyan University 2.026494565
Oops… I wrote that incorrectly…
totalEff=wsjRank/outcomesRank+resourcesRank/outcomesRank+resourcesRank/wsjRank