http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/natudoc/tier1/t1natudoc_brief.php I don't how they score this, but I think location of the school should be a factor. For example, Notre Dame is a great academic institution. But they're in nowhere Indiana. Shouldn't they deduct points for that? Texas schools: 17 Rice 46 UT 62 A&M 71 SMU 84 Baylor 98 TCU Tier 3 & 4 Tech Houston UTEP
It's an interesting formula they use there. I'm not sure that freshman retention or graduation rates or alumni giving really speak to the quality of the eduation. The big state schools are going to suffer, too, when class size is a factor in the ranking, especially when 20 students is a cut-off for one of the criterion.
I was never too crazy about how they do their rankings. If this stuff still applied to me, all I'd want to know is an academic ranking. Everything else I can judge and weigh on my own. Edit: And, I don't care how many times Princeton is at the top of the charts. I still can't muster any respect for them.
