Very interesting exercise, @PurpleTitan . Philosophically, I agree with your goal of an outcome-based ranking.
Can you please repost the sources of data? Some links in your old thread are no longer active.
I would say the surprise omissions for me are: Vanderbilt, CMU, Washington Univ S.L., and Emory (all top 25 in USNWR)
The biggest surprise inclusions for me are : Reed, New College FLA, Bennington, Colorado (I assume U. Colo Boulder?) These are all #82 or lower in USNWR, either National U’s or National LAC’s.
I’ll be the first to admit that USNWR’s methodology is suspect, however I do think their ranking (+/- 10 or so places) is roughly representative of the “quality” of the institution.
I’d be interested in your analysis of my ‘surprise omissions/inclusions.’