<p>infinitetime - I guess I think you’re just being a bit too adamant about differences that don’t seem to be that wide, at least according to this Princeton grad student’s study. </p>
<p>You argue that Yale is “clearly superior” to Chicago, given the 13 pt gap in this ranking. On the other hand, you temper your language when comparing Berkeley and Stanford to Yale or Columbia (for example, you state: “I tend to agree that Berkeley and Stanford’s academics are, on the whole, stronger than Yale and Columbia’s.”). Despite this fact, according to the ranking you present, there is a much wider gap between Stanford and Yale than there is between Yale and Chicago, yet your language in making these two different set of comparisons is quite varied. You “tend to agree” that academics at Stanford or Yale are “on the whole” superior, but with the Chicago & Yale comparison, the language you use is much stronger.</p>
<p>Overall, if after reading this NRC ranking, people continue to at least compare Stanford and Harvard to one another (13 pt gap between the two schools), why can’t people continue to compare Chicago and Yale to one another (13 pt gap between the two schools, and, supposedly, a huge separation between either C or Y from Princeton or Harvard)?</p>