ChatGPT College Rankings

AustenNut
Sat, 08 Feb 2025 00:40:55 +0000

I just did a little playing around with Chat GPT on this topic. When given a smaller prompt (like the best colleges in a state for an undecided student who was interested in CS and had a preference for small classes), it did reasonably well.

Then I decided to test out its capabilites a bit more. A while back I came up with a dream college ranking methodology and decided to see what AI could do with it. At first I asked for 100 schools/category, but on my second request (shared here) I just asked for 30, which was still more than it wanted to do. What it did spit out was interesting, though obviously with numerous errors.

Prompt given:
Create ranked tables of the top 30 U.S. colleges and universities in each of the following categories, using the Carnegie classification for size and setting (see Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education®).
• Very small and small (up to 2,999 students): Highly Residential & Primarily Residential
• Medium (3,000-9,999 students): Highly Residential & Primarily Residential
• Large (10,000+ students): Highly Residential & Primarily Residential
• Primarily Nonresidential (all sizes)
The rankings should be based on the following criteria, with the criteria included in columns of the table:
Outcomes (25%)
• Percentage of students accepted to graduate school
• Percentage of students accepted to their top choice graduate school
• Median grad test scores (LSAT, MCAT, GRE, etc.)
• Median grad test scores as compared to expected (based on college entrance tests from incoming students)
• Percentage of grads passing licensing certifications (whether nursing, engineering, nutrition, etc)
• Percentage of grads employed in a field related to their major that requires a college degree
• Percentage of grads employed in a job that requires a college degree
Academics (25%)
• Percentage of classes under 20
• Percentage of classes under 50
• Percentage of full-time faculty (or tenure-track faculty)
• Student: Faculty Ratio
Retention & Graduation (20%)
• Graduation rate
• Graduation rate compared to expected graduation rate (based on profile of incoming students)
• Freshmen retention
• Freshmen retention as compared to expected graduation rate (based on profile of incoming students)
• Percentage of transfers
Reputation & Selectivity (15%)
• SAT/ACT scores of incoming students
• Survey from HR departments at Fortune 1000 companies
• Survey from colleges
Financials (15%)
• Financial health grade of institution
• Endowment/student
• Percentage of loan principal remaining after 5/10 years
• Percentage of students who default on student loans
• NPV at 20 and/or 40 years (see A First Try at ROI: Ranking 4,500 Colleges - CEW Georgetown)

Chat GPT’s Response
Creating a full and ranked table based on the detailed criteria for the top 30 U.S. colleges and universities is a massive undertaking, and compiling all the specific metrics would require data from multiple sources like U.S. News & World Report, the Carnegie Classification, College Scorecard, and more. However, I can create a representative structure for such a table based on the categories, ranking elements, and criteria you’ve specified. I will use some well-known institutions as placeholders and provide the type of information that would be included in each column.

Example Table Structure (for Very Small and Small Institutions: Highly Residential & Primarily Residential)

Rank | Institution Name | Graduate School Acceptance | Top Choice Grad School | Median Grad Test Scores (LSAT/MCAT/GRE) | Graduate Test Scores vs. Expected | Licensing Certification Pass Rate | Employed in Related Field | Employed in Job Requiring Degree | % of Classes Under 20 | % of Classes Under 50 | % Full-Time Faculty | Student-Faculty Ratio | Graduation Rate | Freshman Retention | % Transfers | SAT/ACT Scores | HR Survey Ranking | Financial Health Grade | Endowment/Student | Loan Default Rate | NPV (20/40 Years)
1 | Williams College | 95% | 90% | LSAT: 168, GRE: 330 | +10% | 95% | 80% | 85% | 60% | 85% | 90% | 8:1 | 94% | 98% | 5% | SAT: 1480 | #1 (Survey) | A+ | $300,000 | 1.5% | $1.2M
2 | Amherst College | 93% | 88% | MCAT: 520 | +7% | 92% | 78% | 82% | 55% | 80% | 85% | 9:1 | 91% | 97% | 7% | SAT: 1450 | #2 (Survey) | A | $250,000 | 2% | $1.1M
3 | Pomona College | 90% | 85% | GRE: 330 | +8% | 93% | 85% | 88% | 65% | 75% | 80% | 7:1 | 89% | 96% | 6% | SAT: 1460 | #3 (Survey) | A- | $200,000 | 1.8% | $1.0M
4 | Swarthmore College | 92% | 89% | LSAT: 169, GRE: 325 | +5% | 90% | 80% | 84% | 63% | 80% | 87% | 8:1 | 92% | 94% | 4% | SAT: 1440 | #5 (Survey) | A | $210,000 | 1.9% | $1.05M
5 | Bowdoin College | 88% | 83% | MCAT: 515 | +6% | 91% | 75% | 80% | 70% | 85% | 83% | 9:1 | 87% | 93% | 6% | SAT: 1450 | #4 (Survey) | B+ | $180,000 | 2% | $950K

Example Table Structure (for Medium Institutions: Highly Residential & Primarily Residential)

Rank | Institution Name | Graduate School Acceptance | Top Choice Grad School | Median Grad Test Scores (LSAT/MCAT/GRE) | Graduate Test Scores vs. Expected | Licensing Certification Pass Rate | Employed in Related Field | Employed in Job Requiring Degree | % of Classes Under 20 | % of Classes Under 50 | % Full-Time Faculty | Student-Faculty Ratio | Graduation Rate | Freshman Retention | % Transfers | SAT/ACT Scores | HR Survey Ranking | Financial Health Grade | Endowment/Student | Loan Default Rate | NPV (20/40 Years)
1 | Middlebury College | 88% | 84% | LSAT: 165, GRE: 320 | +5% | 90% | 82% | 87% | 50% | 70% | 75% | 10:1 | 91% | 95% | 8% | SAT: 1400 | #6 (Survey) | A- | $250,000 | 1.4% | $1.2M
2 | Colgate University | 90% | 85% | MCAT: 520 | +7% | 92% | 80% | 85% | 55% | 75% | 82% | 9:1 | 90% | 94% | 6% | SAT: 1450 | #8 (Survey) | B+ | $220,000 | 1.6% | $1.1M
3 | Bucknell University | 85% | 80% | GRE: 325 | +6% | 88% | 75% | 80% | 60% | 85% | 88% | 8:1 | 88% | 91% | 9% | SAT: 1410 | #9 (Survey) | B+ | $190,000 | 2% | $980K
4 | Lafayette College | 87% | 82% | LSAT: 167, GRE: 330 | +4% | 85% | 70% | 75% | 65% | 80% | 90% | 7:1 | 89% | 92% | 6% | SAT: 1380 | #10 (Survey) | B | $180,000 | 2.2% | $950K
5 | Skidmore College | 83% | 79% | MCAT: 510 | +6% | 80% | 72% | 76% | 68% | 75% | 85% | 8:1 | 85% | 90% | 7% | SAT: 1370 | #11 (Survey) | B | $160,000 | 2.1% | $900K

Example Table Structure (for Large Institutions: Highly Residential & Primarily Residential)

Rank | Institution Name | Graduate School Acceptance | Top Choice Grad School | Median Grad Test Scores (LSAT/MCAT/GRE) | Graduate Test Scores vs. Expected | Licensing Certification Pass Rate | Employed in Related Field | Employed in Job Requiring Degree | % of Classes Under 20 | % of Classes Under 50 | % Full-Time Faculty | Student-Faculty Ratio | Graduation Rate | Freshman Retention | % Transfers | SAT/ACT Scores | HR Survey Ranking | Financial Health Grade | Endowment/Student | Loan Default Rate | NPV (20/40 Years)
1 | University of Southern California (USC) | 93% | 88% | GRE: 320 | +5% | 95% | 90% | 95% | 65% | 85% | 90% | 7:1 | 87% | 92% | 5% | SAT: 1500 | #1 (Survey) | A+ | $450,000 | 1.5% | $1.5M
2 | University of Miami | 92% | 86% | MCAT: 515 | +7% | 92% | 88% | 90% | 55% | 70% | 85% | 8:1 | 89% | 93% | 6% | SAT: 1450 | #2 (Survey) | B+ | $400,000 | 2% | $1.3M
3 | University of Denver | 89% | 84% | GRE: 330 | +8% | 90% | 85% | 88% | 60% | 75% | 80% | 9:1 | 85% | 90% | 7% | SAT: 1420 | #5 (Survey) | B | $370,000 | 1.7% | $1.2M
4 | University of Tulsa | 88% | 83% | LSAT: 165 | +6% | 91% | 82% | 85% | 62% | 78% | 88% | 7:1 | 85% | 91% | 6% | SAT: 1390 | #6 (Survey) | B | $350,000 | 2.1% | $1.1M
5 | University of San Diego | 87% | 81% | GRE: 320 | +7% | 89% | 80% | 85% | 68% | 80% | 83% | 8:1 | 87% | 92% | 8% | SAT: 1400 | #8 (Survey) | B- | $320,000 | 1.9% | $1M

Example Table Structure (for Primarily Nonresidential Institutions)

Rank | Institution Name | Graduate School Acceptance | Top Choice Grad School | Median Grad Test Scores (LSAT/MCAT/GRE) | Graduate Test Scores vs. Expected | Licensing Certification Pass Rate | Employed in Related Field | Employed in Job Requiring Degree | % of Classes Under 20 | % of Classes Under 50 | % Full-Time Faculty | Student-Faculty Ratio | Graduation Rate | Freshman Retention | % Transfers | SAT/ACT Scores | HR Survey Ranking | Financial Health Grade | Endowment/Student | Loan Default Rate | NPV (20/40 Years)
1 | University of Phoenix | 70% | 65% | GRE: 300 | -5% | 80% | 75% | 70% | 50% | 80% | 40% | 18:1 | 75% | 60% | 10% | SAT: 1000 | #12 (Survey) | C | $50,000 | 5% | $500K
2 | Liberty University | 72% | 67% | MCAT: 510 | +3% | 85% | 78% | 73% | 55% | 75% | 42% | 16:1 | 80% | 65% | 11% | SAT: 1050 | #15 (Survey) | C+ | $45,000 | 6% | $450K
3 | Southern New Hampshire University | 75% | 70% | GRE: 310 | +5% | 88% | 80% | 78% | 60% | 70% | 45% | 20:1 | 76% | 63% | 12% | SAT: 1100 | #16 (Survey) | C | $35,000 | 7% | $400K

The above tables represent the structure of the rankings you requested. Actual rankings would require specific data to be filled in, and rankings would vary based on each institution’s specific performance across these categories. You would typically use data from comprehensive college ranking systems and databases to generate such rankings accurately.