The Forbes list is out. This is the ranking that, in contrast to US News, purports to measure output, including ROI.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2016/07/05/americas-top-colleges-2016/#7a8d6cfe11be
Could you just cut and paste the list so we don’t have to all independently click through lots of pages? Thanks in advance.
FYI
- Stanford University
- Williams College
- Princeton University
- Harvard University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Yale University
- Pomona College
- Brown University
- Wesleyan University
- Swarthmore College
- University of Pennsylvania
- Amherst College
- University of Notre Dame
- U.S. Military Academy
- Northwestern University
- Columbia University
- Dartmouth College
- Tufts University
- Bowdoin College
- University of Chicago
- Georgetown University
- Boston College
- Haverford College
- U.S. Naval Academy
- Davidson College
Yep - that is 25 schools alright.
As a Williams alum, I can safely say this list is nuts. The differences between Williams and Amherst, for instance, are negligible in reality. The most ridiculous spot, though, to me, is UChi at 20. Bonkers.
Where would you put Chiicago?
It seems that the moment a list deviates significantly from USN, it isn’t regarded as having face value, in which case it’s subtly admitting that USN “owns” the definition of the best schools.
Same old schools, mix 'em up slightly different ways. In other news, sun rises in the east.
@circuitrider - well, any list I’d make would be idiosyncratic and subjective, but I’d definitely put UChi in my top 10 or 15. I’m a big fan–it’s one of the schools that, in my experience, are least prone to letting kids slide through without getting educated.
Surprised to not see Duke, Cornell, or Cal Tech in the top 25.
@marvin100, arguably, all 30 Ivies & equivalents (I have 16 RU’s and 14 LACs on my list) could go anywhere in the top 30. Maybe HYPSM+WAS on top, but that still means that there’s almost no difference between #9 and #30 (my tiers here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1893105-ivy-equivalents-ranking-based-on-alumni-outcomes-take-2-1-p1.html). Some have different strengths than others, but for almost any school in that range, I can likely find at least one aspect where it is better than UChicago and likely one aspect where it is worse.
@Much2learn, the top 25 of the Forbes list includes the top 15 RU’s or so.
Sure, @PurpleTitan , and that’s totally reasonable. In fact, it’s why I said my (hypothetical) ranking would be idiosyncratic and subjective–what I’m implying is that USNWR/Forbes/whoever’s rankings, while wrapped in a veneer of quanty data crunching, are just as capricious.
Very few of us on here have actually attended more than one school. When people say that they are surprised not to see (insert favorite pet school) on here, is it REALLY because they have familiarity with the school and other schools on the list? Or is it just “I’ve always heard these schools are really good so it surprises me they aren’t on a list of really good schools.” In which case it just means - it’s all just about the feels for any of us.
I mean, I have no affiliated with Duke, Cornell or Caltech (just to pick on those schools). I know people who have attended Duke and Cornell – and by “know” I mean I"m friendly with them but I didn’t go attend classes with them. How do I really “know” they are any good? USN tells me so - so then I believe they are good, and then I’m surprised they aren’t on this other list – but what does it really all mean? Nothing.
Cal, Berkeley should be much higher. It’s every bit as ivy as the ivies or little ivies. World Class Reputation.
How does Pomona go from #1 to #7 in a year? This list is too mercurial to put any stock into it.
Maybe this list favors smaller schools, and UCB is great for top students but not everyone. I have a relative who went there and got a good education.
@eiholi Could be. But the list gives the wrong impression. Berkeley is a top university and deserves to be ranked as such.
Don’t tell me, let me guess - you live in California and so you give Berkeley a lot more “mind share” than it has elsewhere. (Which doesn’t mean that it’s not a fine university - it is.)
The methodology is here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2016/07/06/top-colleges-ranking-2016-the-full-methodology/
1. Post-Graduate Success (32.5%)
a. Salary data from Payscale.com and the DOE’s College Scorecard. (10%)
b. Data regarding where where the establishment, influencers and innovators received their degrees, from an “America’s Leaders List” (22.5%). ← I guess Lin-Manuel Miranda explains the jump for Wesleyan 
2. Student Debt (25%)
a. Average federal student loan debt load (10%)
b. Student loan default rates (12.5%)
c. Predicted vs. actual percent of students taking federal loans (2.5%)
3. Student Satisfaction (25%)
a. Actual (12.5%) freshman-to-sophomore retention rates, from DOE’s IPEDS database.
b. Predicted (2.5%) freshman-to-sophomore retention rates, from DOE’s IPEDS database.
c. Student evaluations from RateMyProfessors (10%) ← Seriously??
4. Graduation Rate (7.5%)
a. Actual graduation rate (5%)
b. Actual vs. predicted rate (2.5%)
5. Academic Success (10%)
a. Schools whose students win nationally prestigious scholarships and fellowships like the Rhodes, the National Science Foundation and the Fulbright (7.5%)
b. Schools whose students go on to earn a Ph.D.(2.5%).
@prepparent, stuff like “world class reputation” and “top university” are really no more than people’s opinions, which will differ. Don’t get me wrong, Cal is a research powerhouse, I agree that it has a world class reputation, and I rate them highly. But does Cal match the Ivies/equivalents in all areas? No. In stuff like average SAT (http://www.forbes.com/sites/schifrin/2014/08/04/top-100-sat-scores-ranking-which-colleges-have-the-brightest-kids/) and per capita elite professional school placement, Cal trails all research U’s that are Ivies/equivalents.
Best in the South:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timlevin/2016/07/05/top-25-best-southern-schools-2016/
- Davidson College
- Duke University
- Washington and Lee University
- Rice University
- University of Virginia
- College of William and Mary
- Vanderbilt University
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Wake Forest University
- Emory University
- University of Florida
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- University of Texas, Austin
- Sewanee—University of the South
- University of Georgia
- Trinity University (TX)
- Rhodes College (TN)
- Centre College (KY)
- University of Richmond
- Wofford College (SC)
- Furman University
- University of Miami
- Southern Methodist University
- Virginia Tech
- Tulane University