<p>As with any rankings, you need to look closely at the methodology before making a personal judgment as to its usefulness. 25% of this ranking is based on listings in Who’s Who…okaaayyyy, I guess this can be a good indicator of how good a school is - if your goal is to be listed in Who’s Who. </p>
<p>It is only in the last few years that NEU has even begun to gain a national reputation; through the 1990’s it was very much a lower tier regional commuter school, but once it began its climb it sure did climb fast! Many of its programs are also pre-professional, perhaps not exactly the kinds of programs geared towards those who want to get listed in Who’s Who? Does this make the QUALITY of the school somehow worse? </p>
<p>Another criteria is the 4-yr grad rates. This is always a killer for NEU in most rankings, since its curriculum is based on a 5-yr undergrad program so as to allow co-op opportunities to its students; most of its students do not enroll with any expectation of graduating within 4 yrs.</p>
<p>However, I suspect that as the school gains a national reputation and increases its overall academic rigor and attracts higher performing students, you may see more and more grads get listed in Who’s Who as well as see more alumni contributions that will allow for even better academics, merit scholarships to continue to attract better students and so on. NEU is a newbie in this respect, but give it a few more years and we might see great things. But it should also be given a LOT of credit for what it has accomplished in such a short time. </p>
<p>I’d take certainly take this ranking stuff with a grain of salt…</p>