<p>irish,</p>
<p>According to the NRC departmental rankings (which granted, are 12 years old, but are probably the best departmental rankings out there still), Notre Dame had 0 programs in any top 10, and 2 in the top 20 (philosphy and religion). This doesn’t show me that it has a hallmark program. For all the besmirching going on, Vanderbilt and Emory are both ranked higher than ND in religion (both are top 10). And a school like Berkeley, which is ranked below Notre Dame, has 40 of 41 programs in the top 10, and all 41 in the top 15.</p>
<p>Anyway, like I said, I don’t think Notre Dame is a bad school–I think its a great school. I’m simply trying to point out why Notre Dame’s PA score is lower than the schools around it. </p>
<p>Also, if the USNews rankings are not to be trusted, then why would you care what you rank in them?</p>
<p>EDIT:
I brought this up in the that WashU thread about it cutting 500 students. Everyone makes a big deal about how WashU has moved up in recent years. Why doesn’t anyone make a big deal about UPenn, which last year ranked no. 4 behind Yale and this year tied with Stanford I believe. When the rankings started in the late 80s and early 90s, UPenn was BARELY top 20. It has moved up faster than WashU has, yet no one complains about it. Perhaps WashU is just in the wrong athletic conference…?</p>