<p>A colleges acceptance rate amounts to 1.5 percent of its US News College ranking. Put otherwise, it constitutes 10 percent of the total 15 percent student selectivity criterion US News uses. </p>
<p>US News attributes the remaining 85 percent of its College Ranking score as follows: student selectivity (22.5 percent), retention (20 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), financial resources (10 percent), graduation rate performance (7.5 percent), and alumni giving (5 percent). </p>
<p>Given this calculus, a schools lower admission rate alone will not likely have a material impact on its overall US News ranking. </p>
<p>There are also structural factors that make it difficult for a large state school to match the low acceptance rates at top private colleges. Two that readily come to mind are smaller financial aid resources for out-of-state students and the need to accept large numbers of in-state students. </p>
<p>Thus, where a top-15 private university has the financial aid resources and admission freedom to compete for top students across the country and the world, even the most prestigious state university lacks that ability.</p>
<p>As Michigan is an excellent school, all this underscores the inherent flaws in judging a large state schools prestige primarily on the basis of its US News rankings or acceptance rate.</p>