<p>This is what they say:</p>
<p>“These rankings are based on the average of each school’s reported SAT scores (math plus verbal) and ACT scores (converted into equivalent SAT scores) of first-year, degree-seeking students in 2012 as reported to U.S. News.”
(Read more: [Inside</a> The Smartest Colleges Ranking - Business Insider](<a href=“http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-the-smartest-colleges-ranking-2013-9]Inside”>Inside the Smartest Colleges Ranking))</p>
<p>This ranking tried to eliminate any subjective criteria by using statistical data only. You may question whether standardized test results can really show the smartness of students. But the people who developed this system think so. To me, their methodology is more reasonable than many other ranking systems. This ranking is at least a better indicator of the schools that are actually preferred by the brightest highschool kids now. Nevertheless, it seems to be unfair to compare small residential colleges (especially those STEM-oriented schools as vandyman pointed out) with much larger schools. Smaller schools can do quality control a lot easier than much larger universities.</p>
<p>Honestly, I did not know that Vanderbilt attracts statistically “smarter” kids than some of the Ivies and Duke. That is a (pleasant) surprise.</p>