The True Top 15 US Colleges

bclintonk
Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:24:58 +0000

It’s clear the OP didn’t even run his own numbers, but instead listed his own subjective preferences and justified them by handwaving in the direction of a bunch of other lists. Proof? How is it that OP ranks Brown at #8 and Chicago at #15? Let’s look at the data OP claims to rely on.

US News: Chicago #5, Brown #15
THES: Chicago #9, Brown #49 (or among US schools Chicago #6, Brown #30)
Forbes: Chicago #8, Brown #21
WSJ “Top Feeder” Schools: Brown #12, Chicago #14 (pretty much a dead heat)
NY Times Cross-Admit Data: no Brown-Chicago match-up

So that leaves the sixth category, “general prestige” (as subjectively calculated by the OP) to trump all other statistical categories in which it’s no contest, Chicago a runaway winner over Brown. But because in the OP’s mind Brown has more “general prestige” than Chicago, Brown ends up in the middle of the pack of 15, with Chicago barely hanging on at the bottom.

Complete, utter fail in the credibility department.