<p>This is a great topic of discussion. I was speaking with provost LeBlanc (the guy in charge of academics) about it, and he had some good points:
The US news rankings doesn’t really take into consideration some things the university values really highly, like class size or diversity (we’ve been top 10 in diversity since forever)
A lot of the investments being made in producing better faculty or graduate programs (which really guide impressions; who ever hears about liberal arts colleges?) have serious time lags, and Dona Shalala, who has driven a lot of this focus, only came in ~2005.
At the current academic plan (including increases in freshman retention rate and 6-year graduation rate), we should be at the level of the other universities in the Association of American Universities, the top Research schools in the country by 2020. We’d also be the youngest private such institution. I think 2020 is a great year personally because it’d be when we’d be leaving grad schools and the prestige of our Undergrad education would play with employers.
As for USNews guessing games, the average SAT goes up every year (currently at 1325, expect a settling in the 1400s) so a mid-30s slot wouldn’t be impossible for a long-term bet. </p>
<p>if only they updated academic rankings as frequently as they do basketball ones…</p>