<p>alex and ucb,
I don’t like the PA rankings or the classroom teaching rankings. They’re both completely subjective and I think that there is no way that these folks giving the grades know the schools in sufficient depth to assign accurate grades. I’d say get rid of both and just rank on objective factors that are actually relevant to undergraduates. </p>
<p>keefer,
Re the issue of whether one has attended a public or private university, I don’t think that one needs to attend a college to have informed views on what goes on on these campuses. On CC, I have commented on dozens of colleges and obviously there is no way that I attended all of them. IMO, one can see and evaluate these colleges from multiple vantage points, including student, alumna, parent, fan, colleague/friend, and in the work world. </p>
<p>Some, like you, may disagree with my conclusions and weigh certain factors more heavily and thus arrive at a different ranking. That’s fine with me. However, I have disclosed my “methodology” for my “Top 25” and I think it would be interesting to see how everyone else arrives at their numbers as well. It would reveal the preferences/biases of those posting their rankings.</p>