<p>Everyone has good answers that should all be considered. Another metric to consider is that the best way to tell the caliber of a student at a university is to look at the average SAT scores of admitted students. I use that when I’m comparing schools from the different ranking lists. I’m not sure there is really a quantitative way to compare the lists which is why US News does different lists to begin with. Regional schools tend to be regional and most job offers at these schools tend to come from within their region. And, as you mentioned the degree programs are often different - most only go to the masters level.</p>