U.S.News&WR Rankings

Colleges & Universities Smith College
1

<p>Best Liberal Arts Colleges
1.Williams College (MA)
2.Amherst College (MA)
3.Swarthmore College ¶
4.Wellesley College (MA)
5.Carleton College (MN)
6.Middlebury College (VT)
7.Bowdoin College (ME)
Pomona College (CA)
9. Davidson College (NC)
10. Haverford College ¶
11. Claremont McKenna College (CA)
Grinnell College (IA)
Vassar College (NY)
Wesleyan College (CT)
15. Harvey Mudd College (CA)
Washington and Lee University (VA)
17.Colgate University (NY)
Hamilton College (NY)
Smith College (MA)
20. Oberlin College (OH)
United States Naval Academy (MD)
22. Colby College (ME)
United States Military Academy (NY)
24. Bates College (ME)
Bryn Mawr ¶
26.Colorado College
27. Macalester College (MN)
28. Scripps College (CA)
Mount Holyoke (MA
30. Barnard College (NY)
Bucknell ¶</p>

<p>“Pell Grants are a new ranking criterion…The percentage of Pell Grant recipients attending a school is now one of the variables used to calculate the “graduation rate performance” measure for national universities and liberal arts colleges. Because many schools include as part of their mission a focus on educating students from low-income families, the inclusion of this data enables schools with a high proportion of Pell Grant recipients to be measured more accurately against those with fewer recipients in terms of graduation rates. Pell Grants are not used as part of any other ranking component.”</p>

<p><a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1libartco_brief.php[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1libartco_brief.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

2

<p>That explains Smith’s jump forward – and the fall of others.</p>

<p>I hope students understand that this new measure doesn’t reflect changes in the quality of the institutions; it merely shows how a different methodology can generate different numerical rankings. While Smith benefited from the new formula, USNWR could just as easily have used something that brought it down in the rankings. </p>

<p>Not that I’m complaining or disagreeing with Smith’s ranking. . . :)</p>

3

<p>Smith is #2!</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0709.rankings.html[/url]”>http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0709.rankings.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>I hear the college has instructed admissions staff and volunteers NOT to mention USN&WR rankings - - though rating like “best dorms” or the Newsweek “hottest women’s college” are ok.</p>

<p>As for Pell grants, I though the # of 1st year Pell students declined signif this year (which, b/c of the relationship b/w income and SAT scores, resulted in a slightly higher mid-50 percentile SAT scores).</p>

5

<p>Behind Presbyterian College?</p>

6

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<p>These are perhaps the most inane rankings I’ve ever seen. CMC is 6th while Mudd and Pomona aren’t even in the top 30? Give me a break!</p>

7

<p>that ranking is a joke, and so is smith.</p>

8

<p>Most ranking are somewhat arbitrary and subjective. </p>

<p>However, I don’t believe Smith is a joke. The outputs certainly seem to suggest otherwise. Other than perhaps a sneer a women’s colleges, I think anyone would be hard pressed to substantiate that opinion.</p>