<p>The Times Higher Ed stuff is actually very well respected - they just look at different criteria than USN+WR.</p>
<p>Is it worth the money for UMass or Vermont? It’s about $60K extra for UMass and $90K extra for Vermont, unless you pick a major URI doesn’t offer.</p>
<p>Only you can answer if it is worth the money. Every large school has plenty of smart kids though, they are not that hard to find.</p>