This article looks at the continued decline in the U.S. News ranking for University of Iowa:
The University of Iowa for the first time since being included in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual best college rankings in 2004 has fallen out of the top 100 universities nationally, dropping four spots from No. 98 last year to No. 102.
It also dropped to No. 49 among public universities in the U.S. News rankings [from No. 46 last year and No. 33 in 2022.] A decade ago, in the 2015 edition, UI ranked No. 27 among public universities and No. 71 among all universities nationally — after debuting in the rankings more than two decades ago at No. 57 nationally.
And yet it’s the same college it was yesterday, a leader in English.
This is the problem when someone wants to go to top 50 or 100 - what’s the difference between it and #64 Michi State or #69 UCONN - and more will know it than Rutgers Newark or Buffalo or UIC or Delaware, etc. - all higher.
And it’s no different than lower ranked ASU or Oregon or Miami Ohio or U of SC - both which are probably more respected overall academically. And U of SC harder to get into.
I note this is one of the obvious problems with rankings–they imply a zero-sum game when of course educational quality is not in fact a zero-sum game.
So while I do think it is understandable that a university in Iowa is maybe going to face some competitive issues in an increasingly nationalized college search landscape, that doesn’t mean Iowa won’t still provide a great education–potentially at a competitive cost–for its students. And being lower in this ranking does not imply otherwise.
If I had a child headed off to university, and if they had just started at U. of Iowa earlier this month, and if I were ranking the top 100 things for me to worry about, this would not make the list.
Is 3 or 4 places in the rankings (out of hundreds of colleges) really that much of an issue, especially given that sometimes 3-5 colleges tie for the same ranking?
The point of the article, in my opinion, is not to highlight a drop of 3-4 spots, but to signal the school’s continued decline in this ranking (which is highly prestigious and of reference to many). With this latest drop, the school exits the top 100 for the first time (where it ranked for 20+ years since its inclusion in 2004).
Now, as others have said already, this does not make it a bad or less desired school for prospective students and I am sure those who attend will benefit tremendously.