I think this ranking is really enjoyable. Well, at least for those of us who do well on it…
But you know what it also resembles? I think if you look at the original U.S. News undergrad rankings from the mid-'80s, these recent grad aggregate rankings are really quite close! It’s like it strips away many recent changes in undergrad metrics, and you’re left with… solid and deep academic departments that really don’t change all that much from year to year.
It’s like the Back to the Future ranking.