It’s instructive to understand the weighting of criteria that goes into the USNWR rankings.
Two factors make up 1/3 of a college’s score:
- 22.5% of a school’s rank is determined by the outcome of a poll of HS guidance counselors + college admissions deans, provosts & presidents. It’s about as objective as an election for Homecoming Queen.
- 10% of the ranking is determined by “financial resources per student”.
‘Nerd’ components of a college’ ranking only comprise 1/9 of a college’s score:
- 8.1% SAT/ACT scores
- 3.1% highschool top 10% GPA
A college’s admit rate only counts 1.25%
Just like in high school, the Queen Bee girl with the richest daddy always gets elected Homecoming Queen.