<p>@barrons: We can make this a ‘UVa vs UIUC’ discussion, though it won’t justify putting UIUC in the ‘top’ section (only taking UVa out), where it does not belong. But that’s just an aside. I’ll try to respond to the points you’re making:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I ignore ARWU completely. No world ranking can possibly take into account the diversity of every single institution on the planet and rank them on the same scale. Look where Moscow State University is ranked in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Nevermind, it’s not even ranked in the last two categories. We’re talking about an institution with the brightest minds of Russia and the most rigorous curriculum in the country which historically proven itself to be among the best. And ARWU won’t even put it alongside some dump like… UC Riverside? </p></li>
<li><p>NSF ranking of federal research expenditures is “the key indicator”? Oh, that’s the one that ranks Ohio State 9th, Harvard 30th, and Yale 31st? Right… Since when do we measure prestige and the quality of education by the amount of money spent?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I glanced through, but it looks like the rest of the post is an explanation for the rankings. But there’s no need for the explanation. The above two rankings by no means reflect anything in reality. Are you going to go and praise Ohio State above Harvard and Yale? Are you going to claim that UC Riverside is better than Moscow State in… anything?</p>
<p>When it comes to prestige, USNews is the most trusted source (at least from my experience). And it clearly shows UIUC is not considered prestigious. Prestige does not always equal quality of education, and quality of UVa and UIUC can be argued over indefinitely. But one thing’s for sure; when it comes to <em>overall</em> quality, UIUC should not be put together with places like MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Chicago, Berkeley, Duke, etc… the real top institutions.</p>