Below are the brand new rankings for MAC schools with their undergraduate populations.
We have two in the top 50, another one in the top 100, three more that fall in the top 125 and three that make it into the top 150. Three MAC schools fall in the bottom tier group of public universities. I was surprised that NIU has such a small number of undergrads.
Yep. The US News rankings seem to be skewing towards the huge AAUW size research universities the past several years. The smaller âpublic iviesâ that emphasize undergrad education - Miami, UVM and William and Mary - have steadily slipped down the rankings list.
As a football note, Boise State can be found down in the bottom tier. Thatâs why, in spite of its football tradition,itâs never going to be a serious option for a PAC12 that includes, Stanford, Cal and Washington.
US News includes grad programs as a percentage of their ranking calculation. Miami is never going to top this list with their lack of those programs. They also take into account the number of citations professors have. Ohio State (and Iâm sure other large universities) has exploited that to give ridiculous offers to top cited professors in each field to inflate their numbers. Ohio State had (might still have) the top cited Computer Science professor, yet most FAANG companies donât recruit from their because the students coming out are sub-par. They do recruit at Miami though. US News is just a research ranking and @NESCACDAD astutely noticed the connection.
The contrast between the rankings of National Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges is interesting. The list of top LAC doesnât change that much - dominated by NESCAC colleges, several California schools, the seven sisters colleges, Midwestern schools like Oberlin, Kenyon, Dennison, McCalester and by Johnâs Hopkins, Davidson, Sewanee and Washington & Lee from the South. Itâs the same list every year. The focus of all of them is on undergraduate education and they are all small.
Miami was ranked #31 in Public Universities in 2013; 46 last year, 48 now. Our yield has dropped to about 15%, hence acceptance of 92% of applicants. The good news is that MU attracts relatively strong applicants. I feel that the âreputationâ portion of US Newsâ ranking has fallen for a number of reasons. Arguably, major sports success factors into the psyche of reviewers.
I get that universities âgameâ the rankings, and that the algorithms have changed to favor the major doctorate and research universities. Regardless, Iâm curious what MU leadership is doing to counter the trend.
Malcolm Gladwell has railed against the US News rankings for years. The linked podcast describes what it would take to game the system and push HBU Dillard University in New Orleans near the top. It is a ridiculous system, but so widely discussed that it forces universities like Miami to play along or suffer the consequences of a large drop.
The acceptance rate of 92% makes us look really bad and not competitive at all. Miami just waived the application fee for Class of â23 HS grads. Is this a way to get more applicants, and therefore more denials to lower that rate? It certainly leaves a lot of cash on the table.
Other schools weâve looked at (my son is a Sr in HS) have waived the application fee. But, UC waived it for a single day (8/1 when the Common App opened) and BGSU until Labor Day. Miami is simply free.