I recommend caution when considering college rankings, and have written about how to use them. See This Blog is Ranked #1.
The recent change in direction by U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) serves as a warning not to put too much weight on any college ranking.
USNWR Changed Its Focus for 2024
In an effort to place more emphasis on social mobility and outcomes, new factors were added to this year’s rankings, including first-generation graduation rates, first-generation graduation rate performance and proportion of college graduates earning more than a high school graduate. The definition of social mobility changed this year . . . to include first-generation graduation rates, in addition to Pell-recipient graduation rates.
The 2024 Best Colleges Rankings Are Out: See Who’s on Top | Best Colleges | U.S. News (usnews.com).
“First generation” refers to students whose parents did not attend or graduate college. Pell Grants are federal grants for the poorest students, who traditionally are not as well prepared for college academics.
These changes were fundamental:
More than half of a school’s rank is now comprised of varying outcome measures related to schools’ success at enrolling, retaining, and graduating students from different backgrounds with manageable debt and post-graduate success.
Id. (emphasis added in bold).
USNWR’s changes in methodology transformed an academic ranking of colleges – which is what students and parents expect to see – into a college ranking heavily influenced by how well minorities and poorer students perform after graduation.
Some families will find these changes helpful. This is particularly true if your student is a member of a minority group or whose family is poor. However, if you are only looking for an indicator of the academic strength of a college, you will need more data.
USNWR’s New Formula Produced Dramatic Changes in its College Rankings
Tufts University is a good example of the ramifications of this change. It is an elite college in Boston, one of the “Little Ivies.” Tufts is a very selective school, admitting less than 10% of applicants annually.
However, Tufts is also quite expensive. It is also not as economically and racially diverse as some other colleges. Tufts ranks very low (#293) in USNWR’s separate ranking of colleges producing social mobility. Given USNWR’s changes in methodology, Tufts’ slide from #32 to #40 in the 2024 college rankings is no surprise.
USNWR’s changes in methodology also favor public colleges, which tend to accept a broader socioeconomic spectrum of students than their private counterparts. Public colleges that direct resources and services toward less advantaged students also perform particularly well against colleges that do not.
The University of California ticks both boxes — it has a diverse student body and devotes significant resources toward helping poorer students. Comparing the 2023 and 2024 USNWR college rankings, UC Berkeley and UCLA gained 5 places against the field, while UCSD and UC Davis gained 7 and 10, respectively.
Comparing Tufts with UCSD is illuminating. While both are excellent colleges, most college counselors favor Tufts. So does the marketplace – Tufts accepts only 10% of all applicants, while UCSD accepts 25%.
In USNWR’s 2023 rankings, UCSD was ranked #34 and Tufts ranked #32. But in the 2024 rankings, UCSD ranks #27; Tufts ranks #40. Tufts fell from 2 places ahead of UCSD to 13 places behind – a 15-place drop in one year!
This drop can be accounted for by UCSD’s success in USNWR’s ranking of colleges that promote social mobility. From UCSD’s publication:
UC San Diego has made great strides in a variety of the outlet’s standalone ranking categories. The university is No. 31 on the list of the nation’s top performers in social mobility, moving up 22 spots from last year for its excellence in enrolling and graduating students from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds.
UC San Diego Climbs to Nation’s 6th Best Public University in U.S. News & World Report Rankings (ucsd.edu)
Remember that Tufts ranked only #293 in social mobility. Is that statistic critical to most students’ evaluation of a college? Respectfully, I suggest that while the gap may inform public policy concerning education, it is of limited use to parents seeking the strongest academic environment for their students.
USNWR built its reputation by weighing key factors to determine the academic strength of each college it ranks. Parents should be aware that USNWR’s mission has changed.