University Benchmarks

Ranking the Top 100 Academic Universities

UniversityBenchmarks.com ranks the universities that attract and produce the best academic students.

There are many 'University Rankings' on the internet. Most rankings rely heavily on subjective metrics like 'reputation' and 'selectivity'. UniversityBenchmarks is purely an academic ranking model. The rankings are based on the reported academic and financial metrics of the colleges. There are no subjective factors like 'reputation' that are used. The calculations are performed using normal statistical models. All universities are considered equal and there is no weighting of the ranking categories.

The university 2014-2015 dataset is comprised of over 2400 US Universities & Colleges and comes from multiple sources using the most favorable reported metrics for a university.

The universities are ranked against each other in each filtered set. It is an iterative process whereby lower ranking universities are removed and the set is re-ranked until the final set of 100 is reached.

Selecting 'Rank Top 10 Only' will show the Top 10 for each filter category ranked against each other.

The academic rankings of the universities within the major conferences (ACC, Big12, Big10, Pac12, SEC) are available.

The 2017 rankings will be available in August.

Notes:
  • It is possible for universities to be ranked higher/lower than one another depending on the filter set.
  • Conference averages are based on the top 8 schools in the conference.
  • Public Schools are highlighted
  • Clicking on the university's seal icon will take you to the university's website.

Ranking Fields

Rank - Overall rank based on the average of the ranking fields (Scores, Difficulty, Smartest, Brainpower, Faculty and Research).

Scores - SAT & ACT scores. The university's test scores are corrected for dropout rate when score level is Good, Excellent or Elite. This will slightly boost scores for highly competitive schools.

Difficulty - Academic rigor is estimated based on how difficult it is to get an "A" at the university. An estimated GPA at the university is calculated for the average US Student. University grade inflation, average GPA, and STEM density are factors.

Smartest - University that can field the highest scoring students based on the average US University size. Higher Smartest Rank = "Smartest for the Average University"

Brainpower - The average "smartest" rank using 5 reference populations (CalTech, MIT, Stanford, GaTech and Berkeley). Higher Brainpower Rank = "Higher Density of Smart Students". The university ranked higher can mathematically field 'X' number of smarter students than universities ranked below them.

Faculty - Ranking based on number of % of faculty with awards and academy membership.

Research - Ranking is achieved by iteratively ranking the average of 3 research metrics (r-pop, r-stem, r-other ). The lowest ranked college is then removed and the new set is re-ranked. The result is the schools with potentially the strongest research environments per student bubble up to the top regardless of size or research budget.

  • r-pop - Average research spending for student population
  • r-stem - STEM research spending
  • r-other - Other/Medical/Health research spending

Salary ROI - "Salary Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. Using the undergraduate average starting and mid-career salaries, the rank is based on a 20yr salary accumulation (with raises) minus the cost of a 4 year education at the university. Salaries are normalized across the country using the average COLA for the university's geo-economic region (7 regions total). The COLA effect is diminished by the level of the university. Elite, Excellent and Good universities have a greater distribution of graduates across the country and a diminishing COLA effect. The resultant value would be the graduate's spending potential over the 20yr period.

Overall ROI - "Overall Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. The average of Overall Rank and Salary ROI. This would be the "Best academic bang for the buck". Colleges that produce the best education, at the best price, with the best return will be ranked higher.

Color Key - ranks are colorized as follows 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 50 100

The 2016 University Academic Rankings

Babson College

2016 University Academic Rankings
Babson College is a private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, established in 1919. Babson's central focus on entrepreneurship education has made it the most prestigious entrepreneurship college in the United States.

Originally founded by Roger W. Babson as an all-male business institute, the currently co-ed Babson College offers bachelor's degrees in business administration, and undergraduate students have the opportunity to declare concentrations in more than twenty-five areas of study. Through Babson's F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business, the College also offers master's degrees in business administration, finance, accounting, entrepreneurial leadership, and management. Often referred to as the Entrepreneur's College, Babson is renowned for immersing its students in the entrepreneurial lifestyle and culture. Babson currently offers undergraduates nearly 55 entrepreneurship-related courses. These courses are taught in tandem with traditional liberal arts courses, which represent over 60% of the typical student's schedule. Every entrepreneurship course at Babson is taught by professors who have started, sold, bought, or run successful businesses. Babson currently has an undergraduate acceptance rate of 26%.

Babson College has consistently appeared on the U.S. News & World Report rankings as the number one college in entrepreneurship education for nearly three decades. In 2014, CNN's Money Magazine named Babson the number one college in the country for value, and in 2015, the magazine ranked it second. The Economist ranked Babson second on its 2015 list of best colleges and universities in outperforming earnings expectations. Babson's MBA program has also been ranked number one in entrepreneurship for over twenty years by U.S. News & World Report. Babson's alumni include five living billionaires.

History | 20th Century | The Babson Institute

On September 3, 1919, with an enrollment of twenty-seven students, the Babson Institute held its first classes in the former home of Roger and Grace Babson on Abbott Road in Wellesley Hills. Roger Babson, the founder of the school, set out to distinguish the Babson Institute from colleges offering mainly instruction in business. The Institute provided intensive training in the fundamentals of production, finance, and distribution in just one academic year, rather than four. The curriculum was divided into four subject areas: practical economics, financial management, business psychology, and personal efficiency (which covered topics such as ethics, personal hygiene, and interpersonal relationships). The program's pace assumed that students would learn arts and sciences content elsewhere.

Mr. Babson favored a combination of class work and actual business training. Seasoned businessmen made up the majority of the faculty. To better prepare students for the realities of the business world, the Institute's curriculum focused more on practical experience and less on lectures. Students worked on group projects and class presentations, observed manufacturing processes during field trips to area factories and businesses, met with managers and executives, and viewed industrial films on Saturday mornings.

The Institute also maintained a business environment as part of the students' everyday life. The students, required to wear professional attire, kept regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday) and were monitored by punching in and out on a time clock. They were also assigned an office desk equipped with a telephone, typewriter, adding machine, and Dictaphone. Personal secretaries typed the students' assignments and correspondence in an effort to accurately reflect the business world. Roger Babson aimed to "prepare his students to enter their chosen careers as executives, not anonymous members o ... [more on wikipedia]

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Babson College", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

Babson College Details

Babson College Details
detail value
stateMassachusetts
conferenceNew England Women's & Men's At...
publicPrivate
scores1875/1250/28
levelGood
rank[243
overall ROI rank[150
sizesmall
undergrads2107
grads942
price62440
drop8
stem0
research0
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Babson College?

1. number 243 for Academics.

2. number 150 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Babson College?

1. Clark University

2. Union University


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Babson College National Academic Rankings

Babson College National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Top25024312316824423915315942150
State of Massachusetts1813142917121238
Top Ten Top25024312316824423915315942150


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

(mathematically similar student body, size, academics, stem, salary... etc)

Babson College Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Babson College

Babson College Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Babson College
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
72.77
Clark UniversityMassachusettsNew England Women's & Men's At...PrivateGood201224
71.84
Union UniversityTennesseeGulf South ConferencePrivateGood225213


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Babson College Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Babson College

Babson College Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Babson College
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
98.06
Sewanee-The University of the SouthTennesseeSouthern Athletic AssociationPrivateGood244250
97.77
Centre CollegeKentuckySouthern Athletic AssociationPrivateGood244198
97.03
Midwest Conference (Average)-Midwest Conference-Conf-Good-245
95.71
Earlham CollegeIndianaHeartland Collegiate Athletic ...PrivateGood235249
94.53
North Coast Athletic Conference (Average)-North Coast Athletic Conference-Conf-Good-221
93.32
Hope CollegeMichiganMichigan Intercollegiate Athle...PrivateAboveAverage244227
92.00
Calvin CollegeMichiganMichigan Intercollegiate Athle...PrivateAboveAverage255209
91.72
New Saint Andrews CollegeIdahoNo Conference AffiliationPrivateAboveAverage241238
91.49
Gustavus Adolphus CollegeMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateAboveAverage239210
90.20
West Coast Conference (Low)-West Coast Conference-Conf-AboveAverage-258
85.68
University of Northern IowaIowaMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAboveAverage252248
85.03
Florida Institute of TechnologyFloridaGulf South Conference / Sunshi...PrivateAboveAverage260130
84.67
University of Missouri-St LouisMissouriGreat Lakes Valley ConferencePublicAboveAverage242211
82.97
Georgia Southern UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage254236
82.91
Big Twelve Conference (Low)-Big Twelve Conference-Conf-Average-178
80.83
University of LouisvilleKentuckyAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAverage258224
78.83
Grand Valley State UniversityMichiganGreat Lakes Intercollegiate At...PublicAverage247239
78.73
Georgia State UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage253230
77.98
The University of Texas at ArlingtonTexasSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage240157