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

Claremont McKenna College

2016 University Academic Rankings

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Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is an independent, coeducational, and private liberal arts college with a curricular emphasis on economics, government, and public affairs. CMC is also a member of the Claremont Colleges located in Claremont, California, United States.

Founded as a men's college in 1946, CMC became coeducational in 1976. Its 69-acre campus is located 35 miles (56 km) east of Downtown Los Angeles. The college focuses primarily on undergraduate education, but in 2007 it established the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, which offers a master's program in finance. As of 2015, there are 1,293 undergraduate students and 20 postgraduate students.

Forbes ranks Claremont McKenna as the 18th-best college in the nation, the 6th-best liberal arts college, and the 3rd-best college in the West in the 2015 rankings. Claremont McKenna is tied for 8th with Carleton and Haverford in U.S. News & World Report's ranking of liberal arts colleges. The Princeton Review rated Claremont McKenna 2nd in the nation for happiest students.

History

Claremont McKenna College was founded as Claremont Men's College after the end of World War II. Many of its first students were war veterans attending college on the G.I. Bill. CMC was founded with the mission to foster leadership in its students in the fields of government, economics, and international affairs.

The school became coeducational in 1976 and was renamed after Donald McKenna, a founding trustee, in 1981. The name change allowed the college to keep its popular acronym, "CMC". The college's motto is "Crescit cum commercio civitas", or "Civilization prospers with commerce".

On the evening of March 9, 2004, after attending and speaking at a campus forum concerning a recent spate of racially insensitive incidents, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Kerri Dunn reported that her car had been vandalized and painted with racist, sexist and anti-semitic slurs. In response the Claremont Colleges and a series of demonstrations, candlelight vigils and community meetings were called to address the threat posed by an alleged and previously unknown group of violently intolerant students. Subsequent investigation by the City of Claremont's police department and the FBI revealed that Dunn had, in fact, slashed her own tires and applied the insulting phrases to her own vehicle. She was subsequently found guilty of filing a false police report and attempted insurance fraud. She was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay a fine of approximately $19,000 in restitution.

On September 27, 2007, the College announced a $200 million gift from alumnus and trustee Robert Addison Day to create the "Robert Day Scholars Program" and a master's program in finance. CMC literature professor Robert Faggen sent a letter signed by several other literature professors to CMC president Pamela Gann, saying they were concerned that the gift will "distort the college into a single focus trade school."

On January 30, 2012, Gann announced that a senior admissions officer had been inflating SAT scores reported to the U.S. News & World Report by 10-20 points over the previous six years. However, in 2013, Time reported that "such a small differential could not have significantly affected ... [more on wikipedia]

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

Claremont McKenna College Details

Claremont McKenna College Details
detail value
stateCalifornia
conferenceSouthern California Intercoll ...
publicPrivate
scores2115/1410/32
levelElite
rank[95
overall ROI rank[118
sizesmall
undergrads1301
grads23
price64215
drop8
stem11
research0
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Claremont McKenna College?

1. number 95 for Academics.

2. number 118 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Claremont McKenna College?

1. Scripps College

2. Amherst College

3. Hamilton College

4. Kenyon College

5. Davidson College

6. Wellesley College

7. Middlebury College



National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Claremont McKenna College National Academic Rankings

Claremont McKenna College National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Top25095326218292153159147118
All893255968382827191
All Nonivy792449927779796784
Private523149774753536456
West Coast Region1359281328261210
State of California125823122018910
Top Ten Top25095326218292153159147118
Top Ten State of California95810107778


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Claremont McKenna College Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Claremont McKenna College

Claremont McKenna College Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Claremont McKenna College
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
84.98
Scripps CollegeCaliforniaSouthern California Intercoll ...PrivateElite127204
84.84
Amherst CollegeMassachusettsNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateElite86158
84.56
Hamilton CollegeNew YorkNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateElite115153
78.55
Kenyon CollegeOhioNorth Coast Athletic ConferencePrivateExcellent14791
78.23
Davidson CollegeNorth CarolinaPioneer Football League / Atla...PrivateExcellent155129
77.07
Wellesley CollegeMassachusettsNew England Women's & Men's At...PrivateElite78158
76.77
Middlebury CollegeVermontNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateElite90135
76.26
Oberlin CollegeOhioNorth Coast Athletic ConferencePrivateExcellent8155
74.48
Georgetown UniversityWashington DCPatriot League / Big East Conf...PrivateElite4288
70.85
Macalester CollegeMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateExcellent133146
70.34
Dickinson CollegePennsylvaniaCentennial ConferencePrivateExcellent187201
70.25
Vassar CollegeNew YorkUpstate Collegiate Athletic As...PrivateElite82177
70.23
Wheaton CollegeIllinoisCollege Conference of Illinois...PrivateExcellent149114
70.04
Barnard CollegeNew YorkIvy LeaguePrivateExcellent104176
69.68
Colgate UniversityNew YorkPatriot LeaguePrivateExcellent9283
69.26
University of RichmondVirginiaColonial Athletic Association ...PrivateExcellent128150
68.45
Wake Forest UniversityNorth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateExcellent6650
68.04
College of William and MaryVirginiaColonial Athletic AssociationPublicExcellent5460
67.77
Tulane University of LouisianaLouisianaAmerican Athletic ConferencePrivateExcellent61106
67.55
Boston CollegeMassachusettsAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateExcellent4775
67.47
George Washington UniversityWashington DCAtlantic 10 ConferencePrivateExcellent51135


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Claremont McKenna College Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Claremont McKenna College

Claremont McKenna College Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Claremont McKenna College
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
96.94
Reed CollegeOregonNo Conference AffiliationPrivateExcellent106144
95.48
Haverford CollegePennsylvaniaCentennial ConferencePrivateElite97182
95.16
Vassar CollegeNew YorkUpstate Collegiate Athletic As...PrivateElite82177
94.21
Grinnell CollegeIowaMidwest ConferencePrivateExcellent114123
94.17
Southern California Intercoll Ath Conf (Average)-Southern California Intercoll ...-Conf-Excellent-130
94.10
Middlebury CollegeVermontNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateElite90135
93.97
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and ArtNew YorkNo Conference AffiliationPrivateExcellent10969
93.28
New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (Average)-New England Women's & Men's At...-Conf-Excellent-60
93.27
Colgate UniversityNew YorkPatriot LeaguePrivateExcellent9283
92.00
Centennial Conference (Average)-Centennial Conference-Conf-Excellent-170
91.67
Wake Forest UniversityNorth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateExcellent6650
90.75
Worcester Polytechnic InstituteMassachusettsUpstate Collegiate Athletic As...PrivateExcellent7340
90.03
Southern Methodist UniversityTexasAmerican Athletic ConferencePrivateExcellent8073
89.36
Tulane University of LouisianaLouisianaAmerican Athletic ConferencePrivateExcellent61106
88.64
United States Air Force AcademyColoradoMountain West ConferencePublicExcellent9130
88.32
Polytechnic Institute of New York UniversityNew YorkNo Reported AffiliationPrivateGood7672
88.09
Villanova UniversityPennsylvaniaColonial Athletic Association ...PrivateExcellent9968
87.68
Stevens Institute of TechnologyNew JerseyEmpire EightPrivateExcellent9943
86.96
Brigham Young University-ProvoUtahOther / West Coast ConferencePrivateGood7227
85.15
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoCaliforniaBig Sky Conference / Big West ...PublicGood9688
84.64
Fordham UniversityNew YorkPatriot League / Atlantic 10 C...PrivateGood109167
81.12
University of ConnecticutConnecticutBig East ConferencePublicGood87139
80.65
Miami University-OxfordOhioMid American ConferencePublicGood11867
78.82
University of South Carolina-ColumbiaSouth CarolinaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage93130
78.48
Clemson UniversitySouth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAboveAverage9851
77.09
University of Colorado BoulderColoradoPacific 12 ConferencePublicAboveAverage7959
76.09
University of DelawareDelawareColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAboveAverage107138
76.09
University of Nebraska-LincolnNebraskaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage11998
76.03
University of South FloridaFloridaAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage94113
75.74
Indiana University-BloomingtonIndianaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage10292
75.09
The University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleTennesseeSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage116188
74.23
Arizona State University-TempeArizonaPacific 12 ConferencePublicAboveAverage10182