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

Indiana State University

2016 University Academic Rankings
Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It is an independent public university founded in 1865 that offers over 100 majors. The university has a broad range of graduate offerings in a number of fields. Indiana State is classified by the a Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as a Doctoral/Research University.

The Princeton Review has named Indiana State as one of the "Best in the Midwest" 13 years running, Washington Monthly ranks Indiana State University number 20 overall among all national universities, number 2 in community service by students, and #1 in overall service learning. Both the Princeton Review and US News have ranked the Scott College of Business as one of the top business schools for its class.

ISU is noted for its focus on public service, has been a member of the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll and was named the national Non-profit Leadership Campus of the Year in 2013. It is a member of the College Consortium of Western Indiana. This membership allows students who are full-time at their home institution to take classes at the other member institutions of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

History

Indiana State University was established by the Indiana General Assembly on December 20, 1865, as the Indiana State Normal School in Terre Haute. As the State Normal School, its core mission was to educate elementary and high school teachers. The school awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1908 and the first master's degrees in 1928. In 1929, the Indiana State Normal School was renamed the Indiana State Teachers College, and in 1961, was renamed Indiana State College due to an expanding mission. In 1965, the Indiana General Assembly renamed the college as Indiana State University in recognition of continued growth.

Campus

The Indiana State University main campus is located on the north side of Terre Haute's downtown business district and covers more than 200 acres (0.81 km2) in the heart of the city. Over 60 brick and limestone buildings and laboratories comprise the main campus. Starting in the 1960s and continuing through the 1990s, ISU lost many of its historic buildings, but efforts to beautify the campus continue: a section of Seventh Street that runs by the university has been converted into a boulevard with flower beds and antique light posts; the old power plant was razed in 2002 and replaced with a modern facility; Stalker Hall reopened in fall 2005 after a complete renovation; Normal Hall, a Neo-Classic building erected in 1909, originally served as the library, and is line for renovation in 2011-12. In 2009, the university dedicated a more than 109,000-square-foot (10,100 m2) Student Recreation Center, financed via private funding and student fees. Also in 2009, the College of Education was relocated to the newly renovated, historic University Hall. The Scott College of Business has relocated to the renovated former Terre Haute Federal Building, a classic Art Deco building erected in 1933.

The Indiana State University field campus is an outdoor teaching, learning, and research area designed to accommodate educational programs and services. The field campus is located on 93 acres (380,000 m2) approximately 18 miles (29 km) east of Terre Haute near Brazil, Indiana, and includes eight man-made lakes.

Fairbanks Hall

Fairbanks Hall serves as both a working art studio as well as gallery space for the art department of Indiana State University. Originally built as a Terre Haute public library in 1903-06; it is an outstanding example of Beaux-Arts architecture and constructed entirely from Indiana Limestone.

In 1903, Mr. Fairbanks offered to c ... [more on wikipedia]

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

Indiana State University Details

Indiana State University Details
detail value
stateIndiana
conferenceGateway Football Conference / ...
publicPublic
scores1350/900/20
levelBelowAverage
rank[-1
overall ROI rank[-1
sizemedium
undergrads10881
grads2302
price30863
drop55
stem15
research2
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Indiana State University?

1. number -1 for Academics.

2. number -1 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Indiana State University?


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Indiana State University National Academic Rankings

Indiana State University National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Missouri Valley Conference131514121228913
State of Indiana2841411114451620


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Indiana State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Indiana State University

Indiana State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Indiana State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Indiana State University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Indiana State University

Indiana State University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Indiana State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI