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

Mountain West Conference (Low)

2016 University Academic Rankings

The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA Division I FBS (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations in July 1999. Geographically, the MW covers a broad expanse of the Western United States, with member schools located in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Craig Thompson has served as Commissioner of the MW since its founding in 1999.

The charter members of the MW included the United States Air Force Academy, Brigham Young University, Colorado State University, San Diego State University, the University of New Mexico, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Utah, and the University of Wyoming. Before forming the Mountain West Conference, seven of its eight charter members had been longtime members of the Western Athletic Conference. Half of these had been charter members of that conference from 1962. Overall, each school that has ever been either a full or football-only member of the MW spent at least three years in the WAC before joining the Mountain West. The 2013-14 academic year was the 15th anniversary season of the MW.

History

The creation of the MW was a delayed aftereffect of the 1996 NCAA conference realignment, which had initially been triggered two years earlier when the Big Eight Conference agreed to merge with four members of the Southwest Conference (SWC) to create the Big 12 Conference, which would begin competition in the 1996-97 school year.

The WAC, which had initially announced plans to expand beyond its then-current 10 members to at least 12, ended up with even more potential expansion prospects. Ultimately, the WAC took in three of the four SWC schools left out of the Big 12 merger-Rice University, Southern Methodist University (SMU), and Texas Christian University (TCU). Three other schools were added to bring the total membership to 16, namely Big West Conference members San Jose State University and UNLV, plus the University of Tulsa, an NCAA football independent and otherwise a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. However, the newly expanded WAC was soon wracked by tension between the established and new members. The final straw came in spring 1998, when BYU and Utah proposed a permanent split into two eight-team divisions. Previously, the WAC's 16 teams had been divided into four four-team "quadrants," two of which rotated between the Mountain and Pacific Divisions every two years. A two-division setup would have forced some schools into an unnatural alignment because of the geographic distribution of the conference. Air Force was the most strident opponent of this proposal, threatening to become an independent. Soon after the proposal by BYU and Utah, the presidents of Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, Utah, and Wyoming met at Denver International Airport to discuss their future, and they agreed to break away from the WAC to form a new conference.

They invited the WAC members New Mexico, San Diego State, and UNLV, to join them in what became the Mountain West Conference. The next move for the MW came in 2005, when the conference added TCU, who had spent the previous four seasons in Conference USA (C-USA).

On June 11, 2010, Boise State University agreed to join the conference as its tenth member. On June 17, 2010, Utah announced it would be leaving the Mountain West to join what would become the Pac-12 Conference. On August 18, 2010, amidst rumors that BYU was considering leaving the Mountain West to go independent in football and rejoin the Western Athletic Conference in all other sports, the Mountain West Conference officially extended invitations to California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) and the University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada). Both schools accepted and would become the tenth and eleventh members of the league. BYU announced on August 31, 2010 ... [more on wikipedia]

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mountain West Conference (Low)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

Mountain West Conference Details

Mountain West Conference Details
detail value
state-
conferenceMountain West Conference
public-Conf-
scores1585/1057/24
levelAverage
rank[-
overall ROI rank[285
sizemedium
undergrads17887
grads4182
price31561
drop37
stem32
research59
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Mountain West Conference (Low)?

1. number - for Academics.

2. number 285 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Mountain West Conference (Low)?

1. University of Memphis

2. University of Toledo

3. The University of Texas at San Antonio

4. Florida Atlantic University

5. University of Southern Mississippi

6. Wichita State University

7. Oakland University



National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Mountain West Conference National Academic Rankings

Mountain West Conference National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Conferences508280373658454746
Mountain West Conference-810779778
Top Ten Mountain West Conference-810778779


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Mountain West Conference Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Mountain West Conference

Mountain West Conference Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Mountain West Conference
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
99.70
University of MemphisTennesseeAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage359314
99.33
University of ToledoOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage405285
98.24
The University of Texas at San AntonioTexasConference USAPublicAverage330180
98.01
Florida Atlantic UniversityFloridaConference USAPublicAverage305303
97.81
University of Southern MississippiMississippiConference USAPublicAverage493423
97.80
Wichita State UniversityKansasMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage382307
92.98
Oakland UniversityMichiganHorizon LeaguePublicAverage417270
92.94
University of Nevada-RenoNevadaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage289340
92.83
Boise State UniversityIdahoMountain West ConferencePublicAverage389329
92.72
University of Akron Main CampusOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage331251
92.62
University of LouisvilleKentuckyAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAverage258224
92.53
Kansas State UniversityKansasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage249168
92.42
Northern Illinois UniversityIllinoisMid American ConferencePublicAverage435289
92.36
Oklahoma State UniversityOklahomaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage182124
92.14
University of New MexicoNew MexicoMountain West ConferencePublicAverage265153
92.03
University of North Carolina at CharlotteNorth CarolinaDivision I-AA Independents / C...PublicAverage292207
91.93
University of Hawaii at ManoaHawaiiMountain West Conference / Big...PublicAverage204245
91.93
CUNY Brooklyn CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAverage296394
91.93
University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeWisconsinHorizon LeaguePublicBelowAverage420367
91.66
Washington State UniversityWashingtonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage189193
91.66
Oregon State UniversityOregonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage152202
91.37
Georgia State UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage253230
91.22
University of Nebraska at OmahaNebraskaThe Summit LeaguePublicAverage491364
91.14
San Jose State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage386389
91.07
Cleveland State UniversityOhioHorizon LeaguePublicAverage440299
90.87
San Diego State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage183218
89.28
Howard UniversityWashington DCMid Eastern Athletic ConferencePrivateAverage343429
86.57
Illinois State UniversityIllinoisMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage279222
86.43
Clemson UniversitySouth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAboveAverage9851
86.35
University of California-RiversideCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage167212
86.31
Western Michigan UniversityMichiganMid American ConferencePublicBelowAverage446320
86.30
Drexel UniversityPennsylvaniaColonial Athletic AssociationPrivateAboveAverage120134
86.16
Mississippi State UniversityMississippiSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage197130
86.07
University of California-Santa CruzCaliforniaDivision III IndependentsPublicAverage157208
86.02
The University of Texas at El PasoTexasConference USAPublicBelowAverage499294
85.99
California State University-ChicoCaliforniaCalifornia Collegiate Athletic...PublicAverage392409
85.97
University of Nebraska-LincolnNebraskaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage11998
85.80
University of Louisiana at LafayetteLouisianaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage350248
85.78
Auburn UniversityAlabamaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage13979
85.68
University of Oklahoma-Norman CampusOklahomaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAboveAverage13754
85.29
Indiana University-Purdue University-IndianapolisIndianaThe Summit LeaguePublicAverage427342
85.29
West Virginia UniversityWest VirginiaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage320192
85.05
Kennesaw State UniversityGeorgiaAtlantic Sun ConferencePublicAverage290291
84.87
University of California-IrvineCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAboveAverage108162
84.84
University of Massachusetts-LowellMassachusettsAmerica EastPublicAboveAverage247275
84.76
New Mexico State UniversityNew MexicoSun Belt Conference / Western ...PublicBelowAverage486360
84.66
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegeLouisianaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage14888
84.60
San Francisco State UniversityCaliforniaCalifornia Collegiate Athletic...PublicBelowAverage428458
84.52
North Dakota State UniversityNorth DakotaMissouri Valley Conference / T...PublicAverage261196
84.49
University of Colorado BoulderColoradoPacific 12 ConferencePublicAboveAverage7959


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Mountain West Conference Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Mountain West Conference

Mountain West Conference Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Mountain West Conference
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
98.99
Sun Belt Conference (Average)-Sun Belt Conference-Conf-Average-232
96.41
East Carolina UniversityNorth CarolinaAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage312325
95.72
Big Sky Conference (Low)-Big Sky Conference-Conf-Average-245
95.72
Portland State UniversityOregonBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage308408
95.54
St John's University-New YorkNew YorkBig East ConferencePrivateAverage309444
95.12
University of Michigan-DearbornMichiganWolverine - Hoosier Athletic ConfPublicAboveAverage312185
95.07
Liberty UniversityVirginiaBig South ConferencePrivateAverage230248
93.68
Brigham Young University-IdahoIdahoNo Conference AffiliationPrivateAverage312164
93.54
CUNY Queens CollegeNew YorkEast Coast ConferencePublicAverage307400
92.35
West Chester University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaPennsylvania State Athletic Co...PublicAboveAverage315361
91.38
Big West Conference (Low)-Big West Conference-Conf-Average-385
89.62
Big East Conference (Low)-Big East Conference-Conf-AboveAverage-224
89.55
Westmont CollegeCaliforniaGolden State Athletic ConferencePrivateAboveAverage311400
88.35
Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (Low)-Upstate Collegiate Athletic As...-Conf-AboveAverage-320
87.55
Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf (Average)-Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf-Conf-AboveAverage-242
84.42
No Conference Affiliation (Low)-No Conference Affiliation-Conf-Good-338
83.26
North Coast Athletic Conference (Average)-North Coast Athletic Conference-Conf-Good-221
80.84
Midwest Conference (Average)-Midwest Conference-Conf-Good-245