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

Ohio State University

2016 University Academic Rankings
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The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State or OSU, is a public research university in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and ninth university in Ohio with the Morrill Act of 1862, the university was originally known as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The college began with a focus on training students in various agricultural and mechanical disciplines but was developed into a comprehensive university under the direction of Governor Rutherford B. Hayes, and in 1878 the Ohio General Assembly passed a law changing the name to "The Ohio State University". It has since grown into the third largest university campus in the United States. Along with its main campus in Columbus, Ohio State also operates a regional campus system with regional campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark, and Wooster.

The university is home to an extensive student life program, with over 1,000 student organizations; intercollegiate, club and recreational sports programs; student media organizations and publications, fraternities and sororities; and three active student governments. Ohio State athletic teams compete in Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for football) of the NCAA and are known as the Ohio State Buckeyes. Athletes from Ohio State University have won 100 Olympic medals (44 gold, 35 silver, and 21 bronze). The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference for the majority of sports. The Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey program competes in the Big Ten Conference, while its women's hockey program competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. In addition, the OSU men's volleyball team is a member of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA). OSU is one of only fourteen universities in the nation that plays Division I FBS football and Division I ice hockey. Alumni and former students have gone on to prominent careers in government, business, science, medicine, education, sports, and entertainment.

History

The initial idea of a manufacturing and agriculture university in central Ohio had been hindered in the 1870s by hostility from the state's agricultural interests and competition for resources from Ohio University, which was chartered by the Northwest Ordinance, and Miami University; although, these issues were dismissed by Republican stalwart Governor Rutherford B. Hayes. The Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university in with the Morrill Act of 1862 under the name of the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The school was originally situated within a farming community located on the northern edge of Columbus. While some interests in the state had hoped that the new university would focus on matriculating students of various agricultural and mechanical disciplines, Governor Hayes manipulated both the university's location and its initial board of trustees towards a more comprehensive end. The university opened its doors to 24 students on September 17, 1873. In 1878, the first class of six men graduated. The first woman graduated the following year. Also in 1878, in light of its expanded focus, the college permanently changed its name to the now-familiar "The Ohio State University", with "The" as part of its official name.

Ohio State began accepting graduate students in the 1880s, and in 1891, the school saw the founding of its law school, Moritz College of Law. It would later acquire colleges of medicine, dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, commerce, and journalism in subsequent years. In 1916, Ohio State was elected into membership in the Association of American Universities.

Campus

Ohio State's 1,764 acres (7.14 km2) of main campus is approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of the city's downtown. Four buildings are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Hale Hall ( ... [more on wikipedia]

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

Ohio State University Details
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Ohio State University?

1. number 40 for Academics.

2. number 43 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Ohio State University?

1. The University of Texas at Austin

2. University of Florida

3. University of Washington-Seattle Campus

4. Texas A & M University-College Station

5. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

6. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

7. Arizona State University-Tempe


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Ohio State University National Academic Rankings


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Ohio State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Ohio State University


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

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