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

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

2016 University Academic Rankings
“ I have established a school at the north end of Troy, in Rensselaer county, in the building usually called the Old Bank Place, for the purpose of instructing persons, who may choose to apply themselves, in the application of science to the common purposes of life..."

~ Stephen van Rensselaer of Albany to Samuel Blatchford of Lansingburgh.Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (/rɛnsəˈlɪər/), or RPI, is a private research university located in Troy, New York, with two additional campuses in Hartford and Groton, Connecticut. It was founded in 1824 by Stephen van Rensselaer and Amos Eaton for the "application of science to the common purposes of life" and is described as the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world. Built on a hillside, RPI's 265-acre (107 ha) campus overlooks the city of Troy and the Hudson River and is a blend of traditional and modern architecture. The institute operates an on‑campus business incubator and the 1,250-acre (510 ha) Rensselaer Technology Park. Numerous American colleges or departments of applied sciences were modeled after Rensselaer. The university is one among a small group of polytechnic universities in the United States which tend to be primarily devoted to the instruction of technical arts and applied sciences.

Rensselaer is organized into six main schools within which there are thirty-seven departments: the School of Architecture; School of Engineering; School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; School of Information Technology and Web Science; School of Science; and the Lally School of Management & Technology. The university offers around one hundred forty degree programs in sixty fields leading to bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees.

History | 1824-1900

Stephen van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which Van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's first senior professor and appointed the first board of trustees. The school opened on Monday, January 3, 1825, at the Old Bank Place, a building at the north end of Troy. Tuition was around $40 per semester (equivalent to $800 in 2012). The fact that the school attracted students from as far as Ohio and Pennsylvania is attributed to the reputation of Eaton. Fourteen months of successful trial led to the incorporation of the school on March 21, 1826, by the state of New York. In its early years, the Rensselaer School strongly resembled a graduate school more than it did a college, drawing graduates from many older institutions.

Under Eaton, the Rensselaer School, renamed the Rensselaer Institute in 1832, was a small but vibrant center for technological research. The first civil engineering degrees in the United States were granted by the school in 1835, and many of the best remembered civil engineers of that time graduated from the school. Important visiting scholars included Joseph Henry, who had previously studied under Amos Eaton, and Thomas Davenport, who sold the world's first working electric motor to the institute.

In 1847, alumnus Benjamin Franklin Greene became the new senior professor. Earlier he had done a thorough study of European technical schools to see how Rensselaer could be improved. In 1850 he reorganized the school into a three-year polytechnic institute with six technical schools. In 1861, the name was changed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A severe conflagration of May 10, 1862, known as "The Great Fire" destroyed more than 507 buildings in Troy and gutted 75 acres (300,000 m2) in the heart of the city. The "Infant School" building that housed the Institute at the time was destroyed in this fire. ... [more on wikipedia]

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

Intense Engineering Universities

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Details

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Details
detail value
stateNew York
conferenceUpstate Collegiate Athletic As...
publicPrivate
scores2059/1373/31
levelExcellent
rank[27
overall ROI rank[34
sizemedium-small
undergrads5618
grads1217
price64198
drop15
stem67
research87
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute?

1. number 27 for Academics.

2. number 34 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute?

1. Case Western Reserve University

2. United States Naval Academy

3. Colorado School of Mines

4. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

5. United States Air Force Academy

6. University of California-Berkeley

7. Carnegie Mellon University


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute National Academic Rankings

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Top25027449436218688334
All29419436118554532
All Nonivy21358355414494424
Private21438293711284019
Stem High676796112916
Stem Low22258304414495831
New England Region122742028724218
State of New York351441941
Top Ten Top25027449436218688334
Top Ten Stem High776796887
Top Ten State of New York341441421


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
92.49
Case Western Reserve UniversityOhioPresidents' Athletic Conferenc...PrivateExcellent2814
85.35
United States Naval AcademyMarylandDivision I Independents / Patr...PublicExcellent12648
85.29
Colorado School of MinesColoradoRocky Mountain Athletic ConferencePublicGood8424
85.03
Worcester Polytechnic InstituteMassachusettsUpstate Collegiate Athletic As...PrivateExcellent7340
84.69
United States Air Force AcademyColoradoMountain West ConferencePublicExcellent9130
81.38
University of California-BerkeleyCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePublicExcellent1826
79.69
Carnegie Mellon UniversityPennsylvaniaUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite219
79.08
Missouri University of Science and TechnologyMissouriGreat Lakes Valley ConferencePublicGood10532
78.69
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusettsNew England Football Conferenc...PrivateElite52
78.68
Polytechnic Institute of New York UniversityNew YorkNo Reported AffiliationPrivateGood7672
76.77
Stevens Institute of TechnologyNew JerseyEmpire EightPrivateExcellent9943
76.04
Rose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyIndianaHeartland Collegiate Athletic ...PrivateExcellent15960
75.88
Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgiaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicElite61
74.84
University of California-San DiegoCaliforniaDivision II IndependentsPublicExcellent2670
74.72
University of Maryland-College ParkMarylandBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent3460
74.50
California Institute of TechnologyCaliforniaSouthern California Intercoll ...PrivateElite15
74.39
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and ArtNew YorkNo Conference AffiliationPrivateExcellent10969
73.29
Michigan Technological UniversityMichiganGreat Lakes Intercollegiate At...PublicAboveAverage14658
72.64
University of RochesterNew YorkUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateExcellent3993
72.44
Wake Forest UniversityNorth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateExcellent6650
71.45
Emory UniversityGeorgiaUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateExcellent3629
70.34
Illinois Institute of TechnologyIllinoisDivision III IndependentsPrivateGood12255
69.75
Milwaukee School of EngineeringWisconsinNorthern Athletics Collegiate ...PrivateGood184102
68.60
New Mexico Institute of Mining and TechnologyNew MexicoNo Conference AffiliationPublicGood18093
67.73
United States Coast Guard AcademyConnecticutNew England Football Conferenc...PublicGood18597
67.62
Harvey Mudd CollegeCaliforniaSouthern California Intercoll ...PrivateElite4919
67.08
Franklin W Olin College of EngineeringMassachusettsNo Conference AffiliationPrivateElite4853
66.67
University of Alabama in HuntsvilleAlabamaGulf South ConferencePublicAboveAverage181103


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
98.67
University of Southern CaliforniaCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePrivateElite2281
96.71
University of California-BerkeleyCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePublicExcellent1826
96.55
Case Western Reserve UniversityOhioPresidents' Athletic Conferenc...PrivateExcellent2814
96.40
Atlantic Coast Conference (Average)-Atlantic Coast Conference-Conf-Excellent-21
95.69
Big Ten Conference (Average)-Big Ten Conference-Conf-Excellent-22
94.96
Ivy League (Low)-Ivy League-Conf-Elite-21
94.56
University Athletic Association (Average)-University Athletic Association-Conf-Elite-21
94.42
Brown UniversityRhode IslandIvy LeaguePrivateElite2534
93.92
Carnegie Mellon UniversityPennsylvaniaUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite219
93.75
University of VirginiaVirginiaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicExcellent3227
93.30
University of Notre DameIndianaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateElite3112
93.14
Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgiaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicElite61
92.45
University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignIllinoisBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent2417
92.42
University of California-Los AngelesCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePublicExcellent2984
91.63
University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesMinnesotaBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent3022
91.54
Tufts UniversityMassachusettsNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateElite2334
90.92
Dartmouth CollegeNew HampshireIvy LeaguePrivateElite1921
90.29
Harvey Mudd CollegeCaliforniaSouthern California Intercoll ...PrivateElite4919
89.94
University of California-San DiegoCaliforniaDivision II IndependentsPublicExcellent2670
89.92
Franklin W Olin College of EngineeringMassachusettsNo Conference AffiliationPrivateElite4853
89.86
University of Wisconsin-MadisonWisconsinBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent3325
88.99
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusettsNew England Football Conferenc...PrivateElite52
80.92
North Carolina State University at RaleighNorth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAboveAverage5831