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

Stanford University

2016 University Academic Rankings

Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, and is known as one of the world's most prestigious institutions.

Stanford was founded in 1885 by Leland Stanford, former Governor of and U.S. Senator from California and leading railroad tycoon, and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, in memory of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., who had died of typhoid fever at age 15 the previous year. Stanford admitted its first students on October 1, 1891 as a coeducational and non-denominational institution. Tuition was free until 1920. The university struggled financially after Leland Stanford's 1893 death and again after much of the campus was damaged by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Following World War II, Provost Frederick Terman supported faculty and graduates' entrepreneurialism to build self-sufficient local industry in what would later be known as Silicon Valley. By 1970, Stanford was home to a linear accelerator, and was one of the original four ARPANET nodes (precursor to the Internet).

The main campus is in northern Santa Clara Valley adjacent to Palo Alto and between San Jose and San Francisco. Stanford also has land and facilities elsewhere. Its 8,180-acre (3,310 ha) campus is one of the largest in the United States. The university is also one of the top fundraising institutions in the country, becoming the first school to raise more than a billion dollars in a year.

Stanford's academic strength is broad with 40 departments in the three academic schools that have undergraduate students and another four professional schools. Students compete in 36 varsity sports, and the university is one of two private institutions in the Division I FBS Pac-12 Conference. It has gained 109 NCAA team championships, the second-most for a university, 476 individual championships, the most in Division I, and has won the NACDA Directors' Cup, recognizing the university with the best overall athletic team achievement, every year since 1994-1995.

Stanford faculty and alumni have founded many companies including Google, Hewlett-Packard, Nike, Sun Microsystems, Instagram, Snapchat, and Yahoo!, and companies founded by Stanford alumni generate more than $2.7 trillion in annual revenue, equivalent to the 10th-largest economy in the world. It is the alma mater of 30 living billionaires, 17 astronauts, and 20 Turing Award laureates. It is also one of the leading producers of members of the United States Congress. Sixty Nobel laureates and seven Fields Medalists have been affiliated with Stanford as students, alumni, faculty or staff.

The university officially opened on October 1, 1891 to 555 students. On the university's opening day, Founding President David Starr Jordan (1851-1931) said to Stanford's Pioneer Class: " is hallowed by no traditions; it is hampered by none. Its finger posts all point forward." However, much preceded the opening and continued for several years until the death of the last Founder, Jane Stanford, in 1905 and the destruction of the 1906 earthquake.

Stanford was founded by Leland Stanford, a railroad magnate, U.S. senator, and former California governor, together with his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford. It is named in honor of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., who died in 1884 from typhoid fever just before his 16th birthday. His parents decided to dedicate a university to their only son, and Leland Stanford told his wife, "The children of California shall be our children." The Stanfords visited Harvard's president, Charles Eliot, and asked whether he should establish a university, technical school or museum. Eliot replied that he should found a university and an endowment of $5 million woul ... [more on wikipedia]

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

Stanford University Details

Stanford University Details
detail value
stateCalifornia
conferencePacific 12 Conference
publicPrivate
scores2210/1473/33
levelElite
rank[9
overall ROI rank[17
sizemedium-small
undergrads7019
grads9944
price62801
drop3
stem29
research884
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Stanford University?

1. number 9 for Academics.

2. number 17 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Stanford University?

1. Washington University in St Louis

2. Duke University

3. Yale University

4. Vanderbilt University

5. Brown University

6. University of Chicago

7. Northwestern University



National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Stanford University National Academic Rankings

Stanford University National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Top2509113211144103917
All9113211144102614
All Nonivy5725692102512
Div16614810361710
Div1 Nonivy2273516157
Div1 Private56128832108
Private1011301112462316
Power52263516113
Stem Low89268114103215
Pacific - 12 Conference112111311
West Coast Region226122432
State of California225122332
Top Ten Top2509113211144103917
Top Ten All109108104389
Top Ten All Nonivy7610682699
Top Ten Div17610893289
Top Ten Div1 Nonivy227351384
Top Ten Div1 Private6610883289
Top Ten Private910109104389
Top Ten Power5226351575
Top Ten Stem Low881081043910
Top Ten Pacific - 12 Conference112111311
Top Ten West Coast Region226122432
Top Ten State of California225122332


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Stanford University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Stanford University

Stanford University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Stanford University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
99.66
Washington University in St LouisMissouriUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite86
99.63
Duke UniversityNorth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateElite133
98.54
Yale UniversityConnecticutIvy LeaguePrivateElite337
93.17
Vanderbilt UniversityTennesseeSoutheastern ConferencePrivateElite148
92.89
Brown UniversityRhode IslandIvy LeaguePrivateElite2534
92.12
University of ChicagoIllinoisUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite1014
91.84
Northwestern UniversityIllinoisBig Ten ConferencePrivateElite1113
91.79
Princeton UniversityNew JerseyIvy LeaguePrivateElite411
90.72
University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaIvy LeaguePrivateElite127
89.94
Cornell UniversityNew YorkIvy LeaguePrivateElite1539
86.04
Johns Hopkins UniversityMarylandCentennial ConferencePrivateElite1647
85.78
Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew YorkIvy LeaguePrivateElite742
85.54
University of Notre DameIndianaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateElite3112
84.92
Tufts UniversityMassachusettsNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateElite2334
84.53
Harvard UniversityMassachusettsIvy LeaguePrivateElite210
84.07
Dartmouth CollegeNew HampshireIvy LeaguePrivateElite1921
81.58
University of California-Los AngelesCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePublicExcellent2984
81.52
University of Wisconsin-MadisonWisconsinBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent3325
79.91
Villanova UniversityPennsylvaniaColonial Athletic Association ...PrivateExcellent9968
79.28
University of RochesterNew YorkUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateExcellent3993
78.14
Lehigh UniversityPennsylvaniaPatriot LeaguePrivateExcellent6932
77.06
Rice UniversityTexasConference USAPrivateElite204
76.80
Northeastern UniversityMassachusettsColonial Athletic AssociationPrivateElite40109
76.17
University of VirginiaVirginiaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicExcellent3227
75.93
Boston UniversityMassachusettsPatriot LeaguePrivateExcellent45116
75.83
University of Southern CaliforniaCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePrivateElite2281
75.29
Carleton CollegeMinnesotaMidwest ConferencePrivateElite8443
74.98
University of Michigan-Ann ArborMichiganBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent1716
74.90
Pomona CollegeCaliforniaSouthern California Intercoll ...PrivateElite52125
74.80
Swarthmore CollegePennsylvaniaCentennial ConferencePrivateElite6748
74.75
University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignIllinoisBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent2417
72.83
Georgetown UniversityWashington DCPatriot League / Big East Conf...PrivateElite4288
72.64
Emory UniversityGeorgiaUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateExcellent3629
72.26
Carnegie Mellon UniversityPennsylvaniaUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite219
71.94
SUNY College at GeneseoNew YorkState University of New York A...PublicExcellent111184
70.95
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusettsNew England Football Conferenc...PrivateElite52
70.85
University of MiamiFloridaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateExcellent4493
70.16
SUNY at BinghamtonNew YorkAmerica EastPublicExcellent65125
70.05
Bucknell UniversityPennsylvaniaPatriot LeaguePrivateExcellent13193
69.85
Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgiaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicElite61
69.55
St Olaf CollegeMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateExcellent144127
69.04
Lafayette CollegePennsylvaniaPatriot LeaguePrivateExcellent165106
68.99
Gettysburg CollegePennsylvaniaCentennial ConferencePrivateExcellent170148
68.80
Union CollegeKentuckyMid - South Conference / Appal...PrivateBelowAverage162178
68.63
Williams CollegeMassachusettsNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateElite58161
68.61
Colorado CollegeColoradoSouthern Collegiate Athletic C...PrivateExcellent149160
68.42
Colby CollegeMaineNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateExcellent132155
68.03
University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesMinnesotaBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent3022
67.97
Reed CollegeOregonNo Conference AffiliationPrivateExcellent106144
67.80
Haverford CollegePennsylvaniaCentennial ConferencePrivateElite97182


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Stanford University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Stanford University

Stanford University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Stanford University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
97.69
Northwestern UniversityIllinoisBig Ten ConferencePrivateElite1113
97.44
Washington University in St LouisMissouriUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite86
96.80
Ivy League (Average)-Ivy League-Conf-Elite-20
95.93
University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaIvy LeaguePrivateElite127
95.65
Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew YorkIvy LeaguePrivateElite742
95.04
Yale UniversityConnecticutIvy LeaguePrivateElite337
95.01
Princeton UniversityNew JerseyIvy LeaguePrivateElite411
94.98
Duke UniversityNorth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateElite133
94.92
University of ChicagoIllinoisUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite1014
94.87
Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgiaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicElite61
94.79
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusettsNew England Football Conferenc...PrivateElite52
94.58
Vanderbilt UniversityTennesseeSoutheastern ConferencePrivateElite148
93.87
Harvard UniversityMassachusettsIvy LeaguePrivateElite210
92.05
Cornell UniversityNew YorkIvy LeaguePrivateElite1539
91.99
California Institute of TechnologyCaliforniaSouthern California Intercoll ...PrivateElite15
89.46
University of Michigan-Ann ArborMichiganBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent1716
88.40
University of California-BerkeleyCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePublicExcellent1826
88.11
University of Southern CaliforniaCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePrivateElite2281
82.99
University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignIllinoisBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent2417