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

Texas State University

2016 University Academic Rankings
Texas State University is a state university located in San Marcos, Texas, United States. Established in 1899 as the Southwest Texas State Normal School, it opened its doors in 1903 to 303 students with a focus to educate students to become teachers. Since that time it has grown into the largest institution in the Texas State University System and the fourth-largest university in the state of Texas boasting an enrollment of over 38,000 students. It has 10 colleges and about 50 schools and departments, including nationally recognized programs in Geography, Criminal Justice and Music. President Lyndon B. Johnson graduated from the institution in 1930.

Texas State's main campus consists of 245 buildings on 492 acres (1.99 km2) of hilly land along the San Marcos River. It also has a satellite campus that started as a multi-institution teaching center offering undergraduate and graduate programs at the Texas State University Round Rock Campus (RRC) in the greater north Austin area.

History

The Southwest Texas State Normal School was proposed in a March 3, 1899, bill by State Representative Fred Cocke. Cocke represented the citizens of Hays and surrounding counties where the school was to be located. While there was opposition to the bill, with the support of State Senator J.B. Dibrell, it was finally passed and signed into law on May 10, 1899, by Governor Joseph D. Sayers. The school's purpose was to provide manual training and teach domestic sciences and agriculture. Any students earning a diploma and teaching certificate from the school would be authorized to teach in the state's public schools. In October 1899, the San Marcos City Council voted to donate 11 acres (45,000 m2) of land at what was known as Chautauqua Hill for the school to be built on. It was not until 1901 that the Texas legislature accepted this donation and approved $25,000 to be used for construction of buildings on the site. The building now known as Old Main was completed and the school opened its doors to its first enrollment of 303 students in September 1903.

In 1912, the San Marcos School Board began a partnership with the school to allow Southwest Texas State Normal School students to instruct local school children as part of their training to become teachers. The San Marcos East End Ward School, comprising the first eight grades of the school district, was moved onto the Southwest Texas State campus in 1917. In 1935, a formal contract between Southwest Texas State Teachers College, as it was known then, and the San Marcos school district for the "Public Schools the laboratory school for said Teachers College." The school would be under the control and supervision of the city of San Marcos but Southwest Texas State was responsible for providing and maintaining buildings and equipment for the city's elementary and junior high schools.:15-18

The college enrolled its first African American students in 1963, following a federal lawsuit brought by Dana Smith, who became one of the first five African Americans at the institution when a district court judge ruled that they could not be denied admission based on race.

On November 8, 1965, the school's most famous alumnus, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson, returned to his alma mater to sign the Higher Education Act of 1965, which was part of his Great Society. In a speech, held in Strahan Coliseum on the school's campus, prior to signing the bill, he recounted his own difficulties affording to go to college: having to shower and shave in the school's gymnasium, living above a faculty member's garage, and working multiple jobs.

Expansion

The campus has grown substantially from its original 11 acres in 1899. During the first 40 years of the school's history, the campus was expanded to accommodate 18 buildings around the original Main Building ... [more on wikipedia]

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

Texas State University Details

Texas State University Details
detail value
stateTexas
conferenceSun Belt Conference
publicPublic
scores1525/1017/23
levelAverage
rank[364
overall ROI rank[290
sizelarge
undergrads32177
grads4562
price30846
drop41
stem12
research0
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Texas State University?

1. number 364 for Academics.

2. number 290 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Texas State University?

1. California State University-Fullerton

2. Ohio University

3. Kent State University at Kent

4. Northern Arizona University

5. Grand Valley State University

6. The University of Alabama

7. University of North Texas


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Texas State University National Academic Rankings

Texas State University National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Sun Belt Conference788439977
South West Region396155201733335747
State of Texas172727111120203626
Top Ten Sun Belt Conference788438877


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Texas State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Texas State University

Texas State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Texas State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
93.22
California State University-FullertonCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage362435
91.55
Ohio UniversityOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage215174
91.50
Kent State University at KentOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage347358
91.50
Northern Arizona UniversityArizonaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage336333
91.15
Grand Valley State UniversityMichiganGreat Lakes Intercollegiate At...PublicAverage247239
86.37
The University of AlabamaAlabamaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage175112
86.17
University of North TexasTexasConference USAPublicAboveAverage192165
85.03
Utah State UniversityUtahMountain West ConferencePublicAboveAverage165120
84.52
University of ArkansasArkansasSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage171119
83.90
Towson UniversityMarylandColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAverage264365
83.84
Missouri State University-SpringfieldMissouriMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage301266
83.75
University of MississippiMississippiSoutheastern ConferencePublicAverage232197
83.40
Ball State UniversityIndianaMid American ConferencePublicAverage337326
83.27
CUNY Queens CollegeNew YorkEast Coast ConferencePublicAverage307400
83.27
St John's University-New YorkNew YorkBig East ConferencePrivateAverage309444
83.17
University of North Carolina at GreensboroNorth CarolinaSouthern ConferencePublicAverage449439
82.68
SUNY at AlbanyNew YorkColonial Athletic Association ...PublicAverage188218
81.80
Pace University-New YorkNew YorkNortheast 10 ConferencePrivateAverage476465
79.22
Indiana University-BloomingtonIndianaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage10292
79.19
Temple UniversityPennsylvaniaAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage168199
79.06
University of Missouri-ColumbiaMissouriSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage12198
78.49
University of South Carolina-ColumbiaSouth CarolinaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage93130
77.59
University of OregonOregonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAboveAverage174221
77.26
University of DelawareDelawareColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAboveAverage107138
76.83
CUNY Hunter CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAboveAverage193228
76.82
Sam Houston State UniversityTexasSouthland ConferencePublicAverage472383
76.62
Montclair State UniversityNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicBelowAverage447463
76.49
Syracuse UniversityNew YorkAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage172216
76.41
CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAboveAverage135182
76.25
Bowling Green State UniversityOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage442351
75.89
University of Puerto Rico-Rio PiedrasPuerto RicoIndependent Southeast RegionPublicAboveAverage176232
75.76
The University of MontanaMontanaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage372232
75.61
University of Wisconsin-WhitewaterWisconsinWisconsin Intercollegiate Ath ConfPublicAverage479363
75.47
The University of Tennessee-ChattanoogaTennesseeSouthern ConferencePublicAverage434464
75.45
University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireWisconsinWisconsin Intercollegiate Ath ConfPublicAverage350253
74.76
Hofstra UniversityNew YorkColonial Athletic AssociationPrivateAboveAverage231298
74.75
University of San FranciscoCaliforniaWest Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage226241
74.64
SUNY College at CortlandNew YorkNew Jersey Athletic Conference...PublicAverage479490
74.61
Loyola Marymount UniversityCaliforniaWest Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage218233
74.61
University of St ThomasMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateAboveAverage238156
74.58
Duquesne UniversityPennsylvaniaNortheast Conference / Atlanti...PrivateAboveAverage346374
74.54
SUNY OneontaNew YorkState University of New York A...PublicAverage365466
74.54
Seton Hall UniversityNew JerseyBig East ConferencePrivateAboveAverage365390
74.52
Ramapo College of New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicAverage369437
74.50
University of DenverColoradoThe Summit LeaguePrivateAboveAverage204186
74.29
Monmouth UniversityNew JerseyBig South Conference / Metro A...PrivateAverage478477
74.19
SUNY at Purchase CollegeNew YorkSkyline ConferencePublicAverage490470
74.10
University of Puerto Rico-CayeyPuerto RicoNo Conference AffiliationPublicAverage484500
74.09
SUNY College of Technology at AlfredNew YorkDivision III IndependentsPublicAverage457467
74.07
Catholic University of AmericaWashington DCOld Dominion Athletic Conferen...PrivateAboveAverage381458


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

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

Texas State University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Texas State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
98.00
California State University-FullertonCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage362435
95.21
University of North DakotaNorth DakotaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage363266
93.34
Big South Conference (Average)-Big South Conference-Conf-Average-392
92.27
SUNY OneontaNew YorkState University of New York A...PublicAverage365466
92.21
Southern Illinois University-CarbondaleIllinoisMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage368278
90.72
Regis UniversityColoradoRocky Mountain Athletic ConferencePrivateAverage360303
90.32
Seton Hall UniversityNew JerseyBig East ConferencePrivateAboveAverage365390
89.77
Adelphi UniversityNew YorkNortheast 10 ConferencePrivateAboveAverage365444
88.59
SUNY College at OswegoNew YorkState University of New York A...PublicAboveAverage361450
86.25
Northwest Conference (Average)-Northwest Conference-Conf-AboveAverage-440