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

University Athletic Association (Average)

2016 University Academic Rankings

The University Athletic Association (UAA) is an American athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division III. Member teams are located in Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, and New York. Due to the academic strength of its members, colloquially it has been called the "egghead eight." (The name "nerdy nine" was also used when Johns Hopkins was a member.)

Academics

The UAA is the only NCAA conference to have all of its member institutions affiliated with the Association of American Universities, a collection of 60 of the top research institutions in the United States, although the Big Ten Conference and Ivy League are close, with each having only one non-AAU member, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Dartmouth College, respectively. Further, all of the UAA members are ranked in the top 40 of national research universities by U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges Rankings.

Member schools | Current members

All of the universities listed above are founding members except Brandeis, which joined shortly before official competition began in October, 1987. Johns Hopkins University was a founding member, but no longer participates in the UAA.

Former member

* - Johns Hopkins had dual athletic conference membership with the Centennial Conference from 1992-93 to 2000-01, then the Blue Jays left the UAA in order to fully align with the Centennial Conference.

Membership timeline | Conference facilities | Sports | Men | Women

* Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon will be affiliate members of the PAC in football by 2014. Chicago and Washington will be affiliate members of the SAA in football by 2015, meaning that the UAA will cease sponsoring football.

Football champions | References

^ Bowen, William G.; Levin, Sarah A. (2011). Reclaiming the Game: College Sports and Educational Values. Princeton University Press. p. 32. ISBN 9781400840700.

External links

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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "University Athletic Association (Average)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

University Athletic Association Details

University Athletic Association Details
detail value
state-
conferenceUniversity Athletic Association
public-Conf-
scores2096/1398/31
levelElite
rank[-
overall ROI rank[21
sizemedium-small
undergrads8343
grads8388
price63911
drop12
stem28
research391
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for University Athletic Association (Average)?

1. number - for Academics.

2. number 21 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to University Athletic Association (Average)?

1. Northwestern University

2. University of Chicago

3. University of Notre Dame

4. Columbia University in the City of New York

5. Washington University in St Louis

6. Stanford University

7. Vanderbilt University



National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

University Athletic Association National Academic Rankings

University Athletic Association National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Top250-3533283438465621
Conferences2423431084
Top Ten Top250-3533283438465621
Top Ten Conferences242343643


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

University Athletic Association Peer Universities, Similar Universities to University Athletic Association

University Athletic Association Peer Universities, Similar Universities to University Athletic Association
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
99.48
Northwestern UniversityIllinoisBig Ten ConferencePrivateElite1113
97.92
University of ChicagoIllinoisUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite1014
93.25
University of Notre DameIndianaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateElite3112
93.14
Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew YorkIvy LeaguePrivateElite742
92.58
Washington University in St LouisMissouriUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite86
92.28
Stanford UniversityCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePrivateElite917
92.14
Vanderbilt UniversityTennesseeSoutheastern ConferencePrivateElite148
92.05
Harvard UniversityMassachusettsIvy LeaguePrivateElite210
91.96
Duke UniversityNorth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateElite133
91.48
University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaIvy LeaguePrivateElite127
85.23
Brown UniversityRhode IslandIvy LeaguePrivateElite2534
85.08
Johns Hopkins UniversityMarylandCentennial ConferencePrivateElite1647
85.01
University of RochesterNew YorkUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateExcellent3993
84.98
University of MiamiFloridaAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateExcellent4493
84.38
Yale UniversityConnecticutIvy LeaguePrivateElite337
84.14
Tufts UniversityMassachusettsNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateElite2334
84.12
Northeastern UniversityMassachusettsColonial Athletic AssociationPrivateElite40109
83.89
Cornell UniversityNew YorkIvy LeaguePrivateElite1539
83.37
University of VirginiaVirginiaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicExcellent3227
83.14
Rice UniversityTexasConference USAPrivateElite204
81.69
University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignIllinoisBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent2417
79.02
Villanova UniversityPennsylvaniaColonial Athletic Association ...PrivateExcellent9968
78.04
Carnegie Mellon UniversityPennsylvaniaUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite219
77.64
Princeton UniversityNew JerseyIvy LeaguePrivateElite411
76.76
Dartmouth CollegeNew HampshireIvy LeaguePrivateElite1921
76.30
University of Southern CaliforniaCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePrivateElite2281
75.21
University of California-Los AngelesCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePublicExcellent2984
75.15
University of Wisconsin-MadisonWisconsinBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent3325
74.98
Carleton CollegeMinnesotaMidwest ConferencePrivateElite8443
74.95
University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesMinnesotaBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent3022
74.65
Pomona CollegeCaliforniaSouthern California Intercoll ...PrivateElite52125
74.57
Swarthmore CollegePennsylvaniaCentennial ConferencePrivateElite6748
72.74
Georgetown UniversityWashington DCPatriot League / Big East Conf...PrivateElite4288
71.43
University of Alabama at BirminghamAlabamaConference USAPublicAboveAverage153148
71.10
SUNY College at GeneseoNew YorkState University of New York A...PublicExcellent111184
70.81
SUNY at BinghamtonNew YorkAmerica EastPublicExcellent65125
69.75
Boston UniversityMassachusettsPatriot LeaguePrivateExcellent45116
69.52
Bucknell UniversityPennsylvaniaPatriot LeaguePrivateExcellent13193
69.09
St Olaf CollegeMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateExcellent144127
68.67
Lafayette CollegePennsylvaniaPatriot LeaguePrivateExcellent165106
68.63
University of Michigan-Ann ArborMichiganBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent1716
68.62
Gettysburg CollegePennsylvaniaCentennial ConferencePrivateExcellent170148
68.46
Union CollegeKentuckyMid - South Conference / Appal...PrivateBelowAverage162178
68.41
Lewis & Clark CollegeOregonNorthwest ConferencePrivateExcellent179221
68.32
Williams CollegeMassachusettsNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateElite58161
68.30
Colorado CollegeColoradoSouthern Collegiate Athletic C...PrivateExcellent149160
68.14
Colby CollegeMaineNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateExcellent132155
68.05
Grinnell CollegeIowaMidwest ConferencePrivateExcellent114123
67.86
Whitman CollegeWashingtonNorthwest ConferencePrivateExcellent153154
67.76
Reed CollegeOregonNo Conference AffiliationPrivateExcellent106144


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

University Athletic Association Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to University Athletic Association

University Athletic Association Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to University Athletic Association
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
97.88
University of Southern CaliforniaCaliforniaPacific 12 ConferencePrivateElite2281
96.94
Atlantic Coast Conference (Average)-Atlantic Coast Conference-Conf-Excellent-21
96.93
Tufts UniversityMassachusettsNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateElite2334
96.39
Ivy League (Low)-Ivy League-Conf-Elite-21
95.83
Brown UniversityRhode IslandIvy LeaguePrivateElite2534
95.33
Carnegie Mellon UniversityPennsylvaniaUniversity Athletic AssociationPrivateElite219
94.69
Ivy League (Average)-Ivy League-Conf-Elite-20
94.54
Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteNew YorkUpstate Collegiate Athletic As...PrivateExcellent2734
93.94
University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignIllinoisBig Ten ConferencePublicExcellent2417
93.59
Rice UniversityTexasConference USAPrivateElite204
92.30
Dartmouth CollegeNew HampshireIvy LeaguePrivateElite1921
90.17
Big Ten Conference (Average)-Big Ten Conference-Conf-Excellent-22
90.01
University Athletic Association (Low)-University Athletic Association-Conf-Excellent-32
88.38
University of California-San DiegoCaliforniaDivision II IndependentsPublicExcellent2670
87.23
Pacific - 12 Conference (Average)-Pacific 12 Conference-Conf-Excellent-32
84.27
Colonial Athletic Association (Average)-Colonial Athletic Association-Conf-Excellent-112
81.67
Southeastern Conference (Average)-Southeastern Conference-Conf-Good-53
77.76
Big Ten Conference (Low)-Big Ten Conference-Conf-Good-51