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

State of Idaho University Academic Rankings

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examples: Yale "Wake Forest" "Big Ten" TX NC

2016 Idaho University Academic Rankings

2016 Idaho University Academic Rankings
rank value image public university state conference scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research r pop r stem r other salary ROI overall ROI scores value difficulty value smartest value brainpower value faculty value research value salary ROI value overall ROI value scores level stem drop gpa avg research undergrads grads salary price scores valid
12.17
PrivateNew Saint Andrews CollegeIdahoNo Conference Affiliation112333323641775|742.64|341853|771594|66300|02.67|971146457|573.50|971775/1183/27AboveAverage0222.95070000467000True
22.71
PublicUniversity of IdahoIdahoSun Belt Conference / Big Sky ...224421111311585|662.73|321743|731507|63184|391.00|991461049|732.50|981585/1057/24Average35462.8094928324194580033160True
33.50
PrivateBrigham Young University-IdahoIdahoNo Conference Affiliation761133323211505|632.89|281897|791824|76300|02.67|971482854|742.50|981505/1003/23Average19312.8003662404870012150True
43.80
PublicBoise State UniversityIdahoMountain West Conference653233323551550|652.85|291836|761737|72300|02.67|971259453|634.50|961550/1033/23Average26642.8001933328944470032612True
54.50
PrivateThe College of IdahoIdahoFrontier Conference / Cascade ...446733323131555|652.83|29710|30886|37300|02.67|971542555|773.00|971555/1037/23Average14352.8001120244590036579True
64.50
PrivateNorthwest Nazarene UniversityIdahoGreat Northwest Athletic Conference436633323771555|652.83|29710|30901|38300|02.67|971117293|566.50|941555/1037/23Average14452.80015247253910037340True
75.50
PublicIdaho State UniversityIdahoBig Sky Conference399912222461565|654.00|0-2400|0-2400|0180|402.00|981368941|685.50|951565/1043/23Unknown0662.80211151719124520034527False
86.00
PublicLewis-Clark State CollegeIdahoFrontier Conference985533323981380|583.06|241351|56986|41300|02.67|97755111|388.50|921380/920/21BelowAverage28692.800430403190030568True
96.80
PrivateBoise Bible CollegeIdahoNo Conference Affiliation878833323881480|622.96|26560|23560|23300|02.67|97771123|398.50|921480/987/22BelowAverage0672.80017503190026565True

Common Questions...

What are the best colleges in Idaho?

1. New Saint Andrews College

2. University of Idaho

3. Brigham Young University-Idaho

4. Boise State University

5. The College of Idaho

6. Northwest Nazarene University

7. Idaho State University

2016 Idaho University Academic Rankings

2016 Idaho University Academic Rankings
rank value public name state conference scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI scores level stem drop gpa avg research undergrads grads salary price
12.17PrivateNew Saint Andrews CollegeIdahoNo Conference Affiliation112333641775/1183/27AboveAverage0222.95070000467000
22.71PublicUniversity of IdahoIdahoSun Belt Conference / Big Sky ...224421311585/1057/24Average35462.8094928324194580033160
33.50PrivateBrigham Young University-IdahoIdahoNo Conference Affiliation761133211505/1003/23Average19312.8003662404870012150
43.80PublicBoise State UniversityIdahoMountain West Conference653233551550/1033/23Average26642.8001933328944470032612
54.50PrivateThe College of IdahoIdahoFrontier Conference / Cascade ...446733131555/1037/23Average14352.8001120244590036579
64.50PrivateNorthwest Nazarene UniversityIdahoGreat Northwest Athletic Conference436633771555/1037/23Average14452.80015247253910037340
75.50PublicIdaho State UniversityIdahoBig Sky Conference399912461565/1043/23Unknown0662.80211151719124520034527
86.00PublicLewis-Clark State CollegeIdahoFrontier Conference985533981380/920/21BelowAverage28692.800430403190030568
96.80PrivateBoise Bible CollegeIdahoNo Conference Affiliation878833881480/987/22BelowAverage0672.80017503190026565