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 Maine University Academic Rankings

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

2016 Maine University Academic Rankings

2016 Maine 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
11.33
PrivateBowdoin CollegeMaineNew England Small College Ath Conf1111222221152175|911.33|671950|812003|83300|02.00|98492678|256.00|942175/1450/33Elite1883.330180503190061650True
22.17
PrivateColby CollegeMaineNew England Small College Ath Conf223222222112033|851.97|511667|691753|73300|02.00|981234157|621.50|992033/1356/31Excellent3093.250184704870061100True
22.17
PublicUniversity of MaineMaineAtlantic 10 Conference / Ameri...332311111521605|672.72|321759|731530|64109|641.00|991066625|533.50|971605/1070/24Average30372.80105933919474790040982True
43.94
PrivateUniversity of New EnglandMaineCommonwealth Coast Conference445522222631570|652.77|311331|551072|45300|02.00|981053385|535.00|951570/1047/24Average29422.800274936804550050900True
54.40
PublicUniversity of Southern MaineMaineLittle East Conference664422222751490|622.92|271590|661219|51300|02.00|98923763|466.00|941490/993/22Average29632.800662818004060033868True
64.67
PublicMaine Maritime AcademyMaineNew England Football Conferenc...55772222210101505|632.85|29610|25792|33300|02.00|98553920|288.00|921505/1003/23Average35292.8001031293190037488True
75.80
PrivateHusson UniversityMaineEastern Collegiate Football Co...786622222891440|603.01|25851|35814|34300|02.00|98912609|467.50|931440/960/22BelowAverage7632.80023556173710027601True
86.13
PrivateSaint Joseph's College of MaineMaineGreat Northeast Athletic Conference778822222231440|603.00|25480|20707|29300|02.00|981154295|585.00|951440/960/22BelowAverage9452.800188710464830046720True
97.60
PublicUniversity of Maine at MachiasMaineNo Conference Affiliation999922222471385|583.04|24370|15557|23300|02.00|981107161|556.50|941385/923/21BelowAverage41602.80081004790030848True
108.40
PublicUniversity of Maine at Fort KentMaineNo Conference Affiliation1010101022222371355|563.10|23310|13539|22300|02.00|981142173|576.50|941355/903/20BelowAverage7632.800132704790022095True
119.20
PrivateThomas CollegeMaineNorth Atlantic Conference11111111222229111330|553.12|22260|11489|20300|02.00|98558432|2810.00|901330/887/20BelowAverage2542.80012201843190036360True

Common Questions...

What are the best colleges in Maine?

1. Bowdoin College

2. Colby College

3. University of Maine

4. University of New England

5. University of Southern Maine

6. Maine Maritime Academy

7. Husson University

2016 Top 10 Maine University Academic Rankings

2016 Top 10 Maine 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
11.33PrivateBowdoin CollegeMaineNew England Small College Ath Conf1111221052175/1450/33Elite1883.330180503190061650
22.17PrivateColby CollegeMaineNew England Small College Ath Conf223222112033/1356/31Excellent3093.250184704870061100
22.17PublicUniversity of MaineMaineAtlantic 10 Conference / Ameri...332311521605/1070/24Average30372.80105933919474790040982
43.94PrivateUniversity of New EnglandMaineCommonwealth Coast Conference445522631570/1047/24Average29422.800274936804550050900
54.40PublicUniversity of Southern MaineMaineLittle East Conference664422761490/993/22Average29632.800662818004060033868
64.67PublicMaine Maritime AcademyMaineNew England Football Conferenc...557722991505/1003/23Average35292.8001031293190037488
75.80PrivateHusson UniversityMaineEastern Collegiate Football Co...786622891440/960/22BelowAverage7632.80023556173710027601
86.13PrivateSaint Joseph's College of MaineMaineGreat Northeast Athletic Conference778822231440/960/22BelowAverage9452.800188710464830046720
97.60PublicUniversity of Maine at MachiasMaineNo Conference Affiliation999922471385/923/21BelowAverage41602.80081004790030848
108.40PublicUniversity of Maine at Fort KentMaineNo Conference Affiliation1010101022371355/903/20BelowAverage7632.800132704790022095