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 Minnesota University Academic Rankings

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

2016 Minnesota University Academic Rankings

2016 Minnesota University Academic Rankings
rank	value	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
1	1.50	Public	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Minnesota	Big Ten Conference	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	5	1	1977\|82	2.10\|48	2158\|90	2123\|88	47\|84	1.00\|99	1463954\|73	3.00\|97	1977/1318/30	Excellent	38	28	3.25	820	34351	16796	50000	32924	True
2	2.17	Private	Carleton College	Minnesota	Midwest Conference	1	1	2	2	4	3	3	3	3	4	1	2145\|89	1.62\|60	1891\|79	1952\|81	300\|0	3.00\|97	1506286\|75	3.00\|97	2145/1430/32	Elite	35	7	3.40	0	2057	0	44000	62465	True
3	3.67	Private	St Olaf College	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	4	4	3	4	4	3	3	3	3	9	5	1969\|82	2.26\|44	1880\|78	1718\|72	300\|0	3.00\|97	1354175\|68	6.00\|94	1969/1312/30	Excellent	28	15	3.25	0	3034	0	45300	53100	True
4	3.83	Private	Macalester College	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	2	3	8	3	4	3	3	3	3	13	8	2040\|85	2.12\|47	1680\|70	1766\|74	300\|0	3.00\|97	1268290\|63	8.50\|92	2040/1360/31	Excellent	16	13	3.25	0	2073	0	40300	59743	True
5	5.00	Private	University of St Thomas	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	8	8	4	6	2	2	2	2	2	8	6	1740\|73	2.66\|33	1799\|75	1535\|64	187\|38	2.00\|98	1383354\|69	6.50\|94	1740/1160/26	AboveAverage	18	24	2.95	1	6148	3992	47300	49600	True
6	6.67	Private	Gustavus Adolphus College	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	5	5	14	9	4	3	3	3	3	14	9	1805\|75	2.47\|38	1536\|64	1429\|60	300\|0	3.00\|97	1258601\|63	10.00\|90	1805/1203/27	AboveAverage	30	18	2.95	0	2457	0	41100	51540	True
7	9.00	Public	University of Minnesota-Morris	Minnesota	Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	7	6	22	12	4	3	3	3	3	3	4	1760\|73	2.60\|35	1120\|47	1272\|53	300\|0	3.00\|97	1512357\|76	5.00\|95	1760/1173/26	AboveAverage	24	38	2.95	0	1899	0	50000	23199	True
8	9.17	Public	University of Minnesota-Rochester	Minnesota	No Conference Affiliation	6	7	19	16	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1790\|75	2.61\|35	1180\|49	1180\|49	300\|0	3.00\|97	1680911\|84	4.50\|96	1790/1193/27	AboveAverage	0	0	2.95	0	488	0	51400	25518	True
9	9.33	Private	University of Northwestern-St Paul	Minnesota	Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	9	18	11	11	4	3	3	3	3	7	7	1694\|71	2.79\|30	1576\|66	1290\|54	300\|0	3.00\|97	1419210\|71	8.00\|92	1694/1129/25	AboveAverage	6	35	2.95	0	3222	205	47300	40636	True
10	9.69	Public	University of Minnesota-Duluth	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	19	15	6	7	4	3	3	3	3	11	10	1570\|65	2.77\|31	1744\|73	1507\|63	300\|0	3.00\|97	1312115\|66	10.50\|90	1570/1047/24	Average	31	43	2.80	0	9987	1106	46600	27047	True
11	9.83	Private	Bethel University	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	11	16	12	13	4	3	3	3	3	25	17	1685\|70	2.78\|30	1541\|64	1270\|53	300\|0	3.00\|97	1069682\|53	18.00\|82	1685/1123/25	AboveAverage	13	25	2.95	0	3045	934	42000	45830	True
12	10.50	Private	Concordia College at Moorhead	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	10	13	18	15	4	3	3	3	3	26	18	1690\|70	2.75\|31	1298\|54	1232\|51	300\|0	3.00\|97	1043518\|52	19.00\|81	1690/1127/25	AboveAverage	18	30	2.95	0	2381	17	39400	44474	True
12	10.50	Private	Augsburg College	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	13	9	17	17	4	3	3	3	3	15	12	1639\|68	2.69\|33	1379\|57	1174\|49	300\|0	3.00\|97	1244224\|62	13.50\|87	1639/1093/25	Average	19	34	2.80	0	2619	929	46300	47237	True
14	12.32	Public	Saint Cloud State University	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	27	24	5	5	4	3	3	3	3	10	11	1498\|62	2.87\|28	1752\|73	1597\|67	300\|0	3.00\|97	1323099\|66	12.00\|88	1498/999/22	Average	29	48	2.80	0	14377	1699	44500	26641	True
15	12.43	Public	Winona State University	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	22	21	9	10	4	3	3	3	3	19	15	1533\|64	2.85\|29	1674\|70	1410\|59	300\|0	3.00\|97	1171971\|59	17.00\|83	1533/1022/23	Average	19	45	2.80	0	8111	573	41400	26400	True
16	12.67	Private	St Catherine University	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	18	17	15	19	4	3	3	3	3	33	25	1585\|66	2.78\|30	1487\|62	1129\|47	300\|0	3.00\|97	646528\|32	24.50\|76	1585/1057/24	Average	15	33	2.80	0	3491	1564	31900	48664	True
17	13.50	Private	Minneapolis College of Art and Design	Minnesota	No Conference Affiliation	14	11	25	24	4	3	3	3	3	32	25	1635\|68	2.74\|32	870\|36	996\|42	300\|0	3.00\|97	660304\|33	24.50\|76	1635/1090/25	Average	0	29	2.80	0	672	111	31900	45220	True
18	13.67	Private	Saint Johns University	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	16	10	27	22	4	3	3	3	3	34	29	1613\|67	2.73\|32	825\|34	1010\|42	300\|0	3.00\|97	639648\|32	26.00\|74	1613/1075/24	Average	19	19	2.80	0	1789	106	31900	50384	True
19	13.83	Private	Hamline University	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	12	20	24	20	4	3	3	3	3	20	19	1650\|69	2.83\|29	900\|38	1083\|45	300\|0	3.00\|97	1169188\|58	19.50\|81	1650/1100/25	AboveAverage	14	32	2.95	0	2242	2227	41300	47862	True
19	13.83	Private	Martin Luther College	Minnesota	Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	15	12	26	23	4	3	3	3	3	28	23	1633\|68	2.74\|31	867\|36	1006\|42	300\|0	3.00\|97	748704\|37	23.50\|77	1633/1089/25	Average	0	27	2.80	0	783	74	31900	23120	True
21	13.95	Public	Minnesota State University-Mankato	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	28	27	7	8	4	3	3	3	3	12	14	1467\|61	2.95\|26	1719\|72	1454\|61	300\|0	3.00\|97	1310299\|66	16.50\|84	1467/978/22	BelowAverage	21	48	2.80	0	13395	1992	44700	26331	True
22	14.20	Public	Minnesota State University-Moorhead	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	21	22	10	14	4	3	3	3	3	18	20	1545\|64	2.86\|29	1605\|67	1269\|53	300\|0	3.00\|97	1177941\|59	20.00\|80	1545/1030/23	Average	22	52	2.80	0	5731	575	40500	26370	True
23	15.17	Private	College of Saint Benedict	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	17	14	28	25	4	3	3	3	3	6	13	1593\|66	2.77\|31	786\|33	979\|41	300\|0	3.00\|97	1462464\|73	14.50\|86	1593/1062/24	Average	17	18	2.80	0	2020	0	50700	51759	True
24	17.67	Private	Saint Mary's University of Minnesota	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	24	19	30	27	3	3	3	3	3	24	24	1533\|64	2.83\|29	665\|28	871\|36	200\|33	3.00\|97	1087772\|54	24.00\|76	1533/1022/23	Average	27	37	2.80	0	1904	3921	43700	41015	True
25	18.40	Public	Southwest Minnesota State University	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	29	28	13	18	4	3	3	3	3	16	21	1433\|60	3.01\|25	1540\|64	1145\|48	300\|0	3.00\|97	1192593\|60	20.50\|80	1433/956/22	BelowAverage	16	59	2.80	0	6622	447	38400	19782	True
26	19.33	Private	The College of Saint Scholastica	Minnesota	Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	31	29	20	29	4	3	3	3	3	17	22	1385\|58	3.02\|25	1121\|47	782\|33	300\|0	3.00\|97	1180216\|59	21.50\|79	1385/923/21	BelowAverage	37	36	2.80	0	2831	1373	47400	44520	True
27	20.20	Public	Bemidji State University	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	30	30	16	21	4	3	3	3	3	23	27	1400\|58	3.03\|24	1410\|59	1040\|43	300\|0	3.00\|97	1089211\|54	25.00\|75	1400/933/21	BelowAverage	36	55	2.80	0	4754	232	39900	19304	True
28	20.25	Private	Bethany Lutheran College	Minnesota	Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	22	23	29	31	4	3	3	3	3	30	31	1533\|64	2.86\|29	667\|28	769\|32	300\|0	3.00\|97	703504\|35	29.00\|71	1533/1022/23	Average	14	47	2.80	0	531	0	31900	34420	True
29	20.60	Private	Concordia University-Saint Paul	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	25	25	23	26	4	3	3	3	3	21	27	1500\|63	2.93\|27	1068\|44	928\|39	300\|0	3.00\|97	1128682\|56	25.00\|75	1500/1000/23	Average	8	52	2.80	0	2431	1650	40800	32250	True
30	21.50	Public	Metropolitan State University	Minnesota	No Conference Affiliation	20	34	34	34	4	3	3	3	3	22	29	1565\|65	4.00\|0	-2400\|0	-2400\|0	300\|0	3.00\|97	1121922\|56	26.00\|74	1565/1043/23	Unknown	100	64	2.80	0	7595	760	44300	0	False
31	22.80	Private	North Central University	Minnesota	Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	25	26	31	28	4	3	3	3	3	27	31	1500\|63	2.94\|27	600\|25	786\|33	300\|0	3.00\|97	938072\|47	29.00\|71	1500/1000/23	Average	0	58	2.80	0	1083	108	36200	31350	True
32	23.60	Public	University of Minnesota-Crookston	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	32	31	21	30	4	3	3	3	3	2	15	1380\|58	3.04\|24	1121\|47	776\|32	300\|0	3.00\|97	1514537\|76	17.00\|83	1380/920/21	BelowAverage	23	50	2.80	0	2850	0	50000	22654	True
33	25.18	Private	Crown College	Minnesota	Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	34	33	33	32	4	3	3	3	3	31	34	1230\|51	3.20\|20	60\|3	304\|13	300\|0	3.00\|97	696224\|35	32.00\|68	1230/820/18	BelowAverage	4	48	2.80	0	1113	165	31900	36240	True
34	26.80	Private	Oak Hills Christian College	Minnesota	No Conference Affiliation	33	32	32	33	4	3	3	3	3	29	33	1300\|54	3.15\|21	200\|8	200\|8	300\|0	3.00\|97	732996\|37	31.50\|69	1300/867/20	BelowAverage	0	64	2.80	0	141	0	31900	27047	True

What are the best colleges in Minnesota?

1. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

2. Carleton College

3. St Olaf College

4. Macalester College

5. University of St Thomas

6. Gustavus Adolphus College

7. University of Minnesota-Morris

2016 Top 10 Minnesota University Academic Rankings

2016 Top 10 Minnesota 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
1	1.50	Public	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Minnesota	Big Ten Conference	3	2	1	1	1	1	4	1	1977/1318/30	Excellent	38	28	3.25	820	34351	16796	50000	32924
2	2.00	Private	Carleton College	Minnesota	Midwest Conference	1	1	2	2	3	3	3	1	2145/1430/32	Elite	35	7	3.40	0	2057	0	44000	62465
3	3.50	Private	Macalester College	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	2	3	7	3	3	3	9	7	2040/1360/31	Excellent	16	13	3.25	0	2073	0	40300	59743
3	3.50	Private	St Olaf College	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	4	4	3	4	3	3	6	4	1969/1312/30	Excellent	28	15	3.25	0	3034	0	45300	53100
5	5.00	Private	University of St Thomas	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	8	8	4	6	2	2	5	6	1740/1160/26	AboveAverage	18	24	2.95	1	6148	3992	47300	49600
6	5.33	Private	Gustavus Adolphus College	Minnesota	Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf	5	5	8	8	3	3	10	8	1805/1203/27	AboveAverage	30	18	2.95	0	2457	0	41100	51540
7	6.33	Public	University of Minnesota-Rochester	Minnesota	No Conference Affiliation	6	7	9	10	3	3	1	3	1790/1193/27	AboveAverage	0	0	2.95	0	488	0	51400	25518
7	6.33	Public	University of Minnesota-Morris	Minnesota	Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	7	6	10	9	3	3	2	4	1760/1173/26	AboveAverage	24	38	2.95	0	1899	0	50000	23199
9	6.52	Public	Saint Cloud State University	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	10	10	5	5	3	3	7	8	1498/999/22	Average	29	48	2.80	0	14377	1699	44500	26641
10	6.64	Public	University of Minnesota-Duluth	Minnesota	Northern Sun Intercollegiate C...	9	9	6	7	3	3	8	10	1570/1047/24	Average	31	43	2.80	0	9987	1106	46600	27047

University Benchmarks

Ranking the Top 100 Academic Universities

Notes:

Ranking Fields

The 2016 University Academic Rankings

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State of Minnesota University Academic Rankings

2016 Minnesota University Academic Rankings

Common Questions...

What are the best colleges in Minnesota?

2016 Top 10 Minnesota University Academic Rankings

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