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 Missouri University Academic Rankings

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

2016 Missouri University Academic Rankings

2016 Missouri 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	1.00	Private	Washington University in St Louis	Missouri	University Athletic Association	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	2226\|93	0.81\|80	2250\|94	2188\|91	40\|87	1.00\|99	1663619\|83	1.50\|99	2226/1484/33	Elite	27	6	3.40	709	7401	6947	55500	66376	True
2	3.17	Public	Missouri University of Science and Technology	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	3	2	4	5	2	3	3	3	4	1	1	1885\|79	2.04\|49	1939\|81	1730\|72	130\|57	3.00\|97	1833193\|92	1.50\|99	1885/1257/28	Good	93	30	3.10	41	6520	2120	62700	36603	True
3	3.83	Public	University of Missouri-Columbia	Missouri	Southeastern Conference	6	8	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	6	3	1745\|73	2.65\|34	2003\|83	1943\|81	145\|52	2.00\|98	1389124\|69	4.50\|96	1745/1163/26	AboveAverage	18	30	2.95	236	27642	7783	44100	38624	True
4	4.67	Private	Saint Louis University	Missouri	Atlantic 10 Conference	5	5	3	4	6	5	5	5	5	10	5	1785\|74	2.55\|36	1941\|81	1768\|74	300\|0	5.00\|95	1268530\|63	7.00\|93	1785/1190/27	AboveAverage	21	29	2.95	0	12374	4678	45700	54684	True
5	5.50	Public	University of Missouri-Kansas City	Missouri	Western Athletic Conference	7	6	5	7	4	4	4	4	3	7	4	1740\|73	2.57\|36	1885\|79	1697\|71	183\|39	3.67\|96	1385349\|69	6.00\|94	1740/1160/26	AboveAverage	44	54	2.95	31	10453	5693	43800	33136	True
6	5.67	Public	Truman State University	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	4	3	8	8	6	5	5	5	5	9	6	1800\|75	2.51\|37	1847\|77	1610\|67	300\|0	5.00\|95	1270162\|64	7.50\|93	1800/1200/27	AboveAverage	22	29	2.95	0	5910	338	40300	26405	True
7	7.00	Public	University of Missouri-St Louis	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	11	7	7	6	6	5	5	5	5	11	7	1650\|69	2.61\|35	1857\|77	1709\|71	300\|0	5.00\|95	1255287\|63	9.00\|91	1650/1100/25	AboveAverage	79	47	2.95	0	13874	3198	44200	37168	True
8	7.67	Private	Drury University	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	10	4	10	11	6	5	5	5	5	24	14	1688\|70	2.55\|36	1640\|68	1391\|58	300\|0	5.00\|95	1018877\|51	16.00\|84	1688/1125/25	AboveAverage	75	46	2.95	0	3918	297	37600	36241	True
9	8.26	Public	Missouri State University-Springfield	Missouri	Missouri Valley Conference	14	12	6	3	6	5	5	5	5	12	9	1620\|68	2.73\|32	1876\|78	1782\|74	300\|0	5.00\|95	1250156\|63	10.50\|90	1620/1080/24	Average	12	43	2.80	0	18517	3299	39800	26506	True
10	8.67	Private	St Louis College of Pharmacy	Missouri	American Midwest Conference	2	13	17	9	6	5	5	5	5	37	23	1915\|80	2.75\|31	1430\|60	1512\|63	300\|0	5.00\|95	699703\|35	23.50\|77	1915/1277/29	Excellent	0	0	3.25	0	693	668	31900	41124	True
11	10.83	Private	William Jewell College	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	8	9	20	17	6	5	5	5	5	14	11	1733\|72	2.68\|33	1066\|44	1202\|50	300\|0	5.00\|95	1236890\|62	12.50\|88	1733/1155/26	AboveAverage	16	36	2.95	0	1043	17	41400	44830	True
12	11.00	Private	Webster University	Missouri	St.Louis Intercollegiate Ath Conf	11	14	14	16	6	5	5	5	5	16	12	1650\|69	2.80\|30	1556\|65	1229\|51	300\|0	5.00\|95	1156615\|58	14.00\|86	1650/1100/25	AboveAverage	25	38	2.95	0	3459	13310	40500	41622	True
13	11.17	Private	Rockhurst University	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	9	11	21	15	6	5	5	5	5	5	7	1720\|72	2.70\|33	1039\|43	1250\|52	300\|0	5.00\|95	1399814\|70	9.00\|91	1720/1146/26	AboveAverage	19	25	2.95	0	2276	726	46800	47590	True
13	11.17	Private	Maryville University of Saint Louis	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	13	10	16	18	5	5	5	5	5	22	17	1640\|68	2.69\|33	1439\|60	1188\|50	200\|33	5.00\|95	1086170\|54	17.50\|83	1640/1093/25	Average	19	30	2.80	0	2818	3113	42600	44532	True
15	12.70	Public	Northwest Missouri State University	Missouri	Mid - America Intercollegiate ...	17	16	12	14	6	5	5	5	5	8	10	1560\|65	2.83\|29	1607\|67	1282\|53	300\|0	5.00\|95	1283549\|64	11.50\|89	1560/1040/23	Average	12	49	2.80	0	5491	1229	40600	22752	True
16	14.20	Public	Southeast Missouri State University	Missouri	Ohio Valley Conference	23	23	9	10	6	5	5	5	5	18	15	1518\|63	2.90\|28	1719\|72	1468\|61	300\|0	5.00\|95	1153786\|58	17.00\|83	1518/1012/23	Average	21	51	2.80	0	10848	1239	38700	25178	True
17	15.80	Private	Fontbonne University	Missouri	St.Louis Intercollegiate Ath Conf	15	15	22	21	6	5	5	5	5	26	21	1585\|66	2.80\|30	770\|32	944\|39	300\|0	5.00\|95	941518\|47	21.50\|79	1585/1057/24	Average	22	57	2.80	0	1213	606	37000	34754	True
18	16.33	Private	Cox College	Missouri	No Conference Affiliation	17	21	24	25	6	5	5	5	5	36	28	1560\|65	2.86\|29	720\|30	868\|36	300\|0	5.00\|95	710547\|36	27.00\|73	1560/1040/23	Average	0	8	2.80	0	744	63	31900	0	True
19	16.94	Private	College of the Ozarks	Missouri	Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conf	19	17	25	22	6	5	5	5	5	15	15	1556\|65	2.85\|29	711\|30	899\|37	300\|0	5.00\|95	1198948\|60	17.00\|83	1556/1037/23	Average	7	45	2.80	0	1433	0	35200	27976	True
20	17.00	Private	Lindenwood University	Missouri	Mid - America Intercollegiate ...	28	28	11	12	6	5	5	5	5	21	19	1480\|62	2.96\|26	1640\|68	1367\|57	300\|0	5.00\|95	1096805\|55	20.50\|80	1480/987/22	BelowAverage	12	53	2.80	0	8541	3610	39700	31460	True
21	17.93	Private	Evangel University	Missouri	Heart of America Athletic Conf...	20	19	26	23	6	5	5	5	5	23	22	1545\|64	2.85\|29	690\|29	890\|37	300\|0	5.00\|95	1046533\|52	22.00\|78	1545/1030/23	Average	10	48	2.80	0	1794	212	35100	32696	True
22	18.66	Public	University of Central Missouri	Missouri	Mid - America Intercollegiate ...	33	33	13	13	6	5	5	5	5	13	17	1400\|58	3.02\|25	1606\|67	1320\|55	300\|0	5.00\|95	1247481\|62	17.50\|83	1400/933/21	BelowAverage	26	48	2.80	0	9838	3541	40500	25031	True
23	19.00	Private	Calvary Bible College and Theological Seminary	Missouri	No Conference Affiliation	16	18	23	32	6	5	5	5	5	28	26	1567\|65	2.85\|29	733\|31	733\|31	300\|0	5.00\|95	810052\|41	25.50\|75	1567/1044/23	Average	0	54	2.80	0	250	64	31900	17698	True
24	19.06	Private	Stephens College	Missouri	American Midwest Conference	20	22	26	27	6	5	5	5	5	35	31	1545\|64	2.86\|28	690\|29	830\|35	300\|0	5.00\|95	711876\|36	29.50\|71	1545/1030/23	Average	7	44	2.80	0	667	195	31900	42242	True
25	19.33	Private	Kansas City Art Institute	Missouri	No Conference Affiliation	24	24	29	28	6	5	5	5	5	38	34	1510\|63	2.93\|27	620\|26	764\|32	300\|0	5.00\|95	671812\|34	31.50\|69	1510/1007/23	Average	0	22	2.80	0	655	5	31900	52258	True
26	19.42	Private	William Woods University	Missouri	American Midwest Conference	22	20	28	26	6	5	5	5	5	25	26	1538\|64	2.85\|29	676\|28	850\|35	300\|0	5.00\|95	972727\|49	25.50\|75	1538/1025/23	Average	14	49	2.80	0	1006	1025	35600	36140	True
27	20.33	Private	Cottey College	Missouri	No Conference Affiliation	24	24	29	34	6	5	5	5	5	29	30	1510\|63	2.93\|27	620\|26	620\|26	300\|0	5.00\|95	765844\|38	28.00\|72	1510/1007/23	Average	0	0	2.80	0	269	0	31900	28750	True
28	20.67	Private	Westminster College	Missouri	Upper Midwest Athletic Confere...	26	26	31	30	6	5	5	5	5	3	13	1485\|62	2.93\|27	570\|24	751\|31	300\|0	5.00\|95	1425932\|71	15.50\|85	1485/990/22	BelowAverage	23	36	2.80	0	954	0	45800	36160	True
29	21.40	Public	Missouri Southern State University	Missouri	Mid - America Intercollegiate ...	33	34	15	19	6	5	5	5	5	20	24	1400\|58	3.04\|24	1460\|61	1072\|45	300\|0	5.00\|95	1111272\|56	24.50\|76	1400/933/21	BelowAverage	22	64	2.80	0	5561	52	38900	20799	True
30	22.40	Private	Southwest Baptist University	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference ...	32	31	19	24	6	5	5	5	5	32	33	1445\|60	2.99\|25	1229\|51	885\|37	300\|0	5.00\|95	756284\|38	31.00\|69	1445/963/22	BelowAverage	11	50	2.80	0	2952	744	31900	31140	True
31	22.80	Private	Missouri Baptist University	Missouri	Mid - States Football Associat...	35	35	18	20	6	5	5	5	5	33	35	1375\|57	3.07\|23	1326\|55	964\|40	300\|0	5.00\|95	741992\|37	32.00\|68	1375/917/21	BelowAverage	10	70	2.80	0	4091	1231	31900	34713	True
32	24.00	Private	Culver-Stockton College	Missouri	Heart of America Athletic Conf...	26	27	31	30	6	5	5	5	5	34	36	1485\|62	2.95\|26	570\|24	751\|31	300\|0	5.00\|95	737116\|37	33.00\|67	1485/990/22	BelowAverage	5	58	2.80	0	957	14	31900	35932	True
33	25.20	Private	Avila University	Missouri	Heart of America Athletic Conf...	29	29	33	29	6	5	5	5	5	17	25	1475\|61	2.96\|26	550\|23	755\|31	300\|0	5.00\|95	1154669\|58	25.00\|75	1475/983/22	BelowAverage	17	57	2.80	0	1407	500	42400	37208	True
34	25.89	Private	Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary	Missouri	No Conference Affiliation	31	32	35	36	6	5	5	5	5	27	32	1450\|60	3.00\|25	500\|21	500\|21	300\|0	5.00\|95	829624\|41	30.50\|70	1450/967/22	BelowAverage	0	40	2.80	0	351	1018	31900	12805	True
35	26.60	Private	Hannibal-LaGrange University	Missouri	American Midwest Conference	30	30	34	33	6	5	5	5	5	31	36	1465\|61	2.98\|26	530\|22	725\|30	300\|0	5.00\|95	758084\|38	33.00\|67	1465/977/22	BelowAverage	4	60	2.80	0	1111	56	31900	30690	True
36	30.20	Private	Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences	Missouri	Heart of America Athletic Conf...	37	36	37	35	6	5	5	5	5	19	29	1355\|56	3.08\|23	310\|13	532\|22	300\|0	5.00\|95	1138074\|57	27.50\|73	1355/903/20	BelowAverage	22	57	2.80	0	1185	0	39800	33700	True
37	30.60	Private	Saint Louis Christian College	Missouri	No Conference Affiliation	36	37	36	38	6	5	5	5	5	4	19	1367\|57	3.09\|23	333\|14	333\|14	300\|0	5.00\|95	1417166\|71	20.50\|80	1367/911/21	BelowAverage	0	84	2.80	0	179	0	45700	17525	True
38	31.40	Private	Missouri Valley College	Missouri	Heart of America Athletic Conf...	38	38	38	37	6	5	5	5	5	30	38	1275\|53	3.16\|21	150\|6	410\|17	300\|0	5.00\|95	760444\|38	34.00\|66	1275/850/19	BelowAverage	17	72	2.80	0	1683	12	31900	30100	True

What are the best colleges in Missouri?

1. Washington University in St Louis

2. Missouri University of Science and Technology

3. University of Missouri-Columbia

4. Saint Louis University

5. University of Missouri-Kansas City

6. Truman State University

7. University of Missouri-St Louis

2016 Top 10 Missouri University Academic Rankings

2016 Top 10 Missouri 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	1.00	Private	Washington University in St Louis	Missouri	University Athletic Association	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	2226/1484/33	Elite	27	6	3.40	709	7401	6947	55500	66376
2	3.17	Public	Missouri University of Science and Technology	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	3	2	4	5	2	3	1	1	1885/1257/28	Good	93	30	3.10	41	6520	2120	62700	36603
3	3.83	Public	University of Missouri-Columbia	Missouri	Southeastern Conference	6	8	2	2	3	2	3	3	1745/1163/26	AboveAverage	18	30	2.95	236	27642	7783	44100	38624
4	4.50	Private	Saint Louis University	Missouri	Atlantic 10 Conference	5	5	3	4	5	5	6	5	1785/1190/27	AboveAverage	21	29	2.95	0	12374	4678	45700	54684
5	5.50	Public	Truman State University	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	4	3	8	8	5	5	5	5	1800/1200/27	AboveAverage	22	29	2.95	0	5910	338	40300	26405
5	5.50	Public	University of Missouri-Kansas City	Missouri	Western Athletic Conference	7	6	5	7	4	4	4	4	1740/1160/26	AboveAverage	44	54	2.95	31	10453	5693	43800	33136
7	6.50	Public	University of Missouri-St Louis	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	9	7	7	6	5	5	7	7	1650/1100/25	AboveAverage	79	47	2.95	0	13874	3198	44200	37168
8	6.82	Public	Missouri State University-Springfield	Missouri	Missouri Valley Conference	10	9	6	3	5	5	8	8	1620/1080/24	Average	12	43	2.80	0	18517	3299	39800	26506
9	6.83	Private	St Louis College of Pharmacy	Missouri	American Midwest Conference	2	10	10	9	5	5	10	10	1915/1277/29	Excellent	0	0	3.25	0	693	668	31900	41124
9	6.83	Private	Drury University	Missouri	Great Lakes Valley Conference	8	4	9	10	5	5	9	9	1688/1125/25	AboveAverage	75	46	2.95	0	3918	297	37600	36241

University Benchmarks

Ranking the Top 100 Academic Universities

Notes:

Ranking Fields

The 2016 University Academic Rankings

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2016 Missouri University Academic Rankings

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What are the best colleges in Missouri?

2016 Top 10 Missouri University Academic Rankings

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