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 Vermont University Academic Rankings

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

2016 Vermont University Academic Rankings

2016 Vermont 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
PrivateMiddlebury CollegeVermontNew England Small College Ath Conf111122222112088|872.28|431964|821893|79300|02.00|981190906|601.00|992088/1392/31Elite1373.400252675010061160True
21.67
PublicUniversity of VermontVermontAmerica East222211111321780|742.58|361923|801747|7383|721.00|991034023|522.50|981780/1187/27AboveAverage17272.951261099218644580051322True
33.00
PrivateSaint Michael's CollegeVermontNortheast 10 Conference3353222221151755|732.63|341110|461266|53300|02.00|98463374|237.00|931755/1170/26AboveAverage19182.95021234953190052155True
43.33
PrivateChamplain CollegeVermontNo Conference Affiliation4534222221051660|692.84|291522|631234|51300|02.00|98476994|247.00|931660/1107/25AboveAverage7382.95031244613190048750True
53.96
PrivateNorwich UniversityVermontEastern Collegiate Football Co...544522222231575|662.79|301304|541073|45300|02.00|981066601|533.50|971575/1050/24Average20442.800264810244880050888True
65.40
PublicJohnson State CollegeVermontNorth Atlantic Conference676622222641425|593.02|25450|19667|28300|02.00|98533730|276.00|941425/950/21BelowAverage15672.80014102033190034566True
76.20
PublicCastleton State CollegeVermontEastern Collegiate Football Co...7877222229101410|593.04|24420|18657|27300|02.00|98522986|268.00|921410/940/21BelowAverage12512.80019851983190037252True
86.40
PublicVermont Technical CollegeVermontNo Conference Affiliation868822222781400|582.98|25400|17627|26300|02.00|98527714|267.50|931400/933/21BelowAverage54502.800154203190036070True
97.60
PublicLyndon State CollegeVermontNorth Atlantic Conference999922222551385|583.06|23370|15595|25300|02.00|98675215|347.00|931385/923/21BelowAverage12672.8001392383840033776True
108.40
PrivateSouthern Vermont CollegeVermontNew England Collegiate Conference10101010222228111324|553.13|22248|10248|10300|02.00|98527414|269.00|911324/883/20BelowAverage0782.80045523190036145True
119.20
PrivateCollege of St JosephVermontNo Conference Affiliation1111111122222481280|533.17|21160|7160|7300|02.00|98889147|447.50|931280/853/19BelowAverage0552.800246863820033800True

Common Questions...

What are the best colleges in Vermont?

1. Middlebury College

2. University of Vermont

3. Saint Michael's College

4. Champlain College

5. Norwich University

6. Johnson State College

7. Castleton State College

2016 Top 10 Vermont University Academic Rankings

2016 Top 10 Vermont 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
11.33PrivateMiddlebury CollegeVermontNew England Small College Ath Conf111122112088/1392/31Elite1373.400252675010061160
21.67PublicUniversity of VermontVermontAmerica East222211321780/1187/27AboveAverage17272.951261099218644580051322
33.00PrivateSaint Michael's CollegeVermontNortheast 10 Conference3353221051755/1170/26AboveAverage19182.95021234953190052155
43.33PrivateChamplain CollegeVermontNo Conference Affiliation453422951660/1107/25AboveAverage7382.95031244613190048750
53.96PrivateNorwich UniversityVermontEastern Collegiate Football Co...544522231575/1050/24Average20442.800264810244880050888
65.40PublicJohnson State CollegeVermontNorth Atlantic Conference676622541425/950/21BelowAverage15672.80014102033190034566
76.20PublicCastleton State CollegeVermontEastern Collegiate Football Co...787722891410/940/21BelowAverage12512.80019851983190037252
86.40PublicVermont Technical CollegeVermontNo Conference Affiliation868822681400/933/21BelowAverage54502.800154203190036070
97.60PublicLyndon State CollegeVermontNorth Atlantic Conference999922451385/923/21BelowAverage12672.8001392383840033776
108.40PrivateSouthern Vermont CollegeVermontNew England Collegiate Conference10101010227101324/883/20BelowAverage0782.80045523190036145