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A staggering jump of up to 95 places! The ten-year rankings of the US News Top 100 are out, and these 17 universities are winning spectacularly!
- JC Guedon
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Every year when university rankings are released, social media is flooded with lamentations – "My alma mater has fallen out of the top 50?!"
Don't panic! Did you know that...?
Over the past decade, more than a third of the top 100 universities in the US News rankings have seen their rankings fluctuate by more than 10 places.
In other words, the "dream school" you've been striving for, staring at the rankings for a year, might drop in the list next year. Meanwhile, those "safety schools" you looked down on might quietly climb into the top 30.
So, in the past two years, some friends have started joking: " My school is working harder than me! I'm only doing this because my school is carrying me!" 🙏
Joking aside, how can we accurately predict and capitalize on potential winners amidst ever-changing rules of the game ?
Today, we've compiled the ten-year rankings of the US News Top 100 that are now out. After reviewing it, you'll know which schools have consistently improved.
Today, we've compiled US News ranking data from the past ten years. After reviewing it, you'll know which schools have consistently improved.
01 American universities on the rise
Let's start by talking about the school whose ranking has skyrocketed the most .
University of California, Merced
Merced, California, has a remarkable comeback story, rising from 152nd to 57th in ten years, a climb of 95 places.
UC Merced is the youngest campus in the University of California system, officially enrolling students only in 2005. It focuses on engineering and AI, making it more job-friendly. Furthermore, the school benefited from the changes in the US News ranking rules.
Around 2019, US News began adjusting its metrics. It removed indicators traditionally favorable to established private universities, such as "alumni giving rate" and "small class size ratio," and instead added new dimensions like "educational returns," "research output," and "social mobility." The University of California, Merced, perfectly fits all of these new scoring criteria.
Stony Brook University, State University of New York
Stony Brook University is also noteworthy, rising 37 places in ten years, from 96th to 59th. Located on Long Island, New York, the university has seen an astonishing increase in research output over the past decade, while New York State government financial support for it has also increased significantly.
University of Texas at Austin
Finally, I must mention UT Austin, which has surged from 56th to the top 30 in ten years. The school has spared no effort in investing in its computer science department. In the past five years, it has recruited dozens of top professors, and its research funding and patent output rank among the top public universities in the United States.
What's the secret to these schools' rising rankings? State government spending, high STEM research output, and good employment data— any one of these three factors can lead to a rise in rankings.
02 American universities on the decline
Having discussed the winners, let's look at the schools whose rankings have slipped.
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest's ranking plummeted from 27th to 51st in a decade, a drop of 24 places. Its student body is relatively homogeneous, while US News inadvertently increased the weighting of factors like Pell Scholars and first-generation college graduates . In these areas, the school's performance was not particularly outstanding.
Brandeis University
Brandeis University has fallen 35 places in the past decade, dropping from the Top 40 to 69th. Brandeis' strengths lie in its liberal arts education and small class sizes. The university stated that US News' elimination of the "class size" metric has had a significant impact on the rankings of private schools like Brandeis.
The declining rankings of comprehensive universities tend to admit students from wealthy families, which contradicts US News' increasing emphasis on social mobility and employment orientation.
03 American universities with steady improvement
Having discussed the dramatic rises and falls, let's look at schools that are showing steady improvement.
A total of 16 schools made the Top 50 list, including the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and the University of California, San Diego. These schools share the following characteristics:
Specialized rankings are generally stronger than overall rankings.
These schools have stronger program rankings than their overall rankings. For example, Ohio State University is ranked 41st overall, but its nursing program is ranked 4th nationally, its business program 12th, and its engineering program 28th. Another example is the University of Washington, which is ranked 42nd overall, but it is ranked 8th in the US News World University Rankings and 17th in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).
A mass influx into the fields of AI and computer science
Of these 16 schools, more than 10 have increased their investment in AI/computer science over the past three years. If you're interested in studying computer science/AI, these are schools worth considering.
For example, the University of Texas at Austin opened a new computer science college, the University of Wisconsin-Madison established a computer science and artificial intelligence college, and the University of Maryland's CSRankings consistently ranks in the top 5... These schools are practically taking the initiative to seize the high ground in the AI era.
Strong job prospects and high employer recognition
Graduates from these schools are highly sought after by top companies in the job market. The University of Washington is a source school for companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Google, and PwC.
Ohio State University, Purdue University, and several other universities have recently partnered with the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, and others to establish an innovation center in the San Francisco Bay Area. Students will have access to the Silicon Valley ecosystem before graduation.
Now That The Ten-Year Rankings of the US News Top 100 are Out, the Admin Said
After reviewing the US News ten-year trend, the admin believes that choosing a school boils down to adhering to three principles:
Don't chase rankings, chase trends.
Looking at a school's ranking over just one year is meaningless; you need to look at its ranking trajectory over the past five to ten years.
Specialty rankings are an important reference for school selection.
The job market values professional competence, not just the overall ranking of the university. If you already have a clear direction in your major, then you should take the rankings of your chosen major seriously.
Weights other than ranking are equally important.
Professional strength, geographical location, alumni network, employment prospects, and campus culture are all factors you need to seriously consider.
In short, rankings are a good starting point, but they should not be the end point in your school selection process.
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