Case Western Reserve maintained its position at 37 in U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Colleges” rankings released today. Engineering moved up four slots over last year, to be 37th as well. Weatherhead School of Management’s undergraduate program, meanwhile, moved up one slot to 38th.
“As much as rankings are a lagging and imperfect indicator,” President Barbara R. Snyder said, “they still are relied upon by prospective students and others. We have more work to do to ensure the magazine’s list better reflects the progress the university has made in recent years.”
The university could point to some gains among the 15 indicators that U.S. News considers in compiling the annual rankings. Admissions selectivity improved two percentage points over last year, to 32 percent, while the percentage of entering undergraduates from the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class climbed three, from 68 to 71 percent. And while graduation rates stayed the same at 81 percent, this year the result was high enough to move Case Western Reserve’s ranking within the category from 65th to 60th.
In other areas, the university’s peer rating improved one-tenth of a point, to 3.6, on a five-point scale, while the assessment from high school counselors held steady at 4.3 (also on a five-point scale). While the university’s ranking in financial resources fell five notches in financial support (to 32nd), its overall score improved two points, to 65 out of 100.
This year, the University of California at Santa Barbara tied with Case Western Reserve at 37th, just behind New York University and just ahead of Boston University.
Engineering tied with six other schools: Arizona State University, Iowa State University, University of Florida, University of Notre Dame, Vanderbilt University, and Yale University.
Weatherhead, meanwhile, tied with Boston University, George Washington University, the University of Pittsburgh and Wake Forest University). In both instances, the magazine based its ranking solely on surveys of deans and senior faculty.