Best Colleges 2009

Finally, Harvard has redeemed its reigning title once again as number 1. Whoooohooo!  It feels so nice to be at the very top again.

Sorry Princeton, but you got number 2 this time. Ohhhhhhhhhhh. Btw, much love for Princeton. #2 is still good. hehehe.

I know the U.S. News Rankings might be a considered a rhetoric, but for Harvard, it's a big deal. That means more PR for our school. Go Harvard! 

Gosh, it went from HYPSM to PHYSM, and now it's back to HPYMS. LOL.

*The acronym HPYMS denotes the top 5 of the nation which comprises : HARVARD, PRINCETON, YALE, M.I.T. and STANFORD. However, M.I.T. and STANFORD are both tied for 4th place this year.

"Order" is restored:

by Kenneth Terrell
Thursday, August 21, 2008

provided by

Harvard tops this year's list of America's Best Colleges from U.S. News & World Report. It's the first time since 1996 that the Cambridge, Mass., university is alone at the top of the National Universities category. Princeton and Yale come in second and third, respectively, while Amherst College and Williams College share the No. 1 spot on the Liberal Arts Colleges list.

This year, Harvard managed to beat perennial No. 1 Princeton by one 10th of a point in the reputation survey the magazine sends out to college administrators across the country, in addition to making slight improvements in some of the other statistical measures. Harvard, which has a nearly $35 billion endowment, made big news last December when it announced that it would increase the financial packages it offers to students from families that earn $180,000 or less. The move was a dramatic leap beyond the $60,000 threshold that other highly selective universities had been using to determine which students were eligible for the most generous assistance packages. In another PR boost for the nation's oldest university, last school year was also Harvard's first under the guidance of President Drew Gilpin Faust. Her predecessor, Lawrence Summers, left after making controversial remarks about women in the science disciplines.

The reputation survey that U.S. News sends to top college officials at each school counts for 25 percent of a college's ranking. The other 75 percent is based on quantitative data that assesses a college's performance in areas such as graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, financial resources, student selectivity, and alumni giving. Each year, the formula is reassessed to stay on top of recent developments in higher education. For example, just as Harvard and dozens of other colleges recently have made adjustments to become more accessible to families of lesser financial means, U.S. News has incorporated data about the proportion of low-income students a school enrolls into its ranking measurements.

These periodic methodology adjustments make flat year-to-year comparisons of a school's U.S. News ranking somewhat misleading. Nevertheless, alumni always tend to take note of which schools have gained an edge on their academic rivals. For example, in the National Universities list this year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology finished in fourth place, besting its West Coast rival, the California Institute of Technology, which landed in sixth place. Last year, Caltech held the edge with a fifth place ranking while MIT placed seventh. Part of the difference: MIT improved its faculty resources statistics slightly, while Caltech dipped there a little. (As in Olympic swimming, slightly better performance makes a big difference in results at this level of rankings.)

Over on the Liberal Arts Colleges list, this year the United States Military Academy was ranked 14th, beating its rival, the United States Naval Academy, which held the 22nd slot. Last year, Navy had the edge, finishing 20th while Army was 22nd.

HERE ARE THE TOP 4 SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES :

U.S. News & World Report Rankings 2009.

#1. Harvard University
Location
Cambridge, MA
2007 Total Enrollment
19,257
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees
$36,173
Application Deadline
1/1
Academic Calendar
Semester

#2. Princeton University
Location
Princeton, NJ
2007 Total Enrollment
7,334
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees
$34,290
Application Deadline
1/1
Academic Calendar
Semester

#3. Yale University
Location
New Haven, CT
2007 Total Enrollment
11,454
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees
$35,300
Application Deadline
12/31
Academic Calendar
Semester

#4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location
Cambridge, MA
2007 Total Enrollment
10,220
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees
$36,390
Application Deadline
1/1
Academic Calendar
4-1-4

Tied With...

#4. Stanford University
Location
Stanford, CA
2007 Total Enrollment
19,782
2008-2009 Tuition and Fees
$36,030
Application Deadline
1/1
Academic Calendar
Quarter

Nice. Congrats to your school, majesticgryl.

I always thought Harvard WAS #1

Thanks, Agent.

Haha, well, in terms of prestige, yes! But in terms of rankings, we were overshadowed by Princeton these past two years who claimed the #1 spot. Harvard and Princeton have always been tied for #1 though, speaking of the years before Princeton claimed #1, alone. But now, Harvard came back stronger than ever and knocked its Rival Ivy, Princeton down a spot, and took sole possession of the #1 spot for 2009. Hopefully, the national university rankings don't fluctuate, thereafter. lol. But who knows? That could all shift again next year.  

I mean the rankings don't make much of a difference in terms of yield rate for the top 3, but it does effect admissions (in terms of how many students apply per year). Many applicants, especially international students as well as American students rely solely or heavily on the USNWR Rankings to help them decide which schools to apply to. Of course, rankings alone shouldn't be the sole or primary factor for an applicant to use as a determinant for which schools he/she should apply to, but for some who are living abroad, sometimes these rankings are their only way of comparing which school is better than the other (in terms of financial resources, student/faculty ratio, student retention rates, alumni giving, etc.). Harvard isn't famous for being #1. Its prestige and reputation lies in the number of people or shall I say applicants that it rejects per year, which is roughly 90% of applicants who apply. Simply put, it's famous for rejecting so many people, lol. On a serious note though, it's actually famous for its renowned undergrad and grad programs.  

Well, it's for undergrad, but in terms of National University Rankings, Harvard is #1. Grad School Program Rankings (by field) are separate.  For Medicine, Harvard ranks #1. For Law, Harvard ranks #2. For Business, Harvard ranks #1. For Education, Harvard ranks #6. For Engineering, Harvard ranks #22. I think I covered the 5 main disciplines.

Interesting information.  Thanks for sharing.  So you're the lucky 10% huh?  Can I get your autograph?

I don't know. For Education, it was always number 1 until these past 2 years, but the thing is, variables change each year. Beats me! I've no idea.

I matriculated in the Fall of '05 and Harvard was ranked #1 for Ed for '05 and '06. I forget which schools ranked #1 these past two years (I think it was UCLA and some other school), but the current school that holds the #1 Spot for Ed for '09 is Stanford.