US News 2017: #20

[DFW HOYA]

Some good news to report:

www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities

[Deleted]

Sept 12, 2017 7:49:40 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

Some good news to report:

www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities

I feel like Georgetown is eternally locked in to the high teens/low twenties of this ranking. I can't recall us ever being in the top 15 or out of the top 25.

[Jack]

Incredible to this Bostonian that Northeastern has somehow ascended to No. 40 in the National Research U. rankings, moving up around 120 spots in the space of 20 years. Of course, that has all been a very deliberate strategy, and has likely reached its limits, as Georgetown's relatively static position demonstrates how difficult it is to gain ground at the top end of the scale. Seven Boston-area schools in the Top 40 is pretty remarkable, no matter how cynical you are about the rankings (and I am deeply cynical).

[reformation]

Nice to see positive movement even if small. Would agree that we are kind of stuck in a range. Agree there is probably not much we not much we can do about getting a lot higher due to endowment mostly and academic rep ceiling--there are some things we could probably do over the long term in the academic rep area that might have a some impact, though 1-5 places probably the realistic limit absence a big change in the money situation.

Obviously its an interesting question to see where people think we should be ranked vs where we are ranked.

[hoopsmccan]

Sept 12, 2017 9:46:58 GMT -5 Jack said:

Incredible to this Bostonian that Northeastern has somehow ascended to No. 40 in the National Research U. rankings, moving up around 120 spots in the space of 20 years. Of course, that has all been a very deliberate strategy, and has likely reached its limits, as Georgetown's relatively static position demonstrates how difficult it is to gain ground at the top end of the scale. Seven Boston-area schools in the Top 40 is pretty remarkable, no matter how cynical you are about the rankings (and I am deeply cynical).

Funny that Emory is mentioned in that article. I went to an open house there in the late 90s and the law school dean bragged that they cracked the code and had the financial resources to take advantage of the rankings methodology. He really hammered this point in the pitch that an Emory degree would be worth more in the future as the school and law school climbed up the rankings. Looking at the top 25, looks like they've been successful on that front.

hm

[Bigs"R"Us]

Wash U is the poster child for gaming the rankings. We do need to move our endowment northward, but not easy to do.

[Nevada Hoya]

Yes, our endowment is the smallest by far about the top schools.

[1789]

I also like to pay attention to the high school counselor rankings which have us at 11 along with
Duke, Chicago and Penn. This third grouping seems a bit more accurate to me, but I would also add Hopkins, Cornell, and Brown.



www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/high-school-counselor?_mode=table

[Bigs"R"Us]

The counselor ranking is more in line with where I perceive schools to fall. Wash U, Emory and others occupying more appropriate spots. Hopkins a tad high.

[Problem of Dog]

Great, now maybe the embarrassment that is our law school dropping out of the T14 can be addressed.

[happyhoya1979]

How does a University whose influence is such that it has graduated 7 of the top 25 positions in the executive government and two of the five top leaders in Congress have a ranking of number 20?

The ranking may be found at a US News website, but it is a Georgetown nation in which we live.

The Chairman of the Federal Reserve
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff
The Secretary of Homeland Security
The Secretary of Veteran's Affairs
The US Trade Representative
The Director of OMB

Legislative:
The Senate Minority Whip
The House Minority Whip

[Bigs"R"Us]

It has to do with their methodology. We should be closer 15. Hard for me to be objective with my Hoya lenses on. We do need a larger endowment though.

[DFW HOYA]

Jul 9, 2018 9:17:43 GMT -5 happyhoya1979 said:

How does a University whose influence is such that it has graduated 7 of the top 25 positions in the executive government and two of the five top leaders in Congress have a ranking of number 20?

It's all about the view. The House minority whip may be important to some, but not many. How many Fortune 500 CEO's come from the university? Penn State has six, does Georgetown have even one? How many Nobel laureates teach at Georgetown? While that may mean nothing if you're a pre-law, that may be important to others. Some rankings are based on schools with the best Greek life or the best athletic facilities, neither of which would place Georgetown in their top 300.

Another factor is brand trust. US News' top six are Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Columbia, and MIT. Washington Monthly's top five are Stanford, Harvard, MIT (OK, nothing unusual here...), followed by Texas A&M, Georgetown, and UC-San Diego. We are acculturated to think Ivy schools must be at the top of lists, but does the placement of UC-Davis ahead of Yale and Princeton make it more or less trustworthy? US News has set a pattern where the Top 25 are fairly set in stone, with few new entrants. If Texas A&M (with its $10B endowment and current $4B capital campaign) suddenly makes the top eight, do we take A&M much more seriously, or US News much less so?

Some might also argue these rankings skew to "old money" schools. Is Columbia (founded 1754) higher ranked than Rice (founded in 1912) because its programs are that much better, or merely that it carries more gravitas? There are now more National Merit Scholars at Oklahoma than Yale. Should OU be in the top 10?

[Bigs"R"Us]

I’m happy to rank the schools for them each year. Kidding aside, the US News High School Counselors Rankings are better. We’re 11th!