About the Rankings and Methodology

Define ranking numbers

I have not been able to find the meaningof tghe numbers in teh ranking for a college. there afre two numbers. What do they mean?

your college rankings

Over the years, I have been very critical of your college rankings. In fact, I've probably called you every name in the book many times over.

But now, surprisingly, I wish to pay you a compliment.... because I really believe your rankings, though perennially undervaluing the University of Chicago, have actually been one of the sources of its rise in popularity.

There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that the University of Chicago has the best undergraduate education available and that Chicago is the most serious university overall.

I have always felt that your magazine tended to rank popularity more than quality. But now, fortunately, Chicago is increasingly able to hold its own on any score, and I imagine this in time will be reflected in the rankings.

And the good thing is, that no matter where you rank Chicago, as long as it is in the top ten, you will help boost its popularity and social prestige.

P.S. One thing I did wonder--in the rankings you seem to list total enrollment of graduates and undergraduates. This is both helpful and misleading. I agree it may give an overall sense of a university's size and vibrancy; still, it doesn't really give undergraduates a way to know how many people will be in their classes.

Credibility of the Commentators

I wonder how seriously one can consider the opinions on education of an individual (Ph.D. or not) who writes such a grammatically incorrect phrase as "every college is now calling themselves a University…"

As we all hopefully learned in third grade: "Every man calls himself a University"; "Every woman calls herself a University"; "Every college calls itself a University."