Forbes Top Colleges

Forbes Top Colleges

A Different (Forbes) Look at College Rankings

2/ /Stanford/ /Pac12
17/ /Notre Dame/ /ACC
19/ /Northwestern/ /Big Ten
23/ /Duke/ /ACC
36/ /Boston College/ /ACC
37/ /California/ /Pac12
40/ /Virginia/ /ACC
44/ /UCLA/ /Pac12
45/ /Michigan/ /Big Ten
50/ /North Carolina/ /ACC
54/ /Vanderbilt/ /SEC
61/ /Wake Forest/ /ACC
68/ /Illinois/ /Big Ten
70/ /Wisconsin/ /Big Ten
73/ /Washington/ /Pac12
76/ /Texas/ /Big12
78/ /Southern Cal/ /Pac12
82/ /Maryland/ /Big Ten
87/ /Florida/ /SEC
90/ /Georgia Tech/ /ACC
94/ /Georgia/ /SEC
101/ /SMU/ /American
107/ /Indiana/ /Big Ten
108/ /Minnesota/ /Big Ten
117/ /Virginia Tech/ /ACC
118/ /Colorado/ /Pac12
119/ /Purdue/ /Big Ten
120/ /Miami/ /ACC
137/ /Texas A&M/ /SEC
141/ /Utah/ /Pac12
147/ /Tulane/ /American
155/ /Ohio State/ /Big Ten
158/ /Syracuse/ /ACC
163/ /Clemson/ /ACC
164/ /Connecticut/ /American
166/ /Penn State/ /Big Ten
167/ /North Carolina State/ /ACC
169/ /Michigan State/ /Big Ten
177/ /Rutgers/ /Big Ten
186/ /South Carolina/ /SEC
190/ /LSU/ /SEC
192/ /Iowa/ /Big Ten
195/ /Baylor/ /Big12
198/ /Pittsburgh/ /ACC
202/ /Oklahoma/ /Big12
204/ /Auburn/ /SEC
213/ /Tulsa/ /American
216/ /TCU/ /Big12
226/ /Florida State/ /ACC
230/ /Missouri/ /SEC
235/ /Oregon/ /Pac12
250/ /Arizona/ /Pac12
261/ /Iowa State/ /Big12
280/ /Nebraska/ /Big Ten
292/ /Tennessee/ /SEC
296/ /Arkansas/ /SEC
297/ /Kansas/ /Big12
323/ /Oregon State/ /Pac12
335/ /Alabama/ /SEC
336/ /Kentucky/ /SEC
359/ /Mississippi/ /SEC
362/ /Arizona State/ /Pac12
365/ /Mississippi State/ /SEC
367/ /Kansas State/ /Big12
369/ /Oklahoma State/ /Big12
370/ /Washington State/ /Pac12
388/ /Houston/ /American
391/ /Cincinnati/ /American
397/ /Temple/ /American
402/ /Texas Tech/ /Big12
405/ /Central Florida/ /American
433/ /South Florida/ /American
443/ /West Virginia/ /Big12
501/ /East Carolina/ /American
504/ /Louisville/ /ACC

Conference Median
ACC / 117
American / 391
Big Ten / 113.5
Big12 / 279
Pac12 / 129.5
SEC / 217

"US News vs. Forbes

The following list gives a comparison between the two rankings. The groupings include a total of 76 institutions: 15 for the ACC (includes ND); 14 for the Big Ten; 10 for the Big 12; 12 for the Pac12; 14 for the SEC; and 11 for the American. Because the original numbers for each ranking service are of different sizes (due to the fact that Forbes ranked a much larger set of schools), I further ranked the universities in each group from 1 through 76. For example, UConn's place in the US News ranking was #57 which placed it 24th on that list, while in Forbes it was #164, good for 35th position.

The numbers below represent the schools position of the Forbes list, the position on the US News list, and the difference between the two ranks. A negative difference indicates that the school is ranked higher by US News and a positive difference means Forbes ranked them higher. Forbes ranked UConn 11 places lower than US News. The biggest differentials were Penn State ranked 21 places higher by US News and Utah ranked 27 places higher by Forbes.

1 | 1 | 0 | Stanford | Pac12
2 | 5 | 3 | Notre Dame | ACC
3 | 3 | 0 | Northwestern | Big Ten
4 | 2 | -2 | Duke | ACC
5 | 13 | 8 | Boston College | ACC
6 | 6 | 0 | California | Pac12
7 | 7 | 0 | Virginia | ACC
8 | 7 | -1 | UCLA | Pac12
9 | 11 | 2 | Michigan | Big Ten
10 | 12 | 2 | North Carolina | ACC
11 | 4 | -7 | Vanderbilt | SEC
12 | 7 | -5 | Wake Forest | ACC
13 | 16 | 3 | Illinois | Big Ten
14 | 16 | 2 | Wisconsin | Big Ten
15 | 20 | 5 | Washington | Pac12
16 | 20 | 4 | Texas | Big12
17 | 7 | -10 | Southern Cal | Pac12
18 | 27 | 9 | Maryland | Big Ten
19 | 19 | 0 | Florida | SEC
20 | 14 | -6 | Georgia Tech | ACC
21 | 25 | 4 | Georgia | SEC
22 | 25 | 3 | SMU | American
23 | 38 | 15 | Indiana | Big Ten
24 | 32 | 8 | Minnesota | Big Ten
25 | 32 | 7 | Virginia Tech | ACC
26 | 41 | 15 | Colorado | Pac12
27 | 31 | 4 | Purdue | Big Ten
28 | 18 | -10 | Miami | ACC
29 | 32 | 3 | Texas A&M | SEC
30 | 57 | 27 | Utah | Pac12
31 | 20 | -11 | Tulane | American
32 | 20 | -12 | Ohio State | Big Ten
33 | 27 | -6 | Syracuse | ACC
34 | 27 | -7 | Clemson | ACC
35 | 24 | -11 | Connecticut | American
36 | 15 | -21 | Penn State | Big Ten
37 | 47 | 10 | North Carolina State | ACC
38 | 32 | -6 | Michigan State | Big Ten
39 | 32 | -7 | Rutgers | Big Ten
40 | 54 | 14 | South Carolina | SEC
41 | 61 | 20 | LSU | SEC
42 | 32 | -10 | Iowa | Big Ten
43 | 38 | -5 | Baylor | Big12
44 | 27 | -17 | Pittsburgh | ACC
45 | 47 | 2 | Oklahoma | Big12
46 | 44 | -2 | Auburn | SEC
47 | 41 | -6 | Tulsa | American
48 | 40 | -8 | TCU | Big12
49 | 44 | -5 | Florida State | ACC
50 | 46 | -4 | Missouri | SEC
51 | 53 | 2 | Oregon | Pac12
52 | 55 | 3 | Arizona | Pac12
53 | 47 | -6 | Iowa State | Big12
54 | 47 | -7 | Nebraska | Big Ten
55 | 47 | -8 | Tennessee | SEC
56 | 59 | 3 | Arkansas | SEC
57 | 47 | -10 | Kansas | Big12
58 | 64 | 6 | Oregon State | Pac12
59 | 41 | -18 | Alabama | SEC
60 | 55 | -5 | Kentucky | SEC
61 | 68 | 7 | Mississippi | SEC
62 | 64 | 2 | Arizona State | Pac12
63 | 64 | 1 | Mississippi State | SEC
64 | 61 | -3 | Kansas State | Big12
65 | 64 | -1 | Oklahoma State | Big12
66 | 59 | -7 | Washington State | Pac12
67 | 75 | 8 | Houston | American
68 | 61 | -7 | Cincinnati | American
69 | 57 | -12 | Temple | American
70 | 69 | -1 | Texas Tech | Big12
71 | 71 | 0 | Central Florida | American
72 | 71 | -1 | South Florida | American
73 | 71 | -2 | West Virginia | Big12
74 | 74 | 0 | East Carolina | American
75 | 69 | -6 | Louisville | ACC
76 | 76 | 0 | Memphis | American "