2008 Woodie Awards
Smith rankings remain consistent in 2007
Leighanne Noonan
Issue date: 9/5/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
At the end of the summer, U.S. News and World Report released its national college rankings for 2007. The magazine annually releases this special issue which provides exclusive rankings on over 1,400 schools. Compiling data through a wide variety of factors, the listed ratings are consistently a resource for many current and prospective students.
For 2007, Smith College ranked 19 among liberal arts colleges, keeping its ranking from the previous year. Much of the data also remained consistent. The peer assessment score of 4.3 out of 5, the freshman retention rate of 91% and the student faculty ratio of 9 to 1 all remained unchanged from the 2006 report. The ranking of faculty resources jumped from 34 in 2006 to 24 this year.
Smith's overall score for the new rankings decreased, falling from 82 to 81 out of a possible 100. Additionally, the numbers for Smith's selectivity demonstrated possible changes in admissions policy. Over the past year, the school has discussed reaching out to lower income students and decreasing the emphasis placed on SAT scores.
Overall, Smith's ranking on selectivity moved from 38 in 2006 to 41 this year. However, the acceptance rate dropped from 57% in 2006 to 48% for 2007. Additionally, more current Smith students were found to have placed in the top 10% of their high school classes. However, the average SAT score remained about the same, at 1150-1380.
While the numbers are significant for many current and prospective students, a debate remains as to the importance of these rankings. In an article for the spring 2006 Smith Alumnae Quarterly, President Carol Christ wrote that rankings are a frequent issue and matter of concern for college presidents across the country. However, she said, "While I am critical of college rankings as an industry, I am mindful of the factors that inform such surveys as that of U.S. News and World Report."
President Christ also pointed out that the issues and factors that influence these ratings can be real campus concerns. According to Christ, "a higher acceptance rate in the year surveyed, a slight decrease in the graduation rate, no increase in the percentage of alumnae giving, and a slight increase in the number of classes" are issues that caused the drop in rank from 13 in 2005 to 19 in 2006 and 2007. These are issues that continue to be addressed and examined by the campus as a whole.
In spite of the numerical ratings, Christ emphasized the overall message: "It's notable that Smith's academic quality measure in the U.S. News survey, as perceived by college leaders across the country, remains high and unchanged."
As for the competition, the top four liberal arts colleges remained the same from 2006 to 2007, being Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Wellesley. For national universities, Harvard fell to the number two spot, being unseated from the top by Princeton. Yale University, California Institute of Technology and MIT rounded out the top five universities.
Although colleges themselves may at times begrudgingly address these ratings, they are still widely used among prospective students and their parents. The college ranking issue of U.S. News and World Report will remain on sale throughout the coming school year.
For 2007, Smith College ranked 19 among liberal arts colleges, keeping its ranking from the previous year. Much of the data also remained consistent. The peer assessment score of 4.3 out of 5, the freshman retention rate of 91% and the student faculty ratio of 9 to 1 all remained unchanged from the 2006 report. The ranking of faculty resources jumped from 34 in 2006 to 24 this year.
Smith's overall score for the new rankings decreased, falling from 82 to 81 out of a possible 100. Additionally, the numbers for Smith's selectivity demonstrated possible changes in admissions policy. Over the past year, the school has discussed reaching out to lower income students and decreasing the emphasis placed on SAT scores.
Overall, Smith's ranking on selectivity moved from 38 in 2006 to 41 this year. However, the acceptance rate dropped from 57% in 2006 to 48% for 2007. Additionally, more current Smith students were found to have placed in the top 10% of their high school classes. However, the average SAT score remained about the same, at 1150-1380.
While the numbers are significant for many current and prospective students, a debate remains as to the importance of these rankings. In an article for the spring 2006 Smith Alumnae Quarterly, President Carol Christ wrote that rankings are a frequent issue and matter of concern for college presidents across the country. However, she said, "While I am critical of college rankings as an industry, I am mindful of the factors that inform such surveys as that of U.S. News and World Report."
President Christ also pointed out that the issues and factors that influence these ratings can be real campus concerns. According to Christ, "a higher acceptance rate in the year surveyed, a slight decrease in the graduation rate, no increase in the percentage of alumnae giving, and a slight increase in the number of classes" are issues that caused the drop in rank from 13 in 2005 to 19 in 2006 and 2007. These are issues that continue to be addressed and examined by the campus as a whole.
In spite of the numerical ratings, Christ emphasized the overall message: "It's notable that Smith's academic quality measure in the U.S. News survey, as perceived by college leaders across the country, remains high and unchanged."
As for the competition, the top four liberal arts colleges remained the same from 2006 to 2007, being Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Wellesley. For national universities, Harvard fell to the number two spot, being unseated from the top by Princeton. Yale University, California Institute of Technology and MIT rounded out the top five universities.
Although colleges themselves may at times begrudgingly address these ratings, they are still widely used among prospective students and their parents. The college ranking issue of U.S. News and World Report will remain on sale throughout the coming school year.
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