Earning a score of 85 out of 100, Cornell University was ranked the nation’s 15th best university on the U.S. News & World Report 2017 list — representing a standstill from last year’s rating.
The famous rankings focus on “academic excellence,” and incorporate factors including freshman retention rate and the rate at which students graduate within a six-year time span, according to U.S. News. Other important scoring criteria include ethnic and economic diversity, as well the number of international students in attendance at a given college.
The press release said that “overall, the rankings emphasize student outcomes — including graduation and retention rates — which carry the most weight at 30 percent.”
Cornell’s placement on the U.S. News rankings has been fairly consistent for the past few years, hovering around 15th or 16th place for the past four years, but has dropped several spots since 2008, when it was ranked at 12th.
This year, Cornell ranked last among the Ivies, one spot behind Brown University, and tied Rice University, University of Notre Dame and Vanderbilt University.
“Cornell University … has more than 1,000 student organizations on campus, which range from the Big Red Marching Band to the International Affairs Society,” U.S. News & World Report Cornell page says.
The report also touched on campus life, referencing Dragon Day and mentioning several famous Cornellians.
Cornell also ranked well in several other lists published by U.S. News this week. In categories “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” and “Best Business Programs,” Cornell ranked 9th and under “Most Innovative Schools” Cornell was rated 14th.