Penn Ties Duke, MIT for Seventh in US News Rankings Report


Penn nabbed seventh place on US News & World Reports recently released college rankings, tying Duke and MIT. Penn’s ranking this year is slightly better than last year’s eighth place slot (also tied with Duke). However, this placement marks a fall from 2012’s fifth place ranking, when they tied with four other universities.

Ivy League schools were all over the top 10 this year, with Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia taking the top four spots, respectively. Which, of course, is to be expected.

Penn’s Daily Pennsylvanian explains the school’s ranking changed as a result of changes to US News‘ ranking methodology. Those changes include more weight for graduation rate and less emphasis on high school class ranking—both instituted this year. Dean of Admissions Eric Furda, meanwhile, has been worried:

“These things do keep me up at night,” he said of the rankings.

Penn, though, has not been out of the top nine in at least three years. Maybe Eric’s just a high-stress guy. [Daily Pennsylvanian]