Harvard is followed in the study by Princeton, Yale, Columbia, and Stanford. The schools jockey for the top spot every year, and their is only a tiny difference among their grades.
Harvard does not give a better education compared to the top 20 or 25 schools on the list, no matter what US News says. Some have stronger English or Physics departments than others. Some force students to take more courses outside their majors to become more well-rounded educationally. But, none can claim that as a whole it it better at educating all of its students at a higher, better level than the rest.
The US News poll does not take into account the most important measures by the world, many students, and those who hire graduates or take them into graduate schools. Harvard students are taught by a large number of worldwide experts on many of the subjects that draw students. Harvard students are more likely to become rich, famous, or wealthy–or to go on to be President.
US News may fool some of the people all of the time, or all of the people some of the time but the rankings, based on what the magazine claims are its criteria, are bogus.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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