The US News Rankings 2022 That Should Have Been!

What US News Rankings 2022 Should Have Been

It's been 3 weeks month since the highly anticipated 2022 US News Rankings came out and I was sorely disappointed when they did - they did not seem to reflect the reality of today's world. The world where people have lost jobs, some folks could not take their GMAT, and others deferred for a year. The rankings looked too normal so we have decided to dig in. Regenerate has spent 20+ hours methodically recreating the US News rankings, auditing their math (it seems to be off in a few cases outside of the Top 30) and going deep into the data.


The 2 issues in the 2022 US News Rankings This Year:

• Reduction in the number of applicants reporting GMAT/GRE Scores. E.g. Marshall's class had indicated GMAT scores for only 32% of the class and GRE scores for 25% of the class, leaving 43% of the other admitted students in the dark. We do not know if those students were admitted with other test scores such as EA, LSAT, MCAT, or if they did not have to submit any scores at all. The US News rankings does account for the reduced reporting numbers but only if the total is below 25% of the class (a change this year from 50% last year)
  
• Several schools and in particular Wharton and Sloan did not submit updated data and were ranked with last year's numbers. We understand it is a tough year - we all had a tough year but we felt that it was not right to rank schools this year with an old data without adjustments
  
• You can read more about the release and my thoughts here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/us-news-2022 ... 53176.html

Here is What We Did to Fix the US News 2022 FT MBA Rankings:
I kept the changes as minimal as possible . My goal was to fix the issues and not introduce any others. (We likely do a more advanced evaluation applying our opinions but in this case, the adjustments were kept to the minimum, aiming to balance out the data issues outlined above. )

1. Equalized the playing field by tackling schools that under-reported test scores or chose to make admissions test-optional.
   
   • Proportionately scaled the Score component of the rankings and if one program reported only 57% of their student scores like Marshall did vs. 99% like Anderson did, then we have adjusted the weight of their contribution to the rankings by 43% and 1% appropriately. As a reminder, the score component is 16.25%
   • Since schools admitting applicants with other or no scores, I also felt it would be fair if we adjusted the applicant weight by the similar measure. As a reminder, the admission rate component is 1.25% of the rankings. You may find adjusting 1.25% by 10% laughable but it did change things around. (more on the rankings and data sensitivity later)
2. Applied this year's trends to the Wharton and Sloan data. We don't know what it is but we can assume it was impacted as much as the other M7 schools were.
   
   • Reduced the employed at graduation and employed at 3-month parameters by the trend observed among the other 5 of the M7, which is -4.8% and -4%
   • Adjusted the starting salary averages for Sloan and Wharton by 4.2% which is the average for the other 5 of the M7 schools
3. No changes to categories, weights, or rankings methodology were made

The Revised Top 10

US News Top 10 v2.0 Rankings
Rank	School
1	Stanford
2	Booth
3	Harvard
3	Kellogg
5	Wharton*
6	MIT Sloan*
7	Haas
7	Yale SOM
9	Columbia
9	Tuck
11	Stern
11	Fuqua

Notes:
- The Top 10 looks a lot more reasonable now. There are perfect explanations now why each school is at the exact spot
- HBS is tied with Booth because HBS's employed at graduation and employed 3 months at graduation are 2nd worst out of Top 10. The only one worse is Stanford
- Stanford the leader in all but Employment numbers with the worst parameter of 57% employed at graduation . They still got the top spot based on the US News methodology
- Tuck is included in Top 10 due to its very strong salary figures and strong employment numbers. It is tied with Kellogg for the first spot
- Yale made it into the Top 10 well by having strong numbers across the board but standing out with the highest average GRE scores V164 and Q164, only second to Stanford.
- Surprisingly we still got a few ties. The reason is that there are only so many decimal points and some of the rankings are really tight. Despite our adjustment and updates, we still eneded up with 2 ties in the Top 10
- Wharton and Sloan are based on the estimated/trend data as they did not submit data this year

US News Complete "Should Have Been" 2022 MBA Rankings
New Rank	Business School	Peer Assessment	Recruiter Assessment	Salary + Bonus	% Employed @ Graduation	Employed @ 3Mo	GMAT + GRE Scores	GPA	Acceptance %	Old US News Rank	Rank Delta
1	Stanford University (CA)	1	1	0.98	0.57	0.8	1	1	1	1	-
2	University of Chicago (Booth) (IL)	0.97	0.96	0.95	0.82	0.89	0.97	0.7	0.79	2	+1
3	Northwestern University (Kellogg) (IL)	0.93	0.93	0.95	0.78	0.9	0.99	0.75	0.79	3	+1
3	Harvard University (MA)	1	0.96	0.94	0.67	0.77	0.99	0.88	1	3	+2
5	University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)¹	1	1	1	0.73	0.86	0.81	0.76	0.8	5	-3
6	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)¹	1	0.96	0.91	0.71	0.86	0.81	0.73	0.91	6	-1
7	University of California--Berkeley (Haas)	0.93	0.89	0.88	0.68	0.83	0.86	0.81	0.82	7	-
7	Yale University (CT)	0.87	0.89	0.88	0.72	0.81	0.95	0.78	0.77	7	+2
9	Columbia University (NY)	0.9	0.89	0.94	0.69	0.81	0.83	0.75	0.92	9	-2
9	Dartmouth College (Tuck) (NH)	0.8	0.85	0.96	0.78	0.9	0.94	0.63	0.72	9	+1
11	New York University (Stern)	0.83	0.78	0.97	0.76	0.85	0.79	0.75	0.72	11	-1
11	Duke University (Fuqua) (NC)	0.83	0.81	0.91	0.83	0.88	0.81	0.63	0.81	11	+1
13	University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross)	0.83	0.85	0.89	0.77	0.85	0.87	0.56	0.68	13	-
14	University of Virginia (Darden)	0.77	0.81	0.93	0.82	0.88	0.77	0.63	0.65	14	-1
15	Cornell University (Johnson) (NY)	0.77	0.74	0.95	0.82	0.87	0.75	0.41	0.6	15	-
16	University of California--Los Angeles (Anderson)	0.77	0.78	0.82	0.59	0.71	0.92	0.61	0.72	16	+2
17	University of Texas--Austin (McCombs)	0.77	0.74	0.81	0.74	0.81	0.72	0.55	0.62	17	+1
18	Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) (PA)	0.77	0.78	0.9	0.78	0.82	0.57	0.4	0.69	18	-2
19	University of Washington (Foster)	0.63	0.59	0.8	0.78	0.92	0.87	0.48	0.64	19	+3
20	University of Southern California (Marshall)	0.7	0.67	0.83	0.71	0.88	0.52	0.75	0.72	20	-4
20	Georgetown University (McDonough) (DC)	0.67	0.7	0.82	0.69	0.86	0.78	0.43	0.44	20	+1
22	Indiana University (Kelley)	0.7	0.7	0.73	0.72	0.81	0.74	0.4	0.63	22	+1
23	University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler)	0.77	0.78	0.8	0.71	0.81	0.42	0.43	0.22	23	-3
24	University of Florida (Warrington)	0.6	0.63	0.63	0.73	0.87	0.75	0.58	0.8	24	+2
25	Vanderbilt University (Owen) (TN)	0.63	0.63	0.77	0.71	0.87	0.56	0.46	0.44	25	-2
25	Rice University (Jones) (TX)	0.6	0.63	0.77	0.72	0.85	0.57	0.53	0.53	25	-
27	University of Minnesota--Twin Cities (Carlson)	0.6	0.48	0.68	0.74	0.84	0.75	0.6	0.45	27	+1
28	Emory University (Goizueta) (GA)	0.67	0.63	0.8	0.73	0.87	0.61	0	0.45	28	-2
28	Arizona State University (W.P. Carey)	0.6	0.56	0.59	0.58	0.82	0.68	0.66	0.82	28	+2
28	Washington University in St. Louis (Olin)	0.67	0.63	0.65	0.56	0.63	0.73	0.5	0.58	28	+8
31	Ohio State University (Fisher)	0.63	0.52	0.65	0.67	0.79	0.67	0.56	0.63	31	+2
31	University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) (IN)	0.63	0.63	0.64	0.58	0.71	0.75	0.41	0.56	31	+5
33	Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller)	0.6	0.56	0.72	0.73	0.87	0.51	0.38	0.53	33	-5
34	Pennsylvania State University--University Park (Smeal)	0.57	0.52	0.66	0.73	0.82	0.49	0.54	0.81	34	-1
35	University of Texas--Dallas	0.47	0.78	0.49	0.58	0.87	0.49	0.65	0.5	35	-4
36	Brigham Young University (Marriott) (UT)	0.43	0.59	0.6	0.68	0.86	0.49	0.73	0.44	36	-5
36	University of Rochester (Simon) (NY)	0.47	0.52	0.73	0.7	0.87	0.5	0.49	0.73	36	-3
36	Texas A&M University--College Station (Mays)	0.57	0.56	0.65	0.74	0.86	0.4	0.43	0.48	36	+2
39	University of Maryland--College Park (Smith)	0.57	0.52	0.7	0.7	0.75	0.42	0.38	0.42	39	+3
40	University of Georgia (Terry)	0.57	0.44	0.61	0.68	0.74	0.44	0.54	0.52	40	-1
40	Michigan State University (Broad)	0.57	0.56	0.62	0.68	0.75	0.41	0.38	0.38	40	-1
40	University of Wisconsin--Madison	0.6	0.48	0.61	0.48	0.69	0.53	0.5	0.45	40	+2
43	University of Tennessee--Knoxville (Haslam)	0.5	0.52	0.44	0.76	0.86	0.43	0.64	0.4	43	-4
44	University of Pittsburgh (Katz) (PA)	0.5	0.59	0.51	0.53	0.65	0.62	0.43	0.69	44	+8
45	University of Utah (Eccles)	0.47	0.56	0.47	0.52	0.67	0.57	0.63	0.51	45	-1
45	Boston College (Carroll) (MA)	0.53	0.59	0.57	0.55	0.68	0.48	0.38	0.29	45	-1
45	Rutgers University--Newark and New Brunswick (NJ)	0.4	0.48	0.51	0.76	0.84	0.5	0.51	0.47	45	-1
45	Boston University (Questrom) (MA)	0.5	0.48	0.53	0.4	0.8	0.6	0.44	0.45	45	+5
49	Southern Methodist University (Cox) (TX)	0.47	0.59	0.58	0.5	0.69	0.47	0.41	0.57	49	-5
49	Iowa State University (Ivy)	0.37	0.67	0.17	0.65	0.95	0.54	0.73	0.27	49	+1
51	University of Alabama (Manderson)	0.4	0.52	0.22	0.64	0.83	0.58	0.84	0.38	51	-7
52	Texas Christian University (Neeley)	0.37	0.48	0.48	0.61	0.82	0.51	0.5	0.71	52	+5
53	George Washington University	0.47	0.56	0.47	0.43	0.82	0.36	0.38	0.54	53	-
53	University of California--Davis	0.5	0.52	0.64	0.46	0.61	0.4	0.38	0.39	53	-
53	University of South Carolina (Moore)	0.5	0.44	0.39	0.51	0.68	0.46	0.63	0.13	53	+2
56	Purdue University--West Lafayette (Krannert) (IN)	0.53	0.56	0.45	0.52	0.75	0.25	0.46	0.22	56	-12
57	Howard University (DC)	0.33	0.59	0.61	0.64	0.72	0.36	0.23	0.59	57	+7
58	Northeastern University (School of Business) (MA)	0.47	0.52	0.36	0.54	0.71	0.35	0.5	0.47	58	-3
59	University of Massachusetts--Amherst (Isenberg)	0.43	0.56	0.36	0.52	0.64	0.36	0.59	0.47	59	-2
59	Babson College (Olin) (MA)	0.5	0.52	0.38	0.52	0.75	0.41	0.16	0	59	+4
59	Pepperdine University (Graziadio) (CA)	0.43	0.48	0.43	0.43	0.58	0.51	0.43	0.19	59	+9
59	CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College (Zicklin) (NY)	0.37	0.59	0.3	0.37	0.53	0.73	0.26	0.67	59	+18
63	University of California--Irvine (Merage)	0.5	0.48	0.46	0.3	0.51	0.38	0.55	0.75	63	-6
63	Baylor University (Hankamer) (TX)	0.4	0.48	0.23	0.61	0.73	0.41	0.65	0.13	63	-3
65	University of Connecticut	0.43	0.48	0.43	0.35	0.64	0.27	0.6	0.43	65	-5
65	North Carolina State University (Poole)	0.4	0.44	0.48	0.52	0.65	0.3	0.5	0.3	65	-1
67	University of Miami (FL)	0.43	0.44	0.36	0.62	0.78	0.21	0.4	0.08	67	-7
67	University of Arizona (Eller)	0.57	0.44	0.37	0.45	0.52	0.2	0.45	0.62	67	-3
67	Auburn University (Harbert) (AL)	0.4	0.48	0.19	0.61	0.75	0.35	0.39	0.64	67	+7
70	Fordham University (Gabelli) (NY)	0.4	0.59	0.48	0.42	0.63	0.26	0.29	0	70	-6
70	Louisiana State University--Baton Rouge (Ourso)	0.4	0.41	0.27	0.7	0.8	0.2	0.5	0.03	70	-2
70	Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ)	0.3	0.78	0.35	0.31	0.95	0.23	0	0	70	-2
70	William & Mary (VA)	0.43	0.56	0.37	0.48	0.63	0.3	0.26	0.03	70	+1
70	University of California--San Diego (Rady)	0.43	0.37	0.35	0.18	0.35	0.79	0.36	0.56	70	+17
75	University of Colorado--Boulder (Leeds)	0.5	0.56	0.27	0.29	0.55	0.37	0.28	0.24	75	-1
75	University of Kentucky (Gatton)	0.4	0.56	0.11	0.37	0.4	0.61	0.65	0.2	75	+8
77	University of Kansas	0.4	0.37	0.26	0.54	0.73	0.34	0.44	0	77	-5
77	University at Buffalo--SUNY (NY)	0.33	0.74	0.18	0.32	0.74	0.23	0.44	0	77	-
77	Temple University (Fox) (PA)	0.33	0.41	0.43	0.48	0.64	0.36	0.38	0.39	77	+7
80	University of Oklahoma (Price)	0.43	0.37	0.28	0.41	0.72	0.25	0.51	0	80	+1
81	Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) (MO)	0.33	0.52	0.12	0.62	0.89	0.1	0.44	0	81	-9
81	University of Denver (Daniels) (CO)	0.33	0.44	0.34	0.37	0.6	0.33	0.45	0.03	81	-4
83	Clemson University (SC)	0.4	0.52	0.15	0.49	0.91	0	0.38	0	83	-9
83	Tulane University (Freeman) (LA)	0.47	0.48	0.32	0.23	0.31	0.42	0.33	0.18	83	+9
85	Case Western Reserve University (Weatherhead) (OH)	0.47	0.52	0.24	0.21	0.44	0.31	0.38	0	85	-4
85	American University (Kogod) (DC)	0.37	0.44	0.32	0.4	0.62	0.27	0.18	0.32	85	+2
85	Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) (NY)	0.4	0.41	0.16	0.63	0.89	0.02	0.31	0	85	+5
85	University of San Diego (CA)	0.27	0.3	0.43	0.43	0.71	0.34	0.25	0.24	85	+7
89	North Carolina A&T State University	0.1	0.44	0.25	0.93	0.92	0	0.63	0	89	+7
90	Chapman University (Argyros)¹ (CA)	0.23	0.56	0.22	0.59	0.79	0	0.5	0	90	-13
90	University of San Francisco (CA)	0.27	0.33	0.36	0.51	0.71	0.16	0.4	0	90	-3
90	University of Mississippi	0.33	0.37	0.08	0.63	0.73	0.18	0.43	0.48	90	-
93	Binghamton University--SUNY (NY)	0.27	0.44	0.19	0.47	0.6	0.16	0.68	0	93	-9
93	University of Oregon (Lundquist)	0.43	0.41	0.29	0.21	0.37	0.27	0.5	0	93	-1
93	University of Houston (Bauer) (TX)	0.37	0.41	0.33	0.35	0.38	0.32	0.35	0.19	93	+4
96	Syracuse University (Whitman) (NY)	0.43	0.56	0.1	0.31	0.47	0.17	0.3	0	96	-12
97	Drexel University (LeBow) (PA)	0.33	0.48	0.35	0.35	0.62	0	0.28	0	97	-
97	Belmont University (Massey) (TN)	0.17	0.3	0.07	0.66	0.85	0.12	0.73	0	97	-
99	Mississippi State University	0.23	0.37	0.11	0.65	0.77	0	0.66	0	99	-7
99	Texas State University (McCoy)	0.13	0.22	0.17	0.77	1	0.08	0.43	0	99	+2
99	Bentley University (MA)	0.4	0.37	0.28	0.35	0.48	0.07	0.41	0	99	+2
99	Missouri University of Science & Technology	0.13	0.37	0.16	0.59	0.71	0.14	0.66	0.21	99	+2

Note that the data has been normalized into a value between 0 and 1 where the best parameter was ranked as 1 and the worst as 0.


Winners and Losers of the New Rankings
The winners are the schools that have provided all data and did not loosen their admissions standards. Schools that continued requiring test scores and admitted only a small % of the applicants without scores or with scores other than GMAT and GRE gained ground. MBA programs such as HBS, Anderson, Foster, and Mendoza all gained ground. On the other hand USC Marshall, UNC Kenan-Flagler, and Krannert lost ground.


US News Ranking Methodology:
We did not change or adjust the methodology. The weights were left the same as in previous years and we only made slight adjustments to the score and admissions reporting as well as applied trends to Wharton and Sloan. Do we agree that 40% of the ranking should be peer and recruiter assessment scores? Not really but for this exercise, we wanted to stay as close to the pure concept of the US News rankings as we could, just putting a different lens, hopefully more accurate. Here is the original methodology:

• Peer assessment score - 25%
• Recruiter assessment score - 15%
• Mean starting compensation - 14%
• Employed at graduation - 7%
• Employed 3 months after graduation - 14%
• Test scores - 16.25%
• Undergrad GPA - 7.5%
• MBA Acceptance Rate - 1.25%

Why?
It just had to be done. We had to address the inconsistency in numbers. It seemed like it would be a small fix but it took way too long. Lesson learned I guess.


Huge thanks to Regenerate! His excel skills are much more superior to mine and this would definitely not been possible without his involvement.