Boston University has been ranked the 41st best national university by U.S. News and World Report this year, according to their annual rankings published Wednesday. The ranking ties the school’s highest in its history.
BU tied in rank with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Tulane University, the University of California, Davis, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Last year, BU was ranked at No. 42, tied with Northeastern University, another Boston-area school, The Daily Free Press reported on Sept. 11, 2014. This year, BU ranked above Northeastern, which received a rank of No. 47. In 2013, BU reached its highest ranking ever at the time at No. 41, the FreeP reported on Sept. 11, 2013.
This year’s top-ranked schools include Princeton University, Harvard University and Yale University, respectively ranked first, second and third in the nation.
According to a Sept. 9 press release, the U.S. News rankings focus on academic excellence, using up to 16 measures of academic quality.
“The rankings emphasize outcomes, with graduation and retention rates carrying the most weight in the methodology at 30 percent,” the press release stated. “The top schools all have high six-year graduation rates and strong freshman retention rates.”
The methodology of U.S. News ranking system requires a formula that uses quantitative measures that education experts have deemed reliable indicators of academic quality as well as factors U.S. News views as important in education, according to the release.
