This fall, Northwestern jumped from No. 9 to No. 6 in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 National Universities rankings. But what goes into the scoring? The report quantifies universities by various metrics: outcomes, expert opinion, faculty resources, student excellence and faculty research.
There is a slight discrepancy in the ranking metrics for schools reporting less than 50% of both their fall 2022 and 2023 entering classes’ SAT or ACT scores. For schools without standardized test scores, an additional 5% from the standardized test category is added to the graduation rate weighting, bumping the category from 16% to 21%. Out of the 10 highest ranked schools, only the California Institute of Technology was scored using this methodology.
Peer assessment is the heaviest overall category and reflects feedback from academics at other institutions. Other categories, such as faculty resources and social mobility, are the totaled percentages of metrics, such as student-to-faculty ratios and Pell Grant graduation rates.
Graduation rate is the single largest factor in ranking criteria and reflects the percentage of students who achieve a bachelor’s degree in six years or fewer. Princeton, ranked No. 1 for the 14th year in a row, tied with Harvard for the highest score of 98%. NU tied with No. 2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, No. 6 Duke, and No. 10 University of Pennsylvania with a 96% graduation rate.
Graduation rates of Pell Grant recipients are weighed at 5.5%, making up half of the social mobility category. NU, along with Duke and Harvard, holds the second highest Pell graduation rates of 96%. Once again, Princeton takes the lead with the highest percentage, 97%.
Faculty resources make up 11% of the rankings’ weight and consist of three factors: faculty salaries (6%), full-time faculty (2%) and student-faculty ratio (3%).
Within the faculty resources grouping, the heaviest category is average faculty salaries, adjusted to accommodate for cost of living by region. For this graphic, The Daily pulled the salary data from the National Center for Educational Statistics, which does not adjust for cost of living.
As shown in the bar graph, the top four ranked universities have the highest average salaries, all above $210,000. NU ranks among the lowest in faculty salaries compared to other top institutions, with only Duke and Johns Hopkins reporting lower figures.
Another factor under faculty resources is the percentage of full-time faculty. Schools receive credit in the rankings for a higher proportion of full-time instructors. In this category, NU ties with No. 1 Princeton for a full-time faculty percentage of 83%. Both universities are among the four lowest percentages.
MIT and Caltech are tied for lowest student-faculty ratio in the nation at 3:1. NU, with a ratio of 6:1, falls in the median and tied with Stanford, Yale and Johns Hopkins.
The rankings are released annually every September.
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Northwestern reaches historic high at 6th place in U.S. News college rankings
— Northwestern reclaims No. 9 spot in U.S. News college rankings
— Faculty discuss Pritzker School of Law opting out from U.S. News rankings