Brown Scrambles After Poor College Ranking, Hypes the Publication It Is Quitting
GoLocalProv News Team
Brown Scrambles After Poor College Ranking, Hypes the Publication It Is Quitting
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published its annual ranking — a ranking that includes measures such as how the institutions perform after graduation.
Brown scored poorly — very poorly.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWall Street Journal ranked one of Brown’s Ivy League rivals, Princeton, as the best in the United States.
“What makes a college like Princeton great?
Wall Street Journal wrote about Princeton, "There are the facilities and the faculties, the coursework and the camaraderie, the skills and experiences and knowledge that prepare students for their lives and their careers. No doubt these are important. But in addition, our ranking puts even greater emphasis on two practical and measurable questions about each school: How much will the college improve its students’ chances of graduating on time? And how much will it improve the salaries they earn after receiving their diplomas?”
While Pricetion finished first overall, Brown ranked 67th.
And on Monday, the Wall Street Journal added insult to injury. The publication broke out which colleges and universities offer the best value -- "best bang for the buck."
The top of the list was public universities, but a number of the prestigious private universities were top-ranked. MIT was ranked #2, Stanford #5, Princeton #6, University of Pennsylvania #8, and Columbia #9.
Brown ranked second to last in the Ivy League at #115. Dartmouth was ranked #147.
The University of Rhode Island ranked #165.
Brown Issues Press Release
On Monday, Brown University issued a press statement on the college rankings, omitting the Wall Street Journal and highlighting other rankings—“From U.S. News and World Report to Forbes and Princeton Review, Brown placed among top universities based on its distinctive student experience, high-impact teaching and research, and inclusive community.”
Brown Pumped U.S. News Ranking, Despite the Medical School Quitting
In the Brown press statement, the university focused on this week’s ranking from U.S. News and World Report.
"An array of education guides and rankings from news organizations continued to recognize Brown’s distinctive student experience, world-class research and teaching, and generous financial aid among the top colleges and universities in 2023," wrote Brown.
The irony of highlighting the U.S. News ranking comes just months after Brown blasted U.S. News and withdrew from participating in the medical school ranking.
Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School will no longer submit data for the publication's best medical schools ranking. Mukesh Jain, MD, the university's dean of medicine and biological sciences and senior vice president for health affairs, announced the decision in an August 29 letter to the medical school community.
"Central to Brown's decision to end participation is our belief that such quantitative rankings do not adequately capture the quality of education nor the level of support provided to students at any medical school," Dr. Jain wrote. "The rankings also do not reflect the unique foci and missions of all medical schools, instead ranking them on factors that are not equally valued by all schools. At their worst, they perpetuate a culture of rewarding the most elite and historically privileged groups."