University Benchmarks

Ranking the Top 100 Academic Universities

UniversityBenchmarks.com ranks the universities that attract and produce the best academic students.

There are many 'University Rankings' on the internet. Most rankings rely heavily on subjective metrics like 'reputation' and 'selectivity'. UniversityBenchmarks is purely an academic ranking model. The rankings are based on the reported academic and financial metrics of the colleges. There are no subjective factors like 'reputation' that are used. The calculations are performed using normal statistical models. All universities are considered equal and there is no weighting of the ranking categories.

The university 2014-2015 dataset is comprised of over 2400 US Universities & Colleges and comes from multiple sources using the most favorable reported metrics for a university.

The universities are ranked against each other in each filtered set. It is an iterative process whereby lower ranking universities are removed and the set is re-ranked until the final set of 100 is reached.

Selecting 'Rank Top 10 Only' will show the Top 10 for each filter category ranked against each other.

The academic rankings of the universities within the major conferences (ACC, Big12, Big10, Pac12, SEC) are available.

The 2017 rankings will be available in August.

Notes:
  • It is possible for universities to be ranked higher/lower than one another depending on the filter set.
  • Conference averages are based on the top 8 schools in the conference.
  • Public Schools are highlighted
  • Clicking on the university's seal icon will take you to the university's website.

Ranking Fields

Rank - Overall rank based on the average of the ranking fields (Scores, Difficulty, Smartest, Brainpower, Faculty and Research).

Scores - SAT & ACT scores. The university's test scores are corrected for dropout rate when score level is Good, Excellent or Elite. This will slightly boost scores for highly competitive schools.

Difficulty - Academic rigor is estimated based on how difficult it is to get an "A" at the university. An estimated GPA at the university is calculated for the average US Student. University grade inflation, average GPA, and STEM density are factors.

Smartest - University that can field the highest scoring students based on the average US University size. Higher Smartest Rank = "Smartest for the Average University"

Brainpower - The average "smartest" rank using 5 reference populations (CalTech, MIT, Stanford, GaTech and Berkeley). Higher Brainpower Rank = "Higher Density of Smart Students". The university ranked higher can mathematically field 'X' number of smarter students than universities ranked below them.

Faculty - Ranking based on number of % of faculty with awards and academy membership.

Research - Ranking is achieved by iteratively ranking the average of 3 research metrics (r-pop, r-stem, r-other ). The lowest ranked college is then removed and the new set is re-ranked. The result is the schools with potentially the strongest research environments per student bubble up to the top regardless of size or research budget.

  • r-pop - Average research spending for student population
  • r-stem - STEM research spending
  • r-other - Other/Medical/Health research spending

Salary ROI - "Salary Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. Using the undergraduate average starting and mid-career salaries, the rank is based on a 20yr salary accumulation (with raises) minus the cost of a 4 year education at the university. Salaries are normalized across the country using the average COLA for the university's geo-economic region (7 regions total). The COLA effect is diminished by the level of the university. Elite, Excellent and Good universities have a greater distribution of graduates across the country and a diminishing COLA effect. The resultant value would be the graduate's spending potential over the 20yr period.

Overall ROI - "Overall Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. The average of Overall Rank and Salary ROI. This would be the "Best academic bang for the buck". Colleges that produce the best education, at the best price, with the best return will be ranked higher.

Color Key - ranks are colorized as follows 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 50 100

The 2016 University Academic Rankings

American Athletic Conference (Low)

2016 University Academic Rankings

The American Athletic Conference (also known as The American) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and four associate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Member universities represent a range of private and public universities of various enrollment sizes located primarily in urban metropolitan areas in the Northeastern, Midwestern, Western, and Southern regions of the United States.

The American was considered one of the six collegiate power conferences of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) era. With the advent of the College Football Playoff, The American became a "Group of Five" conference, which shares one automatic spot in the New Year's Six bowl games.

The league is the product of substantial turmoil in the original Big East Conference during the 2010-14 conference realignment period. It is one of two conferences to emerge from the all-sports Big East in 2013. While the other successor, which does not sponsor football, purchased the Big East Conference name, The American inherited the old Big East's structure and is that conference's legal successor. However, both conferences claim 1979 as their founding date, and the same history up to 2013. The American is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, and led by Commissioner Michael Aresco.

History | The original Big East

The original Big East Conference was founded in 1979 as a basketball conference and included the colleges of Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, and Syracuse, which in turn invited Connecticut (UConn), Holy Cross, Rutgers, and Boston College to be members. UConn and Boston College would accept the invitation, while Holy Cross soon thereafter declined the invitation, and Rutgers eventually declined and remained in the Atlantic 10 Conference (then known as the Eastern 8 Conference). Seton Hall was then invited as a replacement, and the conference started play with seven members.

The conference remained largely unchanged until 1991, when it began to sponsor football, adding Miami as a full member, and Rutgers, Temple, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia as football-only members. Rutgers and West Virginia upgraded to full Big East membership in 1995, while Virginia Tech did the same in 2000. Temple football was kicked out after the 2004 season, but rejoined in 2012 and intended to become a full Big East member in 2013.

The unusual structure of the Big East, with the "football" and "non-football" schools, led to instability in the conference. The waves of defection and replacement brought about by the conference realignments of 2005 and 2010-13 revealed tension between the football-sponsoring and non-football schools that eventually led to the split of the conference in 2013.

Realignment and reorganization

The conference was reorganized following the tumultuous period of realignment that hobbled the Big East between 2010 and 2013. The Big East was one of the most severely impacted conferences during the most recent conference realignment period. In all, 14 member schools announced their departure for other conferences, and 15 other schools announced plans to join the conference (eight as all-sports members, and four for football only). Three of the latter group later backed out of their plans to join (one for all sports, and the other two for football only).

On December 15, 2012, the Big East's seven remaining non-FBS schools, all Catholic institutions - DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villanova - announced that they voted unanimously to leave the Big East Conference, effective June 30, 2015. The "Catholic ... [more on wikipedia]

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "American Athletic Conference (Low)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

American Athletic Conference Details

American Athletic Conference Details
detail value
state-
conferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
public-Conf-
scores1675/1117/25
levelAboveAverage
rank[-
overall ROI rank[162
sizemedium-large
undergrads23389
grads7232
price45724
drop31
stem28
research22
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for American Athletic Conference (Low)?

1. number - for Academics.

2. number 162 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to American Athletic Conference (Low)?

1. Colorado State University-Fort Collins

2. Virginia Commonwealth University

3. University of Utah

4. University of California-Irvine

5. University of Massachusetts-Amherst

6. University of Kentucky

7. The University of Tennessee-Knoxville



National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

American Athletic Conference National Academic Rankings

American Athletic Conference National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Top250-216244127118153145104162
Conferences355169231858572223
American Athletic Conference-798710958
Top Ten Top250-216244127118153145104162
Top Ten American Athletic Conference-798710958


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

(mathematically similar student body, size, academics, stem, salary... etc)

American Athletic Conference Peer Universities, Similar Universities to American Athletic Conference

American Athletic Conference Peer Universities, Similar Universities to American Athletic Conference
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
93.27
Colorado State University-Fort CollinsColoradoMountain West ConferencePublicAboveAverage143139
93.26
Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVirginiaAtlantic 10 ConferencePublicAboveAverage178207
93.19
University of UtahUtahPacific 12 ConferencePublicAboveAverage14286
93.03
University of California-IrvineCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAboveAverage108162
93.01
University of Massachusetts-AmherstMassachusettsMid - American Conference / At...PublicAboveAverage88144
93.00
University of KentuckyKentuckySoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage159130
92.84
The University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleTennesseeSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage116188
92.76
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegeLouisianaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage14888
92.66
University of Oklahoma-Norman CampusOklahomaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAboveAverage13754
92.55
Auburn UniversityAlabamaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage13979
92.54
University of Colorado BoulderColoradoPacific 12 ConferencePublicAboveAverage7959
92.36
University of Nebraska-LincolnNebraskaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage11998
92.33
University at BuffaloNew YorkMid American ConferencePublicAboveAverage124190
92.18
University of KansasKansasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAboveAverage172130
92.06
Iowa State UniversityIowaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAboveAverage12971
91.82
Purdue UniversityIndianaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage5720
91.48
Drexel UniversityPennsylvaniaColonial Athletic AssociationPrivateAboveAverage120134
86.53
Washington State UniversityWashingtonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage189193
86.52
Oregon State UniversityOregonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage152202
86.43
West Virginia UniversityWest VirginiaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage320192
86.43
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityVirginiaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicGood7540
86.42
Indiana University-Purdue University-IndianapolisIndianaThe Summit LeaguePublicAverage427342
86.42
University of CincinnatiOhioAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage202106
86.37
George Mason UniversityVirginiaAtlantic 10 ConferencePublicAboveAverage156143
86.33
University of North Carolina at CharlotteNorth CarolinaDivision I-AA Independents / C...PublicAverage292207
86.21
University of New MexicoNew MexicoMountain West ConferencePublicAverage265153
86.16
Georgia State UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage253230
86.12
Florida Atlantic UniversityFloridaConference USAPublicAverage305303
85.97
Oklahoma State UniversityOklahomaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage182124
85.85
San Jose State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage386389
85.78
Middle Tennessee State UniversityTennesseeConference USAPublicAverage384372
85.73
Old Dominion UniversityVirginiaConference USAPublicAverage356368
85.49
San Diego State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage183218
85.45
Texas Tech UniversityTexasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage176104
85.35
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh CampusPennsylvaniaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicGood5075
85.24
University of ConnecticutConnecticutBig East ConferencePublicGood87139
84.93
California State University-Long BeachCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage318387
84.92
Clemson UniversitySouth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAboveAverage9851
84.83
Oakland UniversityMichiganHorizon LeaguePublicAverage417270
84.73
University of ArizonaArizonaPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage12486
84.71
Mississippi State UniversityMississippiSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage197130
84.55
University of LouisvilleKentuckyAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAverage258224
84.51
Rutgers University-New BrunswickNew JerseyBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage56115
83.90
Arizona State University-TempeArizonaPacific 12 ConferencePublicAboveAverage10182
83.85
Pennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvaniaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage5384
83.33
University of Alabama at BirminghamAlabamaConference USAPublicAboveAverage153148
82.96
University of Central FloridaFloridaAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage103141
82.94
Loyola University ChicagoIllinoisMissouri Valley ConferencePrivateAboveAverage228206
79.94
Kennesaw State UniversityGeorgiaAtlantic Sun ConferencePublicAverage290291
79.13
Kansas State UniversityKansasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage249168


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

American Athletic Conference Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to American Athletic Conference

American Athletic Conference Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to American Athletic Conference
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
98.83
Missouri Valley Conference (Average)-Missouri Valley Conference-Conf-AboveAverage-202
98.00
University of CincinnatiOhioAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage202106
95.99
Hofstra UniversityNew YorkColonial Athletic AssociationPrivateAboveAverage231298
95.92
University of MississippiMississippiSoutheastern ConferencePublicAverage232197
95.64
University of Hawaii at ManoaHawaiiMountain West Conference / Big...PublicAverage204245
94.48
University of Missouri-St LouisMissouriGreat Lakes Valley ConferencePublicAboveAverage242211
94.41
Mid - American Conference (Average)-Mid American Conference-Conf-AboveAverage-185
93.84
University of DenverColoradoThe Summit LeaguePrivateAboveAverage204186
92.99
Colonial Athletic Association (Low)-Colonial Athletic Association-Conf-AboveAverage-214
91.58
University of PortlandOregonWest Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage235245
91.39
Sun Belt Conference (Average)-Sun Belt Conference-Conf-Average-232
89.92
University of San DiegoCaliforniaPioneer Football League / West...PrivateGood203195
89.15
Furman UniversitySouth CarolinaSouthern ConferencePrivateGood232192
89.06
Truman State UniversityMissouriGreat Lakes Valley ConferencePublicAboveAverage208189
88.41
New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (Low)-New England Women's & Men's At...-Conf-Good-161
87.11
Clark UniversityMassachusettsNew England Women's & Men's At...PrivateGood201224
86.72
University of Puget SoundWashingtonNorthwest ConferencePrivateGood227223
86.63
Chapman UniversityCaliforniaSouthern California Intercoll ...PrivateGood208242
86.40
Elon UniversityNorth CarolinaColonial Athletic AssociationPrivateGood200178
86.15
Emerson CollegeMassachusettsNew England Women's & Men's At...PrivateGood207240
86.03
Trinity UniversityTexasSouthern Collegiate Athletic C...PrivateGood212170
85.94
Patriot League (Low)-Patriot League-Conf-Good-84
85.24
Trinity CollegeConnecticutNew England Small College Ath ConfPrivateGood215225
83.76
Denison UniversityOhioNorth Coast Athletic ConferencePrivateGood204170
83.75
Division I Independents (Average)-Division I Independents-Conf-Excellent-59
81.17
No Conference Affiliation (Average)-No Conference Affiliation-Conf-Excellent-180