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The 600 Smartest Colleges In America
Business Insider ^ | Oct. 21, 2014 | JONATHAN WAI

Posted on 10/22/2014 8:25:22 AM PDT by Pharmboy

Schools are constantly being ranked on everything from student happiness, campus beauty, success of alums, and professor prestige. But where should you go if you want to be among the most intelligent students in America?

Exclusively for Business Insider, Jonathan Wai, a Duke University Talent Identification Program researcher, calculated a ranking of America's colleges and universities based purely on smarts, as reflected by the school's average scores on standardized tests.

These tests are often criticized, but research shows that both the SAT and ACT are good measures of general cognitive ability; and the average scores that schools report to U.S. News gives a reasonable snapshot of the brainpower level of that school.

We updated our ranking from last year by including all the schools in the national university, liberal arts college, regional university, and regional college lists that reported SAT or ACT scores in the latest U.S. News ranking.

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: act; cognitiveability; collegerankings; sat
Based only on SAT/ACT scores. Interesting. Cal Tech = #1
1 posted on 10/22/2014 8:25:22 AM PDT by Pharmboy
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To: Black Agnes; SunkenCiv; blam; ClearCase_guy; Arthur McGowan; Tolerance Sucks Rocks; ...

I thought you girls and boys might be interested in this. Pardon me for the ping if you’re not.


2 posted on 10/22/2014 8:28:36 AM PDT by Pharmboy (Democrats lie because they must.)
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To: Pharmboy

My alma mater, which has sadly fallen into Liberal Times:

29 Claremont McKenna College 1410


3 posted on 10/22/2014 8:30:42 AM PDT by Uncle Miltie (I'M WITH CRUZ!)
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To: Pharmboy

I didn’t notice Hillsdale in that list.


4 posted on 10/22/2014 8:31:50 AM PDT by jonathonandjennifer
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To: Pharmboy

#8 Harvey Mudd College. They started a “diversity” program a few years ago, which has undoubtedly lowered their score. Fortunately, daughter had already graduated before all that started.


5 posted on 10/22/2014 8:37:31 AM PDT by Hoffer Rand (Bear His image. Bring His message. Be the Church.)
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To: jonathonandjennifer

Look again. Hillsdale is 91st with a 1400 score.


6 posted on 10/22/2014 8:37:50 AM PDT by Always A Marine
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To: Pharmboy

I think that liberal arts colleges are pretty much useless these days, and not worth the “investment.”


7 posted on 10/22/2014 8:38:23 AM PDT by Maceman
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To: Always A Marine

Thanks. Skimmed it too fast.


8 posted on 10/22/2014 8:41:32 AM PDT by jonathonandjennifer
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To: Pharmboy
Caltech retains No. 1 standing in global higher education ranking system

And we are still undefeated in football since 1993!!

9 posted on 10/22/2014 8:43:03 AM PDT by kosciusko51 (Enough of "Who is John Galt?" Who is Patrick Henry?)
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To: kalee

For later


10 posted on 10/22/2014 8:46:01 AM PDT by kalee
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To: Pharmboy
The score is an average of the 25th and 75th percentiles for the SAT scores of the school's admitted students, so it's not exactly what one would think.

I did a little study once and found out that universities with virtually the same 'average SAT' may have wildly different 25th percentiles.

I'm not surprised about Cal Tech. Check this graphic showing how selective Cal Tech is. From there, you can compare it against similar graphics for Stanford and other schools.

11 posted on 10/22/2014 8:53:11 AM PDT by Scoutmaster (You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred.)
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To: Pharmboy

intelligence doesn’t equal wisdom


12 posted on 10/22/2014 8:53:16 AM PDT by Squidpup ("Fight the Good Fight of Faith")
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To: Pharmboy

Then on the other end is #1339 Livingstone College with an SAT of 660.


13 posted on 10/22/2014 9:01:51 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (The IRS: either criminally irresponsible in backup procedures or criminally responsible of coverup.)
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To: Squidpup

High-functioning libs prove that every day.


14 posted on 10/22/2014 9:11:50 AM PDT by Pharmboy (Democrats lie because they must.)
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To: kalee

What an ignorant study, especially in light of the fact that even Duke is a “test optional” university. Want to check out college ratings? Go to Forbes.


15 posted on 10/22/2014 9:11:50 AM PDT by cumbo78
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To: cumbo78
At Forbes, you'll still get five of the same Top Ten Schools (and they'll be five of the six most selective universities when it comes to admission rates). You won't get Cal Tech.

At US News & World Report, you'll get eight of the same Top Ten Schools, including the five from Forbes. You will get Cal Tech.

I may go back and look at the top twenty or fifty from each list simply out of curiosity.

16 posted on 10/22/2014 9:45:10 AM PDT by Scoutmaster (You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred.)
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To: Pharmboy
Notre Dame is 11th? Ahead of Duke/Tufts/Swarthmore/Williams? Something seems incorrect there.
17 posted on 10/22/2014 10:13:45 AM PDT by WL-law
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To: Scoutmaster

My alma mater University of Washington is at 162 the highest in the Northwest. I was surprised to see it above Seattle U and Gonzaga.

The UW is riddled with libs, huge English Department, but they also have great scientific and tech studies.

Not surprised to see Caltech at the top. I am on a technical forum where most of the very smart contributors graduated from Caltech.


18 posted on 10/22/2014 10:18:41 AM PDT by angry elephant (Endangered species in Seattle)
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To: Pharmboy

208 schools have SAT averages of 1200 or more. That’s pretty good. It means there are plenty of opportunities for qualified students to get an education not held back by the unqualified.


19 posted on 10/22/2014 10:31:27 AM PDT by grania
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