Rutgers ranks 70 on list of national university rankings

When asked to guess Rutgers’ rank on the U.S. News & World Report’s national university rankings, Jake Ghanaim guessed 60 because of Rutgers large acceptance rate.

Rutgers’ actual ranking on the report for 2015 is 70, down from last year’s 69.

“I know we’re not elite like the Ivy Leagues — we’re not even an elite public school like Michigan or North Carolina,” said Ghanaim, a Rutgers Business School first-year.

Rutgers’ outstanding faculty, world-renowned academic departments and $700 million dollars of annually sponsored research are some of the reasons the New Brunswick campus is 70 on the report, said Courtney McAnuff, vice president of Enrollment Management at the University.

According to the report, the rankings are based upon factors such as first-year student retention and graduation rates, the strength of the faculty and academic excellence.

Other Big Ten schools, such as the University of Maryland, ranked 62, and Michigan State University, ranked 85, made the list. Northwestern University ranked 13.

McAnuff said in an email that the New Brunswick campus continues to attract stronger and stronger students academically, creating a ripple effect regarding retention and graduation rates.

“Since 2006, Rutgers has added almost 10,000 students University wide, while increasing selectivity and maintaining its great diversity,” he said.

McAnuff said Rutgers has also improved facilities to make the campus physically attractive to prospective students.

With the expanded Honors Program, opening its residence hall doors in fall 2015, the University is expecting a significant increase in demand from the “very best students.”

The Daily Targum asked some other Rutgers students to guess Rutgers rank on the list.

Rebekkah Mclellan, a School of Arts and Sciences junior who transferred from the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, guessed that Rutgers would rank around 52. She knew the school was competitive because she had looked at Rutgers when first applying to colleges.

Elena Ghanaim, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, guessed 20 because of “top-notch” research that goes on at the University.

Michael Valdez, a School of Arts and Sciences senior who participates in intestinal stem-cell research with the Department of Genetics at Rutgers, guessed 34 because of the research opportunities, as well as the fact that being a part of the Big 10 offers prospects of a bright future for the University.