Washington Monthly - September/October 2021 - 16

TOP 30
NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES
1. STANFORD UNIVERSITY (CA)
2. MA Institute of Technology (MA)
3. Duke University (NC)
4. University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)*
5. Harvard University (MA)
6. University of Pennsylvania (PA)
Johns Hopkins University (MD)
7.
8. University of IL-Urbana-Champaign (IL)*
9. University of NC-Chapel Hill (NC)*
10. University of California-Berkeley (CA)*
11. University of Washington-Seattle (WA)*
12. University of California-San Diego (CA)*
13. University of Notre Dame (IN)
14. University of California-Davis (CA)*
15. Cornell University (NY)
16. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (MI)*
17. Princeton University (NJ)
18. Yale University (CT)
19. University of Florida (FL)*
20. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN)*
21. Texas A&M University-College Station (TX)*
22. University of California-Los Angeles (CA)*
23. VA Polytechnic Inst. & State Univ. (VA)*
24. Northwestern University (IL)
25. University of Chicago (IL)
26. Purdue University-Main (IN)*
27. Iowa State University (IA)*
28. University of Virginia (VA)*
29. North Carolina State Univ. (NC)*
30. Vanderbilt University (TN)
*Public institution
RANK IN U.S.
NEWS (2021)
6
4
12
42
2
8
9
47
28
22
58
35
19
39
18
24
1
4
30
66
66
20
74
9
6
53
118
26
80
14
The 2021 U.S. News rankings were released in September 2020.
ity is made possible by impossibly large endowments that
few other schools can even dream of amassing. Harvard
and Yale, which together enroll roughly .15 percent of all
college freshmen, own more than 10 percent of all the
university endowment assets in America.
If Congress does increase the size of Pell Grants, it
will bring welcome financial relief to some of America's
most important but least appreciated colleges, like California
State University, Long Beach. Few national publications
write about this public institution. It doesn't
have a big endowment, a prominent sports team, or
flashy amenities. But it ranks second on our list of master's
universities, in part by enrolling 15 percent more
Pell recipients than the student body's standardized test
scores and the state's demographics would predict. Also,
its Pell students last year graduated at a rate only 5 percent
below its non-Pell students, a considerably smaller
graduation gap than for Pell students nationwide. The
federal government would, wisely, be giving more funds
to an institution with a track record of helping move lowincome
students into the middle class.
The money would also help Elizabeth City State University,
a historically Black institution in North Carolina
that ranks 13 on our list of bachelor's colleges. This public
college enrolls 10 percent more Pell students than predicted,
and they graduate at only a 3 percent lower rate
than non-Pell students. Elizabeth City is exactly the kind
of institution our rankings are designed to highlight, and
we are thrilled that the American Families Plan would
give it additional support.
Some better-known colleges, meanwhile, will miss
On the flip side, several brand-name schools that
shine on the other rankings suck on ours. Tulane, Pepperdine,
and Baylor, which come in at 41, 49, and 76 respectively
on that other outlet's list of national universities,
plumb the depths of ours at 274, 290, and 314
respectively.
A number of highly prestigious private institutions
do make it to the top of our national universities list, due
in part to the copious financial aid they provide to the
low-income students they admit. That record deserves
admiration, but also qualification. For one thing, these
schools don't let in very many low-income students.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, number
eight on our list, admits more Pell students annually
than do Stanford, MIT, Duke, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins
combined. For another, these universities' generos16
September/October 2021
out. Hofstra University, famous for hosting presidential
debates and catering to the academically undistinguished
children of affluent New Yorkers, enrolls 6 percent fewer
Pell students than predicted, and graduates those students
at an 11 percent lower rate than its non-Pell students.
For students from families earning $75,000 a year
or less, the school charges $30,000 in annual tuition, even
though it has amassed an endowment of more than $600
million. Elizabeth City State, by contrast, charges $1,900
in tuition and has a $12.3 million endowment. Hofstra's
indifference to lower-income students helps place it at
373 on our list of national universities-18 from the bottom
and 213 spots lower than it ranks on that other publication's
list. Hofstra will deserve the low share it gets
of whatever extra Pell funding Washington appropriates.
The same is true of the billions of dollars in new college
scholarships that would come from an expansion of national
service. Hofstra also ranks abysmally (328) on our
overall service ranking.
W
hile the spending bills could do a tremendous
amount of good, policy makers need to get the details
right. Absent tough regulation, for instance,
state governments will be tempted to cut their higher educa
Washington Monthly - September/October 2021

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