My annual US News and World Report ranking thread

615dawg · Sep 22, 2026

No commentary from me on this one. Just the rankings

SEC schools:

16. Vanderbilt (up 1 spot)
34. Texas (down 4)
34. Florida (down 4)
52. Georgia (down 6)
59. Texas A&M (down 8)
95. Missouri (up 7)
100. Auburn (up 2)
109. Tennessee (down 7)
116. Oklahoma (down 6)
121. S Carolina (up 6)
148. Kentucky (down 5)
156. Alabama (up 13)
179. Ole Miss (down 10)
202. LSU (down 33)
208. Miss State (even)

Only West Virginia is a Power 4 school ranked below us. Texas Tech moved up.

Maroon Eagle · Sep 22, 2026

We know what’s wrong with MSU, but what’s the deal with LSU?

615dawg · Sep 22, 2026

Maroon Eagle said:
We know what’s wrong with MSU, but what’s the deal with LSU?

LSU is a freaking disaster right now. Their president took a job at Rutgers and they brought in the McNeese president that is way over his head. They will likely drop below us next year.

LSU's student recruitment plan has basically turned into "if you are TOPS and Pell Grant eligible, come on down." The result of that is that they are getting a ton of students that are not even community college ready. On top of that, LSU isn't giving much at all when it comes to merit scholarships, so the best and brightest in Louisiana are looking out of state (mainly Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss).

Then there is the culture rot of Baton Rouge. It is indirectly causing students to look elsewhere.

8dog · Sep 22, 2026

And here is my annual shrug: Alabama and OM are in the bottom quarter of the conference which shows how much these things mean.

Napoleon378 · Sep 22, 2026

615dawg said:
LSU is a freaking disaster right now. Their president took a job at Rutgers and they brought in the McNeese president that is way over his head. They will likely drop below us next year.

LSU's student recruitment plan has basically turned into "if you are TOPS and Pell Grant eligible, come on down." The result of that is that they are getting a ton of students that are not even community college ready. On top of that, LSU isn't giving much at all when it comes to merit scholarships, so the best and brightest in Louisiana are looking out of state (mainly Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss).

Then there is the culture rot of Baton Rouge.

Yea, LSU fans aren't happy about the current student situation down there.

615dawg · Sep 22, 2026

Napoleon378 said:
Yea, LSU fans aren't happy about the current student situation down there.

And this year's rankings are the first time its actually showing up in a quantifiable way. I really thought LSU would drop below us this year based on what I have heard.

If Lane goes 8-4 or worse, the entire state of Louisiana may burn. They are counting on a deep playoff run to get student interest in LSU back where they can attract good students. It trending toward being an HBCU with SEC sports.

horshack.sixpack · Sep 22, 2026

615dawg said:
No commentary from me on this one. Just the rankings

SEC schools:

16. Vanderbilt (up 1 spot)
34. Texas (down 4)
34. Florida (down 4)
52. Georgia (down 6)
59. Texas A&M (down 8)
95. Missouri (up 7)
100. Auburn (up 2)
109. Tennessee (down 7)
116. Oklahoma (down 6)
121. S Carolina (up 6)
148. Kentucky (down 5)
156. Alabama (up 13)
179. Ole Miss (down 10)
202. LSU (down 33)
208. Miss State (even)

Only West Virginia is a Power 4 school ranked below us. Texas Tech moved up.

We could lose up to 40% just based on earnings in the poorest state in the nation (~56% of our graduates stay and work in MS) and what other academics think about us...I'd much rather be higher ranked in every measure, but it does seem that we have some built in headwinds.

Executive Summary Category	Approximate Weight
Graduation & Retention Outcomes	~20-25%
Graduation Rate Performance (better than predicted)	~10-15%
Social Mobility (Pell Grant / lower-income student success)	~15-20%
Graduate Earnings / ROI	~5-10%
Academic Reputation (peer assessment)	~20%
Faculty Resources	~8-10%
Financial Resources / Spending per Student	~8-10%
Other factors	Remainder

OG Goat Holder · Sep 22, 2026

615dawg said:
LSU is a freaking disaster right now. Their president took a job at Rutgers and they brought in the McNeese president that is way over his head. They will likely drop below us next year.

LSU's student recruitment plan has basically turned into "if you are TOPS and Pell Grant eligible, come on down." The result of that is that they are getting a ton of students that are not even community college ready. On top of that, LSU isn't giving much at all when it comes to merit scholarships, so the best and brightest in Louisiana are looking out of state (mainly Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss).

Then there is the culture rot of Baton Rouge. It is indirectly causing students to look elsewhere.

Just wait til the Mississippi River shifts over the Atchafalaya.........them Ragin Cajuns gonna be running shlt *******

theoriginalSALTYdog · Sep 22, 2026

615dawg said:
No commentary from me on this one. Just the rankings

SEC schools:

16. Vanderbilt (up 1 spot)
34. Texas (down 4)
34. Florida (down 4)
52. Georgia (down 6)
59. Texas A&M (down 8)
95. Missouri (up 7)
100. Auburn (up 2)
109. Tennessee (down 7)
116. Oklahoma (down 6)
121. S Carolina (up 6)
148. Kentucky (down 5)
156. Alabama (up 13)
179. Ole Miss (down 10)
202. LSU (down 33)
208. Miss State (even)

Only West Virginia is a Power 4 school ranked below us. Texas Tech moved up.

Where was Upig? Don't see them on the list.

mstateglfr · Sep 22, 2026

LINK- https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities

Hot ignorant take, maybe...
I dont care as an alum and as a parent, if a university is 125th or 200th.

CoastRat.sixpack · Sep 22, 2026

LSU went to a plan that really dissuaded out of state students including ending their legacy waiver of out of state tuition; including for academic top performers. My daughter had a 31 ACT, and 4.2 GPA, and was a legacy. LSU offered her $84K in scholarships, which was way more than State did. But it effectively just covered the out of state mark up on tuition - in other words, her entire scholarship offer was just an out of state waiver. I would have still been on the hook for what would be full tuition for an in-state student. She went to State because even though State gave her less, it was almost a full ride. They are missing out on really good students to accommodate in-state ones. I know all schools do this to some degree, but most generally do what it takes to get the cream of the crop if they can. LSU has not been doing that, and it is hurting them.

615dawg · Sep 22, 2026

CoastRat.sixpack said:
LSU went to a plan that really dissuaded out of state students including ending their legacy waiver of out of state tuition; including for academic top performers. My daughter had a 31 ACT, and 4.2 GPA, and was a legacy. LSU offered her $84K in scholarships, which was way more than State did. But it effectively just covered the out of state mark up on tuition - in other words, her entire scholarship offer was just an out of state waiver. I would have still been on the hook for what would be full tuition for an in-state student. She went to State because even though State gave her less, it was almost a full ride. They are missing out on really good students to accommodate in-state ones. I know all schools do this to some degree, but most generally do what it takes to get the cream of the crop if they can. LSU has not been doing that, and it is hurting them.

They arent giving anything to in-state students either. Just want that TOPS and Pell Money. TOPS is $7,380 a year for most students (can go up to $12,000 with 31 ACT). LSU doesn't have to give any scholarship to go with that.

thatsbaseball · Sep 22, 2026

horshack.sixpack said:
We could lose up to 40% just based on earnings in the poorest state in the nation (~56% of our graduates stay and work in MS) and what other academics think about us...I'd much rather be higher ranked in every measure, but it does seem that we have some built in headwinds.

Executive Summary Category
Approximate Weight
Graduation & Retention Outcomes
~20-25%
Graduation Rate Performance (better than predicted)
~10-15%
Social Mobility (Pell Grant / lower-income student success)
~15-20%
Graduate Earnings / ROI
~5-10%
Academic Reputation (peer assessment)
~20%
Faculty Resources
~8-10%
Financial Resources / Spending per Student
~8-10%
Other factors
]

Supposedly they've started evaluating how much success the graduates that didn't enroll as "elite students" have after graduation as a major factor over just rating incoming classes

RocketDawg · Sep 22, 2026

615dawg said:
No commentary from me on this one. Just the rankings

SEC schools:

16. Vanderbilt (up 1 spot)
34. Texas (down 4)
34. Florida (down 4)
52. Georgia (down 6)
59. Texas A&M (down 8)
95. Missouri (up 7)
100. Auburn (up 2)
109. Tennessee (down 7)
116. Oklahoma (down 6)
121. S Carolina (up 6)
148. Kentucky (down 5)
156. Alabama (up 13)
179. Ole Miss (down 10)
202. LSU (down 33)
208. Miss State (even)

Only West Virginia is a Power 4 school ranked below us. Texas Tech moved up.

Yeah,

.

Is there a similar ranking for the ACC and B1G?

horshack.sixpack · Sep 22, 2026

thatsbaseball said:
Pretty interesting read if you have a few minutes

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/princetons-15-year-run-as-the-nations-top-college-is-over-mit-is-now-no-1-e9f17169?mod=home_ln

Good article. I saw some of that. I think that the ranking leaving the "prestige" aspects behind in favor of more tangible measures is an improvement. The idea that you used to get credit for educating fewer (i.e. lowest acceptance rates) always seemed asinine. Here is how the Top 10 look wrt median income in the area where the college is located (Mississippi State's comparable number is: ~$55k - 60K):

Rank	University	Location	Approx. Median Household Income (Local Area)
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	Cambridge, MA (Boston Metro)	$111,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
2	Princeton University	Princeton, NJ	$108,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
3	Harvard University	Cambridge, MA (Boston Metro)	$111,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
4	Yale University	New Haven, CT	$89,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
5 (tie)	California Institute of Technology	Pasadena, CA (Los Angeles Area)	$104,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
5 (tie)	Stanford University	Stanford, CA (Silicon Valley)	$156,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
7	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, PA	$91,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
8	Duke University	Durham, NC	$85,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
9 (tie)	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	$99,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
9 (tie)	University of Chicago	Chicago, IL	$86,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]

horshack.sixpack · Sep 22, 2026

horshack.sixpack said:
Good article. I saw some of that. I think that the ranking leaving the "prestige" aspects behind in favor of more tangible measures is an improvement. The idea that you used to get credit for educating fewer (i.e. lowest acceptance rates) always seemed asinine. Here is how the Top 10 look wrt median income in the area where the college is located (Mississippi State's comparable number is: ~$55k - 60K):

Rank University Location Approx. Median Household Income (Local Area)
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, MA (Boston Metro) $111,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
2 Princeton University Princeton, NJ $108,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
3 Harvard University Cambridge, MA (Boston Metro) $111,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
4 Yale University New Haven, CT $89,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
5 (tie) California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA (Los Angeles Area) $104,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
5 (tie) Stanford University Stanford, CA (Silicon Valley) $156,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
7 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA $91,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
8 Duke University Durham, NC $85,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
9 (tie) Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD $99,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]
9 (tie) University of Chicago Chicago, IL $86,000 [usnews.com], [census.gov]

Here is the same info, SEC only:

SEC Rank	University	U.S. News Rank	City	Approx. Local Median Household Income
1	Vanderbilt University	17	Nashville, TN	~$85,000
2	University of Texas	30 (tie)	Austin, TX	~$98,000
3	University of Florida	30 (tie)	Gainesville, FL	~$67,000
4	University of Georgia	46	Athens, GA	~$69,000
5	Texas A&M University	51	College Station, TX	~$78,000
6 (tie)	Auburn University	102 (tie)	Auburn, AL	~$65,000
6 (tie)	University of Tennessee	102 (tie)	Knoxville, TN	~$72,000
6 (tie)	University of Missouri	102 (tie)	Columbia, MO	~$67,000
9	University of Oklahoma	110	Norman, OK	~$82,000
10	University of South Carolina	127	Columbia, SC	~$63,000
11	University of Kentucky	143	Lexington, KY	~$69,000
12 (tie)	University of Alabama	169 (tie)	Tuscaloosa, AL	~$62,000
12 (tie)	Louisiana State University	169 (tie)	Baton Rouge, LA	~$63,000
12 (tie)	University of Mississippi	169 (tie)	Oxford, MS	~$58,000
15	University of Arkansas	183	Fayetteville, AR	~$72,000
16	Mississippi State University	208	Starkville, MS	~$55,000-$60,000

vhdawg · Sep 22, 2026

I believe the technical term for us is "lateral move".

Yeah baby.

TheBannerM · Sep 22, 2026

615dawg said:
LSU is a freaking disaster right now. Their president took a job at Rutgers and they brought in the McNeese president that is way over his head. They will likely drop below us next year.

LSU's student recruitment plan has basically turned into "if you are TOPS and Pell Grant eligible, come on down." The result of that is that they are getting a ton of students that are not even community college ready. On top of that, LSU isn't giving much at all when it comes to merit scholarships, so the best and brightest in Louisiana are looking out of state (mainly Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss).

Then there is the culture rot of Baton Rouge. It is indirectly causing students to look elsewhere.

I know more kids around here (St. Tammany Parish) who have gone to Mississippi State and Ole Miss the past two years than LSU. These are LSU parents sending their kids to State, and they rave to me about how great it is and how much they love Starkville.

OG Goat Holder · Sep 23, 2026

TheBannerM said:
I know more kids around here (St. Tammany Parish) who have gone to Mississippi State and Ole Miss the past two years than LSU. These are LSU parents sending their kids to State, and they rave to me about how great it is and how much they love Starkville.

Are the kids still LSU homers?

The Usual Suspect · Sep 23, 2026

Maroon Eagle said:
We know what’s wrong with MSU, but what’s the deal with LSU

please elaborate. I have been asking why we keep dropping for 15 years. We were not this low at the beginning of Keenum.

jethreauxdawg · Sep 23, 2026

The Usual Suspect said:
We were not this low at the beginning of Keenum.

eckie1 · Sep 23, 2026

615dawg said:
It ~~trending toward being~~ has literally always been an HBCU with SEC sports.

Slight correction.

BTCMoonBoy · Sep 24, 2026

I look like a freaking genius I paid less than most to earn more than most

ETK99 · Sep 24, 2026

Just wait, there'll be a different ranking next week. There's nothing wrong with the education at State.

Maroon13 · Sep 24, 2026

OG Goat Holder said:
Are the kids still LSU homers?

You know it. I know a Desoto county family, they are originally from LA but the kids were raised in DC. One kid has already graduated State and the other is at State now.

A few years ago when we played LSU at home, all 4 were at the game in purple and yellow.

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